Players should be hitting a lot more greens in regulation this fall at Long Bay Golf Club.
The popular Jack Nicklaus design is slated to close May 17 for a greens renovation project that will dramatically expand the size of the course’s putting surfaces. Long Bay, which opened in 1988, currently has 66,000-square-feet of putting surface, a number that will expand to 110,000-square-feet when the course reopens in early August.
That’s not a typo: the project will restore Long Bay’s greens to their original size, expanding them by 66 percent. Long Bay will be installing TifEagle bermudagrass, a hearty ultradwarf strain that performs exceedingly well in Myrtle Beach’s subtropical climate.
Featuring sprawling waste bunkers and mounding, Long Bay has long been one of the area’s most popular courses, highlighted by a back nine that features three of Myrtle Beach’s most acclaimed holes. The short, par 4 No. 10, the island green par 3 12th, and No. 18 a dramatic dogleg right that plays around a lake, were ranked among the area’s top 100 holes in a list compiled by the Sun News, and they are at the heart of the layout’s appeal.
Long Bay will join Pawleys Plantation, also a Nicklaus design, in undergoing a 2023 facelift. Founders Group International, Myrtle Beach’s largest golf course ownership group and Long Bay’s
parent company, has made course renovation and maintenance a cornerstone of its plan to become one of America’s premier golf course management companies.
In addition to Pawleys and Long Bay, Grande Dunes Resort Course, TPC Myrtle Beach, Pine Lakes Country Club, River Hills, and the Palmetto Course at Myrtlewood are among the FGI courses that have enjoyed major capital improvement projects in recent years.
Players have rewarded FGI’s commitment to improving their facilities, filling tee sheets and enjoying the best Myrtle Beach golf has to offer.
Long Bay’s new greens will ensure the layout is in prime condition for the peak fall season, allowing players to enjoy a stern but fair test on a course that is home to some of the area’s most memorable challenges.
(Long Bay 9th hole top photo, 13th hole pictured right)
