MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The greens and bunker restoration project at Pine Lakes Country Club, Myrtle Beach’s first golf course, continues to progress, and the “Granddaddy” is on pace to reopen in mid-July.
The Craig Schreiner-led effort is highlighted by the installation of new Sunday bermudagrass greens, a conversion that is significantly enhancing the putting surfaces at Pine Lakes. The greens are also being restored to their original size, expanding the total putting surface area from 103,000 square feet to 124,000 square feet, an increase of 20 percent.
Schreiner, ASGCA, ASLA, is also restoring every bunker on the course with an eye on improving drainage, playability and returning Pine Lakes to the more natural look architect Robert White intended.
“The restoration of Pine Lakes is going well,” said Steve Mays, president of Founders Group International. “We’ve enjoyed near perfect weather and the bunker project has been seamless. The more work we do on the bunkers, the more we like them. We can’t wait to welcome golfers back to the Granddaddy.”
Nearly every bunker on the course will be smaller with high-faces being replaced by grass that rolls more gently into the sand. The changes will reduce the number of times players are faced with near-vertical bunker shots, in addition to improving access into and out of sand and maintenance.
Myrtle Beach traces its origins as a golf destination to the opening of Pine Lakes in 1927, and the course, designed by White, a native of St. Andrews, Scotland and the first president of the PGA of America, continues to hold a special place in the market.
Built along natural dunes less than a mile from the Atlantic Ocean, Pine Lakes features elevation change and a classic design that has long made it one of the Myrtle Beach area’s most popular courses.
Pine Lakes is one of 21 FGI courses and more information is available at www.PineLakes.com.
About Founders Group International
Founders Group International (FGI) is the foremost golf course owner-operator company in the Southeastern United States. Formed in 2014 through various purchases and the 2015 acquisition of National Golf Management, FGI owns and operates 21 golf courses (405 holes) in and around Myrtle Beach, S.C., America’s seaside golf capital.
Those courses include Pine Lakes Country Club, the “granddaddy” of Myrtle Beach area courses; TPC Myrtle Beach, host site of the 2019 NCAA Division I men’s golf regional and Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship; and Grande Dunes Resort Club, home of the Grande Dunes Golf Performance Center.
FGI administers www.MBN.com, a leader in online tee time bookings, as well as package outlet Myrtle Beach Golf Trips. With the help of Golf Insider’s 100 percent player-generated course ranking system, thousands of golfers plan and assemble their ideal golf itineraries through FGI’s assets, including “top-100 caliber” courses Pawleys Plantation Golf & Country Club, King’s North at Myrtle Beach National Golf Club, and more than 80 other Myrtle Beach area courses.
More information about Founders Group International is available at www.foundersgroupinternational.com, www.mbn.com or MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com.
