Myrtle Beach’s Long Bay GC reopens with new greens

By Alabama Golf News Staff

Tifeagle surfaces offer faster, truer rolls

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Long Bay Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus design that is one of the Myrtle Beach area’s most popular layouts, reopened August 14 following a comprehensive greens restoration project.

Founders Group International, Long Bay’s parent company, closed the course on May 17 for an effort highlighted by the installation of TifEagle bermudagrass. The project also restored the layout’s greens to their original 1988 specifications. Prior to the project, Long Bay had approximately 70,000 square feet of putting surface, a number that has since been returned to Nicklaus’s original design of 110,000 square feet.

“We are so excited to welcome golfers back to Long Bay,” said Brandon Mensinger, Long Bay’s head professional. “Our new greens are in outstanding condition, and we have reclaimed more than 30,000-square-feet of putting surface, dramatically increasing the number of pinnable areas on each green. We are ready to go, and golfers can look forward to a smooth, fast roll this fall.”

New Tahoma 419 green collars at Long Bay

TifEagle, due to its resistance to mutation and its ability to produce an outstanding putting surface, has emerged as the grass of choice for many of Myrtle Beach’s premier courses, including the Grande Dunes Resort Course and Pawleys Plantation, the area’s other Nicklaus design.

In addition to the greens work, Long Bay also removed all the grass on the surrounding collars and resodded them with Tahoma 419, a hardy bermuda varietal that can withstand close mowing and also is resistant to mutation.

The expansion of Long Bay’s greens maximizes the creativity of the Nicklaus design and will enhance course conditions over time, allowing the staff to distribute traffic across the entirety of each green complex.

Located along the North Strand of the Myrtle Beach area, Long Bay Golf Club has long been a favorite of visiting golfers. Nicklaus used fairway bunkers and mounding to frame a course that rewards both power and precision. At the heart of Long Bay’s appeal is a back nine that is among the area’s best.

The short par 4 10th, featuring a fairway ringed by a waste bunker; the island gren, par 3 13th hole; and No. 18, a dramatic dogleg right that plays around a lake, were all ranked among Myrtle Beach’s top 100 holes, underscoring Long Bay’s appeal.

For more information on the course, visit www.LongBayGolfClub.com. For more information on Founders Group International, visit www.FoundersGolf.com.