New Grand Strand pro golf tour being organized

Former North Myrtle Beach resident Tony Parrish, who won multiple annual money titles in the now defunct Grand Strand Pro Golf Tour, expects to return to the area a lot more frequently beginning this fall when he and a partner plan to launch a new pro golf tour in the area.

Parrish, who has lived in Irwin, N.C., for the past few years, and Barefoot Resort resident and fellow pro golfer Len “Porkchop” Calvert are finalizing the details of a yet-unnamed pro tour that will hold events between Pawleys Island and Wilmington, N.C., beginning this fall.

Parrish said the first events will be 36 holes over two days, with play likely on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. If some events expand to 54 holes they will likely start on Mondays.

The Coastal Players Tour, which was founded in 2012, stages 36-hole events on weekends.

The new tour’s first tournament will be billed as a Grand Strand Tour reunion event and Parrish has been contacting past tour members. Grand Strand Tour founder Steve Clark staged tournaments for six years before shutting down the tour at the end of 2011.

Parrish ran his own tour on the Strand for a short time and also tried to start an amateur tournament.

He said a sponsor will guarantee a minimum first-place payment for at least the first few events, and he expects first place to be about $2,000 for the first event, and it could increase if 20 or more players register. He expects entry fees to be between $250 and $350, and credit cards will be accepted. Interested players can call Parrish at 910-890-6018 or email him at julesandtony@hotmail.com.

“We’ll run it like it’s supposed to be run,” Parrish said. “This area needs a tour for these guys to be able to make some money without going bankrupt. If you take care of them and do the right thing, they will come.”

Parrish will turn 49 in November and hopes to enter the 2017 Champions Tour Qualifying Tournament. He was the head pro at Timberlake Golf Club in Clinton, N.C., has had a pair of shoulder surgeries in recent years, and has been playing in some Coastal Players Tour events and matches at several courses in the Raleigh, N.C., area.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 5:16 PM with the headline "New Grand Strand pro golf tour being organized."