Buddies trip Location for June 17-21, 2019

[Dave Saylor]

I have a group of 4 guys we are all turning 40 and have handicaps ranging from 3-9 and want to do special trip, but stay on a budget. We are looking for a budget trip similar to what we pay in Northern Michigan every year, around $125-150 a night with lodging/36 holes. We will play 36 each day for 5 days M-F.

 

I’ve been looking into Myrtle Beach for a couple years now because it fits our budget. I was concerned with working around aeration schedules that time of year, but figured with so many courses we could make it work. Now I’m ready to book and after reading what happened to the greens this winter has me concerned. I do not want to book a this trip and end up playing nice tracks with terrible greens.

 

Any advice best way to book this trip, like will a booking agent be able to keep me on good greens if I book now or should I wait, or even other locations that might be better would be appreciated. I looked into RTJ Trail but dealing with aeration schedules and driving seemed a bit much, we would like to play 8-10 different course over the trip. Thanks.

[krtgolfing]

I would just wait until the first couple of months in 2019 to book your golf tee times. It would not be a bad idea to start looking into living arrangements as Myrtle Beach will be very busy that time of year with families visiting for vacations. You would be better off booking the tee times by yourself. They typically release an aerification schedule the first of the year with preliminary dates. Greens should be back to normal next year unless we have another bad winter. I know a lot of the courses are working on them. There are plenty of courses that vast over 50+ miles or so, so obviously with 36 a day book courses that are close together / all on site such as Caledonia / True blue, Barefoot 4, Big Cat 4, etc.

[abergervt]

Rtj is great and the drives aren't that bad if you did it right I bet it would be a Max of 2 hrs from one to the other. Would also look into Pinehurst as that might be off season and you could rent a house. Or come up to new England and bounce around

[ArtMBgolf]

MB greens recovery is doing well. Should be all good by fall. Many courses are good now. Only another bad winter kill winter will cause a repeat.

You can keep planning and book after the new year. Many packagers wont have 2019 rates on all courses yet.

June is not busy for golf in MB, so you don't have to book too soon. Even Feb-March should be fine to book. Except for a few courses,

they don't fill up as quickly as ads imply, especially in June.

 

Condos off the beach will be lower cost and not fighting the crowds and ocean view rates.

Courses will range in price from $50 to $125 or so, so your cost is determined a lot by the courses you pick.

 

I feel it works best if you research courses you like or are impressed by at a rate you will pay. Then post the list and let others tell you

if they are good picks or not.

 

Brian at MyrtleBeachGolfPackagers.com will be great to work with, has good rates and will know aeration dates, but not until spring.

Courses won't all aerate at the same time. He can book golf only if you rather book a room yourself.

 

RTJ seems like too much driving and not enough entertainment. I have not been to RTJ, so IMO.

 

In MB, the best way to keep costs down and play a variety of courses is to play at multi course sites or courses with a sister course nearby.

Then book early AM and don't book the PM round. You can get a replay rate at about half the package rate, on same course or a sister course,

plus you have the option to not play the PM round if bad weather or tired. If you actually want to play 2 specific courses guaranteed, you can

book both rounds, but the PM round will be at the full rate.

 

Example: Play MBNatl Kings North AM, get a replay on KN, West, South or nearby Wild Wing.

Play Caledonia + replay at True Blue.

 

You could get the popular Legends Pkg to cover 2 days. Then book 4 FGI courses for the rewards Pkg gift card.

[Roadking2003]

Since June would be off season at both MB and RTJ, you should be able to get cheap rooms and easy tee times.

 

Personally, I prefer RTJ over MB because I love the rolling hills. Ross Bridge is spectacular.

 

But I've only played a few courses in both areas.

[18underpar]

How about the Cabot Resort in Nova Scotia, Canada? Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs are unreal and your USD will go a long way in Canada. Cabot Cliffs is a Coore/Crenshaw design and is seriously one of the best courses I've ever played. Every hole just has that WOW factor. We did a full trip report a few years ago when Cliffs just opened on our online magazine, but if you have any questions, let me know!

[NCLancer]

36 a day for 5 days straight in mid-June in Myrtle Beach? I know people can do it but the heat/humidity would do me in eventually!

Any concern about the weather? Or am I being too cautious?

[Roadking2003]

How about the Cabot Resort in Nova Scotia, Canada? Cabot Links and Cabot Cliffs are unreal and your USD will go a long way in Canada. Cabot Cliffs is a Coore/Crenshaw design and is seriously one of the best courses I've ever played. Every hole just has that WOW factor. We did a full trip report a few years ago when Cliffs just opened on our online magazine, but if you have any questions, let me know!

 

I'm going there next year, but it is very expensive even with the exchange rate. I would not recommend it for anybody on a budget.

[bmellisen]

36 a day for 5 days straight in mid-June in Myrtle Beach? I know people can do it but the heat/humidity would do me in eventually!

Any concern about the weather? Or am I being too cautious?

 

No I’d be worried about it too. MB probably hits his budget but that was the first thing I was thinking. 5 days of 36 would be a challenge(especially in MB if you go out at night).

 

 

[krtgolfing]

36 a day for 5 days straight in mid-June in Myrtle Beach? I know people can do it but the heat/humidity would do me in eventually!

Any concern about the weather? Or am I being too cautious?

 

36 a day is not bad, just depends if your in good shape / not partying the night before. I have done 36 holes for a week straight in the summer and been fine. Would I do that now, probably not. I could see doing 36, 18, 36, 18, etc. You also need to worry about the afternoon showers as there is typically a 30-40 percent chance of rain everyday, so bring rain gear.

[tiderider]

I have a group of 4 guys we are all turning 40 and have handicaps ranging from 3-9 and want to do special trip, but stay on a budget. We are looking for a budget trip similar to what we pay in Northern Michigan every year, around $125-150 a night with lodging/36 holes. We will play 36 each day for 5 days M-F.

 

I’ve been looking into Myrtle Beach for a couple years now because it fits our budget. I was concerned with working around aeration schedules that time of year, but figured with so many courses we could make it work. Now I’m ready to book and after reading what happened to the greens this winter has me concerned. I do not want to book a this trip and end up playing nice tracks with terrible greens.

 

Any advice best way to book this trip, like will a booking agent be able to keep me on good greens if I book now or should I wait, or even other locations that might be better would be appreciated. I looked into RTJ Trail but dealing with aeration schedules and driving seemed a bit much, we would like to play 8-10 different course over the trip. Thanks.

 

yeah, rtj would be a horrible trip in august ... just based on the heat alone ... there's quite a bit of green management during the summer at most of the courses, i suspect, though i only know for sure about my home course at oxmoor valley ... they have not redone the greens in 20 years while every other site has, so maybe there's not as much management needed ... but, if you're on a budget, down south is the only place in the summer that fits ...

[Dave Saylor]

36 a day for 5 days straight in mid-June in Myrtle Beach? I know people can do it but the heat/humidity would do me in eventually!

Any concern about the weather? Or am I being too cautious?

 

36 a day is not bad, just depends if your in good shape / not partying the night before. I have done 36 holes for a week straight in the summer and been fine. Would I do that now, probably not. I could see doing 36, 18, 36, 18, etc. You also need to worry about the afternoon showers as there is typically a 30-40 percent chance of rain everyday, so bring rain gear.

 

I was a little concerned about the heat, but we are all in pretty good shape. Our yearly trip in Northern Michigan usually consists of 36,54,54.

 

Thanks for all your feedback.

[BirdieRoll]

For the June dates you're proposing I think playing in the upper Midwest makes the most sense.

 

The Brainerd golf trail, 2.5 hours north of the Twin Cities, offers a lot of good golf close together plus you have The Classic golf course (which does their own marketing but is in the Brainerd area) as well as Minnesota National, about an hour and twenty minutes to the northeast. There's also some good golf right on the way to the Brainerd area.

 

All sorts of lodging and package offerings are available and are very affordable compared to other parts of the country. Average temp is 77 that time of year and the sun doesn't set until after 9pm.

 

https://www.brainerdgolftrail.com

[2ball]

I have a group of 4 guys we are all turning 40 and have handicaps ranging from 3-9 and want to do special trip, but stay on a budget. We are looking for a budget trip similar to what we pay in Northern Michigan every year, around $125-150 a night with lodging/36 holes. We will play 36 each day for 5 days M-F.

 

I’ve been looking into Myrtle Beach for a couple years now because it fits our budget. I was concerned with working around aeration schedules that time of year, but figured with so many courses we could make it work. Now I’m ready to book and after reading what happened to the greens this winter has me concerned. I do not want to book a this trip and end up playing nice tracks with terrible greens.

 

Any advice best way to book this trip, like will a booking agent be able to keep me on good greens if I book now or should I wait, or even other locations that might be better would be appreciated. I looked into RTJ Trail but dealing with aeration schedules and driving seemed a bit much, we would like to play 8-10 different course over the trip. Thanks.

 

save on airfare and road trip it down to kentucky

 

http://www.kentuckygolfvacations.com/

http://www.mygolfvacation.com/destArea2013.asp?Area=Nashville

[TK3]

If you don't mind the heat, PHX / Scottsdale is the place to go. Top notch golf courses at Muni prices that time of year. Same with the hotel or AirBnb or just renting a timeshare. A couple of years ago, we rented a 3 bedroom condo on GrayHawk for $125/night. Now divide that by 4 players....

 

Best courses to hit would be:

• WeKoPa - 36 holes
  
• GrayHawk - 36 holes
  
• Troon North - 36 holes
  
• Talking Stick - 36 holes
  
• TPC - 36 holes
  

All these can be had for $35-$75 for 18 holes. And guaranteed 100% sunshine :taunt:

[padget]

36 a day for 5 days straight in mid-June in Myrtle Beach? I know people can do it but the heat/humidity would do me in eventually!

Any concern about the weather? Or am I being too cautious?

 

It's going to be hot and humid as @#$_#. I live about an hour and half south of there. If you are in shape and just there for golf, have at it and props to you for being a beast. But I usually take June and August off. But I'm not exactly in peak shape either lol.

 

The courses will be in great shape and you will get some coastal breeze.

[mallrat]

Has Bend, Oregon been brought up?

 

Tons of options for places to stay. There are resorts and individual courses so you could be a part of a stay and play packages. For example you could do something like...

 

- 36 @ Sunriver (2 courses and the possibility of Crosswater)

- 36 @ Eagle Crest (not amazing courses but fun)

- 36 @ Pronghorn (1 private and 1 public but you can get on the private)

- 36 @ Black Butte Ranch

- 18 @ Tetherow & 18 @ Juniper

 

Weather should be perfect that time of year (think mid 80’s to low 90’s with about 10-15% humidity). More breweries and brew pubs than you could possible want including easy to schedule tours of either 10 Barrel or Deschutes. A small city so traffic getting around isn’t an issue.

[Dancin]

I went to Myrtle Beach for 12 years with 30+ guys. If you can handle the heat in June, that's probably the best place to get within your budget and have a large selection of good quality courses. We went to RTJ one year and the driving sucks. Yeah it's about 2 hours, but you're doing that every day if you want to hit as many different courses as you are talking about playing. I tell anyone going to RTJ to focus on one area of the state and play the courses multiple times. Do no more than one drive between different courses. And if you're looking for nighttime activities, forget about it on the RTJ trail.

[Skeeterfire]

Imo he Classic is over rated. Good track, sure but think I’d rather play Deacon’s Or the Preserve straight up, and Classic comes at about 2x the price.

 

Some good golf in Brainerd area, and trip can be relatively cheap.

 

Pricier, but Sand Valley, Erin hills and Kohler courses a better golf trip.

[snoilr1]

Since June would be off season at both MB and RTJ, you should be able to get cheap rooms and easy tee times.

 

June is off season for golf in Myrtle, but is beginning of high season for beach vacations. Don’t wait on booking a room.

 

The winter kill was kind of a freak occurrance this year. I wouldn’t be overly worried about it happening a second year in a row.