Acclaimed Layout Advances to Compete for State Honors
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — TPC Myrtle Beach, one of the Grand Strand’s most lauded layouts, has been named Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association Course of the Year.
The MBAGCOA evaluates Golf Course of the Year. The MBAGCOA evaluates Golf Course of the Year nominees on four criteria: exceptional quality of the golf course, exceptional quality of the ownership and management, outstanding contribution to the community, and significant contribution to the game. By virtue of winning the award, TPC becomes a candidate for state and potentially national honors. Randy Laney, the head golf professional at The Witch Golf Club, was named MBAGCOA Employee of the Year. Known for his energetic personality, Laney’s willingness to help with any job, no matter how big or small, made Laney a natural for the award.
“We are thrilled that TPC Myrtle Beach has been recognized as the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association Course of the Year,” said Steve Mays, president of Founders Group International (FGI), TPC’s parent company. “TPC has always been an outstanding layout, and General Manager, Kevin Williamson, and Superintendent, Clay DuBose, work tirelessly to ensure the course exceeds the expectations of golfers. Winning Course of the Year honors is welcome validation of that work.”
“The name TPC is synonymous with great golf, and Founders Group International has made sure TPC Myrtle Beach is one of the best courses in South Carolina and beyond,” said Tracy Conner, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Course Owners Association. “From course conditions to customer service and the quality of the facility, TPC Myrtle Beach is richly deserving of being named Golf Course of the Year. Randy Laney is equally deserving of our Employee of the Year award. Randy’s work ethic and commitment to customer service have long made The Witch a favorite of golfers.”
Long known as one of the area’s best courses, TPC’s triumph was hardly a surprise. In recent years, FGI has invested more than $1 million in the Tour-quality facility, including a 2018 bunker renovation project that included the installation of the Better Billy Bunker system. As a result of the capital improvement projects, the course has been in superior condition, much to the delight of players in the Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship and the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship’s Myrtle Beach Regional, both events the course hosted in 2019. TPC Myrtle Beach is also an integral part of the Myrtle Beach community, annually providing more than $25,000 in greens fees to various charities and donating land that houses the Dustin Johnson Foundation, a gift that contributes to the organization’s ability to raise money. TPC, like all FGI courses, also donated a percentage of revenue from local rounds in October to victims of Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas.
TPC Myrtle Beach succeeds Meadowlands Golf Club as the MBAGCOA Course of the Year. The National Golf Course Owners Association implemented the award in 1996 and the MBAGCOA has since nominated courses from the Myrtle Beach area. Past recipients of the award include Man O’War Golf Club (2017), Litchfield Country Club (2016), River Oaks (2015), Moorland Course at Legends Course (2014), Dye Club (2013), Dunes Club (2012), Founders Club (2011), Sandpiper Bay (2010) Shaftesbury Glen (2009), Grande Dunes (2008), Wachesaw Plantation East (2007), Burning Ridge (2006), TPC of Myrtle Beach (2005), Indian Wells Golf Club (2004), World Tour Golf Links (2003), Wild Wing Plantation (2002), Blackmoor (2001), Tradition Golf Club (2000), Bay Tree Golf Plantation (1999), Arrowhead Country Club (1998) and Myrtle Beach National’s King’s North (1996). Five of the Myrtle Beach regional winners – Burning Ridge, TPC, Wild Wing, Tradition, Arrowhead and King’s North – also captured the state award. World Tour was named as the national “Golf Course of the Year.”
