Socializing, competition are the draw
Editor’s Note: This is the final part of a series of daily diary entries by Alabama Golf News Editor Gregg Dewalt, who competed in his first Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship, the largest gathering of amateur golfers in the world.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – It’s a little after 9 a.m. on a bright Saturday morning and inside the PGA Superstore, a long line of mostly middle-aged and senior men snakes through the building.
No, the newest TaylorMade driver isn’t being released to the public and ProV1s aren’t on sale. Instead, the folks waiting patiently in line are there to register for the 41st Myrtle Beach World Am and pick up their swag bags.
Even though the official tournament doesn’t start until the following Monday morning, it’s obvious from the chatter that everyone is eager to tee it up. Much of the conversation is about where people are from or their past experience competing in what is billed as one of the largest amateur golf tournaments in the world.
For a first-timer like myself, I wanted to soak in the entire World Am experience. With that in mind, I signed up for pre-tournament rounds at River Hills and True Blue that were basically just skins games and a chance to tune-up for the actual tournament.
The Myrtle Beach World Am is something to behold. This year’s tournament hosted 2,971 golfers according to the event’s homepage. Those players – representing 49 states and 18 countries – were divided into age groups and then placed into flights.
Included in the field were 45 players from Alabama, a number that surprised me. This year there were 60 competitione flights consisting of both men and women, and there were three “just for fun flights.” Play is conducted across 55 of the Grand Strand’s courses.
Each night, players, guests, sponsors and other community members gather at what is considered the world’s largest 19th hole at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. With open bars dotted across the expansive main floor, it’s a perfect spot to commiserate after a good or bad day on the course.
Vendors pitch everything from apparel and swing aids to golf gloves and destinations. Former PGA Tour player Charlie Rymer frequents the main stage offering commentary and interviewing guests while a loud din of conversation rises throughout the hall.
There are games – a long-putting contest and chipping contest – have a never-ending stream of contestants trying to win a variety of prizes. Just down the hall, a different band plays nightly with another bar stationed at the back of the room. It’s a popular gathering spot and as the booze flows, the dance floor fills with both good and not-so-good dancers. But everybody seems to be having a good time.
The Myrtle Beach World Am is both a serious golf tournament – players routinely get disqualified if their scores and GHIN handicaps don’t seem to jive – and a big fiesta celebrating the tournament.
Status quo works fine at World Am
First-year tournament director Ryan Hart spent the week soaking in the festivities. He has served the tournament in some capacity for more than a decade, but the 2024 event was his first as its director. Trying to keep things fresh and not trying to change anything that doesn’t need fixing is Hart’s goal.
“We try to come up with as many new things as we can,” he said on the final night. “Almost everything you can think of is already a part of it. To be honest, there are some things I try to think about and try in the future but most of the stuff is already here. Finding new and fresh stuff is something we are always trying to do, but we are already covered because we pretty much have everything. There’s really nothing missing.”
Hart said the World Am is a community event and wouldn’t be possible without the cooperation of the area’s golf courses. Everybody gets behind the tournament, which is somewhat of a boon for the local economy as summer winds down and the Labor Day weekend rush arrives.
Participants are assured four rounds of golf, with flight winners advancing to a fifth round to determine the overall champion. Upendra Modak of Charlotte, North Carolina, a 13-handicap player, won the overall tournament title by shooting a gross 81 (net 68) in the championship round played at the Grande Dunes Resort Course.
Most flights feature approximately 40 or more players – some have a few more, some a few less depending on the age group and handicap. I was in Flight 22 (Mid Senior Men) with 48 other players. All of us sported handicaps between 6-7, so the scoring is somewhat equitable. Handicaps are adjusted daily according the slope and rating of the day’s course. Our flight played TPC Myrtle Beach, Brunswick Plantation, Myrtlewood Country Club – Pine Hills and the
TPC Myrtle Beach was the best of the four, but the others were courses you certainly waant to visit on a trip to Myrtle Beach.
Mrytle Beach World Am gets plenty of repeat business
Many of the players make the tournament an annual golf vacation, but it is a serious competition. It’s that competition and the social aspect that had Huntsville’s Karla Young back for a fourth time.
“It’s the thrill of competition,” said Young, a veteran who works for the Department of Veteran Affairs. “It is a chance for me to see how I really stack up against people from all over the world, not just my local group. You get used to your local course, your home course. On this one, that is also the joy and the agony of the World Am. You are playing a different course every day and unless you are a local, you don’t know where to hit it and that adds to the anxiety of competitive play.”
Young heard about the tournament through Mary Moore, a friend who lives in Pelham.
She came once with some friends and she was raving about it. So, I was like I gotta come,” Young said. “So, I did.”
Moore, who is retired from the U.S. Army, has been playing in the Myrtle Beach World Am since 2016.
“When I come down here my hopes are very, very high,” she said. “I’ve only finished like top 5 so far, but I love playing the different golf courses and meeting different people.”
Both women love the the 19th hole.
“I love the atmosphere of the 19th hole,” Moore said.
Added Young, ““It plays a part because we will come visit. I get a chance to spend quality time with friends that I ordinarily don’t get to see that often. We’re living and playing and doing the things we love. The social aspect here is an added benefit for sure because it’s a chance to get some food and drinks.
Daryl Stedman, who lives in Owens Crossroads just east of Huntsville, was playing in his first World Am. An Army vet who said he first heard about the tournament while reading a golf magazine some 20 years ago, he was usually deployed overseas during tournament week and couldn’t compete. Now that he is retired, he decided to try his luck. He and his wife turned the tournament into a vacation.
“It is pretty much what I expected,” he said. It’s been fun. I didn’t play well but I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the courses we played on – Litchfield, River Hills, Tidewater. I thought there might be a little bit more going on at the golf courses. But everything is pretty much play and then come to the 19th hole.”
Stedman said he enjoyed wandering the 19th Hole floor and visiting with the numerous vendors. He liked the different food stations, too.
All three of the Alabamians I spoke with said they likely will return in 2025 and said they would recommend the tournament to their friends at home.
Hart: Tournament is in Myrtle Beach to stay
Hart, the tournament director, said he would love for the tournament to skew a little bit younger but said that demographic is tougher to attract for numerous reasons.
“I’d say that a lot of the 50- and 60-year-olds that play now did not play (in the tournament) in their 30s,” he said. “I am 43 and when I was 35 and 40 and not involved in the tournament, I would not have been able to play in it because my kids are back in school and I can’t get a hall pass from my wife. So, I think we see a lot of the older players because of where it falls on the calendar and because of the timing. We want to try anything we can to get younger people to come, but it is harder for them to get off work, check in on Sunday, play four rounds and hope to play on Friday, and miss an entire week where they are coming from.”
Although tournament numbers were down slightly from 2023, it didn’t diminish Hart and his team’s enthusiasm. He said the tournament has long been a staple of the community.
“Future of the tournament is bright,” he said. “We have to get more excitement, get the community more involved outside of the golf courses. I don’t know what the future holds, but I do know this event is going to be a staple of this town the entire time I am here. Whenever I leave for whatever reason, the tournament will still be here. It is all about the community coming together. It’s not going anywhere.”
“I plan to be back,” Moore said. “It’s so much fun. I get a vacation and play golf – it’s a winner, winner, chicken dinner.”
Gregg Dewalt is the editor of Alabama Golf News
Have a story idea or a news item to report to Alabama Golf News? Email gregg@alabamagolfnews.com
Featured image of an early-morning tee shot courtesy of the Myrtle Beach World Amateur
