Matt's Myrtle Beach Golf Journal

[GolfSpy Dave]

My pictures probably won't get posted until tonight when I unpack.

 

I do have some pics of the gator. I actually had a half wedge into that green, but I pushed the heck out of (gator was on the left). My subconscious said, "Think all the happy thoughts you want about hitting this in the hole, this ball is staying way the hell away from that gator."

Not quite the same as hitting toward ducks or turkeys then?

[Matt Saternus]

Not quite the same as hitting toward ducks or turkeys then?

 

 

Not quite. Ducks and turkeys I don't mind. Geese, I am for.

[GolfSpy Dave]

Not quite. Ducks and turkeys I don't mind. Geese, I am for.

Geese may not be gator dangerous, but I have been charged by geese on the course. took me a second to remember that my in-hand 7i is an excellent anti-goose tool. no combat, but nice to have the right club should you need to make the shot

[jamo]

I just read all of page 3, now my keyboard is short circuiting from all of the drool.

[Matt Saternus]

Geese may not be gator dangerous, but I have been charged by geese on the course. took me a second to remember that my in-hand 7i is an excellent anti-goose tool. no combat, but nice to have the right club should you need to make the shot

 

 

You got charged? The worst I've ever had was a goose hissing at me, beak open, tounge sticking out. I did get attacked by a litttle black bird once - came diving down and tried to peck at my head. I always walk that path with a club in hand now.

[jamo]

Geese may not be gator dangerous, but I have been charged by geese on the course. took me a second to remember that my in-hand 7i is an excellent anti-goose tool. no combat, but nice to have the right club should you need to make the shot

 

I was playing with a stranger once who ran up to a goose and decided to just whack his head off. It was still still waddling for a little while, and I nearly threw up. Needless to say I joined the group behind us.

[Matt Saternus]

I was playing with a stranger once who ran up to a goose and decided to just whack his head off. It was still still waddling for a little while, and I nearly threw up. Needless to say I joined the group behind us.

 

 

That is awful and disturbing. My thread feels very dirty now...thanks.

[GolfSpy Dave]

You got charged? The worst I've ever had was a goose hissing at me, beak open, tounge sticking out. I did get attacked by a litttle black bird once - came diving down and tried to peck at my head. I always walk that path with a club in hand now.

Wings out, aggressive and honking. I very maturely honked back and waved the club.

In goose ritualistic combat I was the winner that day.

[Matt Saternus]

Wings out, aggressive and honking. I very maturely honked back and waved the club.

In goose ritualistic combat I was the winner that day.

 

 

If you want to beat a goose, think like a goose. Nothing wrong with honking back, you're just getting in touch with your animalistic side. I can't tell you how often I growl at my dog.

[Matt Saternus]

Day 6: The Legends Moorland

 

The final round of our trip was played at 7:40 AM instead of our usual noon tee time, and it was cold. Not "cold for Myrtle," but "Wind chill in the 30's" cold. The wind blew at around 10-20 mph throughout the round, but the sun was out for most of it which was good.

 

The Moorlands course is, far and away, the best of the courses on the Legends property, IMO. Where the Heathland and Parkland courses are nice, but a little bland, Moorlands has tons of personality. It is a PB Dye course, and it is penal. There are waste bunkers on most of the holes, extreme mounding, and many very difficult green complexes. The front nine is the gentler of the two by a good margin; the back is treacherous. Most of the greens on the back are severely elevated and surrounded with bunkers. In spite of all this danger, the course comes off as being quite fair for the first time golfer because it shows you where it is safe to play to. There are a handful of exceptions to that, and there are things that you really wish you'd known beforehand, but that's the case on almost every course.

 

I shot another 83 in spite of the cold and wind, and I felt pretty good about that. All in all, this was a great way to wrap up the trip. I'll be posting my pictures tonight after they get resized and also I'll share some final thoughts about the trip.

[GolfSpy Dave]

Nice Matt.

83 with the 330rx. Nice...

[Matt Saternus]

Nice Matt.

83 with the 330rx. Nice...

 

Yeah, but my 80 came with a ProV1X. I guess that really is a better ball.

[jamo]

Yeah, but my 80 came with a ProV1X. I guess that really is a better ball.

 

If only it was that easy.

[Matt Saternus]

If only it was that easy.

 

I'm glad it's not. Where would I go from there to get below 80? The Gamer will get me under 80 this summer, no doubt about it.

[JohnBarry]

Try some SRIXON, Tri-Speed Maybe

[Matt Saternus]

Try some SRIXON, Tri-Speed Maybe

 

Until they come out in yellow, I'm not trying any new balls for a long while. I'm very happy with the Gamer, and I'm going to order a large stockpile at closeout prices.

[GolfSpy Dave]

Try some SRIXON, Tri-Speed Maybe

I have a box of these coming from GPP. Not yellow, but I'll give the report when they get here.

[Matt Saternus]

I have a box of these coming from GPP. Not yellow, but I'll give the report when they get here.

 

Looking forward to it. If they beat the RXs, then I'll really have to give them some serious thought.

[JohnBarry]

Well, the Gamer is a great deal price wise, awesome match for your game and your wallet!!

[Matt Saternus]

Pictures!

 

First up, the TPC of Myrtle Beach.

[Matt Saternus]

Next up: the Heritage Club.

[Matt Saternus]

That gator that you see in the top left pic is in the water right in front of my dad in the bottom left pic. That was big time incentive to not top one straight into the drink.

[Matt Saternus]

Finally, Oyster Bay and a pic of Dad and I at the Legends Parkland.

[JohnBarry]

Great pictures, wait till the rough greens up in the next month, the place becomes heaven!

[Matt Saternus]

Great pictures, wait till the rough greens up in the next month, the place becomes heaven!

 

I did learn a bit about growing grass while down there. We talked to the starters about why the fairways and greens are green and everything else is brown. Interesting stuff.

 

Do they grow the rough up significantly during the summer or is it always kept pretty short?

[Matt Saternus]

Final Thoughts:

 

Overall, this was a great trip. This is the 4th year that my dad and I have done this, and it's something I really look forward to.

 

In the 4 years of this trip we've been to:

1) Grand National on the Robert Trent Jones Trail in Alabama, Ross Bridge on the RTJ Trail, and Limestone Springs

2) French Lick, Indiana

3) Grand National (rain shortened)

4) Myrtle Beach - Legends, Oyster Bay, Heritage Club, and TPC Myrtle Beach

 

On the drive home, we discussed this most recent trip in comparison to the others and basically had the same conclusions. In no particular order:

 

The 3 courses off the Legends property were great, particularly TPC Myrtle.

 

The 3 courses at the Legends were nice, but with the exception of the Moorlands, they were fairly un-memorable.

 

Our experience at TPC Myrtle Beach was as good as any we've had anywhere - absolutely first class all the way.

 

There is a major accountability gap in the Myrtle Beach system. What I mean is that you book everything through your packager who tells you that you will get ABC. When you get to the resort, you are dealing with people who you have never talked to before, and who do not feel accountable for giving you ABC. I can't tell you how many times we heard, "You'll need to talk to your packager," "That's not my job," "Talk to ____." Some specific examples: we were promised free range balls every day, but there were no free range balls at Heritage or Oyster Bay. We were promised free breakfast and lunch everyday, but did not get either at TPC, and getting them was problematic at the other courses. I could elaborate further on this point, but I feel I've done so enough to make my point.

 

These little things, along with a general lack of friendliness/helpfulness amongst the staff, have caused us to conclude that it is unlikely that we will go back to Myrtle Beach. It is entirely possible that our standards are too high, but if that is so, it is because the people at the RTJ Trail caused them to be. The staff at RTJ is truly outstanding. Whereas the trip to Myrtle was great in spite of the little things, our trips to RTJ have been truly excellent because of the little things.

 

If anyone would like any more information on anything I've written here, any of the courses, etc, please feel free to post them here or shoot me a PM. Thanks for reading-

 

-Matt

[JohnBarry]

Wow Matt, I know for certain, if you had even the slightest problem, 1 call to Brian would have fixed over and above the call of duty. Brian solves all the problems, he has played with groups, stocked their fridges, called ahead to the course for last second conditions, moved folks when conditions got bad fast.

 

I encourage you to try Myrtle Beach again, and before you plan it, please talk with me personally. I will make sure you get everything right and perfect!

[Matt Saternus]

Wow Matt, I know for certain, if you had even the slightest problem, 1 call to Brian would have fixed over and above the call of duty. Brian solves all the problems, he has played with groups, stocked their fridges, called ahead to the course for last second conditions, moved folks when conditions got bad fast.

 

I encourage you to try Myrtle Beach again, and before you plan it, please talk with me personally. I will make sure you get everything right and perfect!

 

Thanks John. I've heard nothing but good things about Brian, and based simply on the price of the package he put together, I have positive feelings about my dealings with him. It's good to hear that he addresses all these issues quickly and effectively, though I don't know that any one of these things would have merited a phone call. As I said, they were small things, $5 for a bag of range balls, things like that, but it just impacts the overall impression of the place.

 

If we do go back, I'll definitely be in touch with you first.

[GolfSpy Dave]

I got a much more positive feeling from the daily updates than the final one. Do you think that the water and wind soured you a bit too toward the end?

[Matt Saternus]

I got a much more positive feeling from the daily updates than the final one. Do you think that the water and wind soured you a bit too toward the end?

 

Not at all, actually the last round was one of the best. I had a tough time writing that last post because I wanted to stress two things equally:

 

1 - It was a great, great trip. We played some really fun courses, and I love spending time with my dad.

 

2 - There are some things that could have been better. I wanted to write about them because reviews that say "Everything was rainbows and puppy dogs" aren't helpful, IMO. I'm not trying to turn people away from going to Myrtle, just letting them know that, IMO, they really should be very clear about what they're getting and how they're going to get it. In retrospect, as John pointed out, perhaps I should have "spoken with my packager" as I was frequently told to do. That might have solved all my problems.