Press Releases

Champions Golf Academy Changes Name to Hugh Royer Champions Golf Academy

06/02/2009

Grand Strand Golf School to Host Hurricane Junior Golf Tour’s Myrtle Beach Open, June 13-14

June 2, 2009, North Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Representatives from the Champions Golf Academy announced today that the two-year-old golf school will now be known as the Hugh Royer Champions Golf Academy. Located at the Long Bay Club in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Hugh Royer CGA (HRCGA) was created to meet the needs of golfers at every stage of their amateur and professional development. The HRCGA provides a comprehensive development platform for golfers seeking to dramatically improve their ability to compete effectively and win, by providing state-of-the-art equipment and expert coaching and instruction.

The HRCGA will play host to the Myrtle Beach Junior Open, a stop on the national Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, June 13-14 at Long Bay. The 36-hole event is open to all junior golfers between the ages of 10 to 19 years of age. Golfers will be grouped according to their age and will receive points based on their finish. The winners of each age division will advance to the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour Championship Invitation at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, Fla. in December.

The first round begins Saturday, June 13, with tee times starting at 8:06 a.m. After golf, participants and their families are invited to a tournament cookout, catered by Ruth’s Chris Steak House, along with a clinic hosted by the HRCGA instructional staff, Nike Golf and Sunset Beach Putters. The final round is scheduled to begin Sunday, June 14 at 8:06 a.m. with the awards ceremony to be held immediately after golf.

“We’re excited to launch our new name and welcome the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour to Myrtle Beach,” said Royer, director of instruction and former PGA TOUR player. “My family has been involved in playing and teaching the game of golf for decades and we decided to change the name of the Academy to reflect those achievements. By hosting the Myrtle Beach Junior Open, we hope to introduce local junior golfers to competitive golf and provide an opportunity from them to participate and possibly compete in the tournament’s championship in Fla. later in 2009.”

To register for the Myrtle Beach Junior Open or for more information on the Hugh Royer Champions Golf Academy, call (843) 399-1551 or visit HughRoyerCGA.com.

About the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour
The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour was founded with the intention of providing junior golfers between the ages of 10-19 an opportunity to play exceptional courses in a competitive environment. Play is open to both males and females with the following age divisions; boys 16-19; boys 13-15; boys 10-12; girls 15-19; and girls 10-14.

The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour has set up a point’s race which will run throughout the year. Each and every tournament the HJGT conducts, there will be points awarded for top ten finishers in each division. At the end of the year, the HJGT will conduct its year end tour championship. The tour championship will be an invitational for those who have won a tour event and those who have accumulated the most points. A points champion will be declared in each age division with a trophy presentation prior to the December tour championship.

About The Hugh Royer Champions Golf Academy
Led by former PGA TOUR player Hugh Royer, III, the Hugh Royer Champions Golf Academy is one of the most distinctive golf learning centers in the country as it features comprehensive training programs for players of all ages and skill levels. Located at the Long Bay Club, a Jack Nicklaus Signature Course in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Hugh Royer CGA opened in March 2007, and debuted its new Long Bay learning center on April 21, 2008. The learning center features an 8,000 square-foot short game area with chipping, putting and bunker practice sites, a 3,500 square-foot building for the offices and golf-specific fitness room, three private teaching bays, state-of the-art video equipment, extensive club fitting technology and a student lounge. Sports psychologist Stephen A. Russo, Ph.D. assists players in handling the mental pressures of the game, and accommodations are included with many of the programs.

Royer turned professional in 1987, and played three years on the PGA Tour, where he captured four wins on the Nationwide Tour and one victory on the South African Tour. After his retirement in 2000, Royer opened the Columbus Golf Academy in Columbus, Ga., where he served as the Director of Instruction. Royer taught more than three years at the International Junior Golf Academy on Hilton Head Island, S.C. and has worked with PGA, LPGA, Nationwide, and Hooters Tour players, in addition to teaching junior, collegiate and amateur players.

About The Myrtle Beach National Company
The Myrtle Beach National Company has evolved into one of the leading golf course ownership and management operations in the Southeast, featuring many of the most well-respected signature courses along the Grand Strand. The company formed in 1971 with the construction of the Arnold Palmer-designed original 54-hole golf complex, which includes the West Course, Southcreek (both designed by Francis Duane and Arnold Palmer) and King’s North, also an Arnold Palmer design that has achieved national notoriety. Myrtle Beach National also owns and operates the Robert Trent Jones designed Waterway Hills, Jack Nicklaus’ Long Bay, Tom Jackson’s River Club and Aberdeen Country Club, Dan Maple’s Willbrook Plantation and Willard Byrd’s Litchfield Country Club, all premier Myrtle Beach area signature courses. Myrtle Beach National assumed management of Blackmoor Golf Club, a Gary Player signature course, in September of 2008.

Myrtle Beach National has hosted tournaments for men, women, senior or junior golfers for more than 35 years to help grow the game of golf. Every November, Myrtle Beach National-sponsored George Holliday Memorial Tournament, recently named one of the top-ranked junior tournaments by the Heritage Classic Foundation, draws more than 300 prep golfers to the Grand Strand. During the spring, Myrtle Beach National welcomes more than 150 junior golfers to the area during Easter weekend for the Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Shoot-out Tournament. In the fall, Myrtle Beach National welcomes women golfers and couples to the Grand Strand for “The Carolina Couples Classic” and “Just Girls Weekend.” For more information, visit MBN.com or call 1-800-882-2614.

Back to top

Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort to Host Carolina Couples Event

05/29/2009

May 29, 2009, Pawleys Island, S.C. – The 13th annual Carolina Couples Classic, the premier couples’ golf tournament in South Carolina, will be held October 8-11, 2009, at Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort in historic Pawleys Island. The Carolina Couples Classic attracts couples from across the country to compete for gifts and prizes.

Over the 12 years of the tournament, more than 700 couples have participated representing states such as Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. In addition to the two-person team competition, this year’s event again includes an Intra-Club Competition with additional prizes for the teams representing the winning golf club.

“The Carolina Couples Classic is the premier couples’ golf event in the Carolina’s,” said Jim Woodring, vice president of golf operations for the Myrtle Beach National Company. “We welcome back many couples who mark the Classic dates on their calendar every year and come for the competition, the great golf and to see longtime friends that they’ve met at prior Carolina Couples Classics. We’re looking forward to the biggest weekend in Classic history this year.”

Participating golfers will receive one round of golf on both River Club and Willbrook Plantation; three nights of accommodations in a four-bedroom fairway villa at Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort, with single suite upgrades available; a daily breakfast buffet; a welcome reception and cocktail party on Thursday night; lunch on Friday and Saturday; Saturday night’s awards party; a welcome gift at registration; and tournament prizes.

Demo Day, an annual tradition at the Carolina Couples Classic, is scheduled for Friday, October 9th at the Litchfield Country Club driving range from 12:00 noon until 4:00 p.m. Demo Day offers Carolina Classic participants the opportunity to test the latest in golf equipment technology from manufacturers including Callaway, Nike, Ping and Taylor Made. Carolina Couples participants will receive complimentary club fitting and substantial discounts on all golf purchases.

The entry fee for the 2009 Carolina Couples Classic is $955 per couple, and group leaders who bring three or more couples will receive a $50 gift certificate to the River Club or Willbrook pro shops. To register, golfers should call 1-888-714-5935, or visit CarolinaCouplesGolf.com.

About Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort
Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort is one of the leading vacation and golf resorts on the east coast. The Resort features a variety of amenities including luxurious accommodations, three championship golf courses, one of America’s top tennis facilities, a full-service health club, and more. Litchfield Beach & Golf Resort is located on U.S. Highway 17 South in Pawleys Island, along the Waccamaw Golf Trail, just twenty minutes south of Myrtle Beach and one hour north of Charleston. For more information, call 1-888-766-4633 or visit LitchfieldBeach.com.

About The Myrtle Beach National Company
The Myrtle Beach National Company has evolved into one of the leading golf course ownership and management operations in the Southeast, featuring many of the most well-respected signature courses along the Grand Strand. The company formed in 1971 with the construction of the Arnold Palmer-designed original 54-hole golf complex, which includes the West Course, Southcreek (both designed by Francis Duane and Arnold Palmer) and King’s North, also an Arnold Palmer design that has achieved national notoriety. Myrtle Beach National also owns and operates the Robert Trent Jones designed Waterway Hills, Jack Nicklaus’ Long Bay, Tom Jackson’s River Club and Aberdeen Country Club, Dan Maple’s Willbrook Plantation and Willard Byrd’s Litchfield Country Club, all premier Myrtle Beach area signature courses. Myrtle Beach National assumed management of Blackmoor Golf Club, a Gary Player signature course, in September of 2008.

Myrtle Beach National has hosted tournaments for men, women, senior or junior golfers for more than 35 years to help grow the game of golf. Every November, Myrtle Beach National-sponsored George Holliday Memorial Tournament, recently named one of the top-ranked junior tournaments by the Heritage Classic Foundation, draws more than 300 prep golfers to the Grand Strand. During the spring, Myrtle Beach National welcomes more than 150 junior golfers to the area during Easter weekend for the Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Shoot-out Tournament. In the fall, Myrtle Beach National welcomes women golfers and couples to the Grand Strand for “The Carolina Couples Classic” and “Just Girls Weekend.” For more information, visit MBN.com or call 1-800-882-2614.

Back to top

Myrtle Beach National Hosting Retired Military Golf Classic

05/26/2009

May 26, 2009, Myrtle Beach, S.C. - The Myrtle Beach National Company is playing host to the 26th Annual National Retired Military Golf Classic, May 26 through May 30, 2009. The tournament is a captain’s choice format at five Myrtle Beach championship golf courses; King’s North at Myrtle Beach National, South Creek at Myrtle Beach National, the West Course at Myrtle Beach National, the Long Bay Club and Aberdeen Country Club.

The men’s tournament consists of 72 holes while the women will utilize a 54-hole competition with the courses and foursomes rotated each day. New in 2009, golfers are allowed to use Range finders during the tournament. The registration fee runs $265 for men and $220 for women and includes the golf and cart fees, awards, special drawings, a Retired Military Classic golf shirt, a man’s hat or a women’s visor and mulligans.

Team and individual prizes will be awarded with golf vacations, gift certificates and cash as the prizes. A closest-to-the-pin contest will be held each day and golfers can win a ___ car with a hole-in-one. More than $60,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded during the tournament.

“The Myrtle Beach National Company is honored to once again welcome active and retired military personnel to Myrtle Beach for the 2009 National Retired Military Golf Classic,” said Jim Woodring, vice president of golf operations at Myrtle Beach National. “This is our 26th year hosting the tournament with military members representing more than 24 military bases. This is a week that many participants put on their calendars well in advance as they look forward to both the camaraderie and competition that the week offers.”

For more information on the tournament, call 1-866-469-7853 or visit NRMGC@oceanaresorts.com. About The Myrtle Beach National Company
The Myrtle Beach National Company has evolved into one the leading golf course ownership and management operations in the Southeast, featuring many of the most well-respected signature courses along the Grand Strand. The company formed in 1971 with the construction of the Arnold Palmer-designed original 54-hole golf complex, which includes the West Course, Southcreek (both designed by Francis Duane and Arnold Palmer) and King’s North, also an Arnold Palmer design that has achieved national notoriety. Myrtle Beach Nation has grown to include the Robert Trent Jones designed Waterway Hills, Jack Nicklaus’ Long Bay, Tom Jackson’s River Club and Aberdeen Country Club, Dan Maple’s Willbrook Plantation and Willard Byrd’s Litchfield Country Club, all premier Myrtle Beach area signature courses. In September 2008, Myrtle Beach National took over the management of Blackmoor Golf Club.

Myrtle Beach National has hosted tournaments for men, women, senior or junior golfers for more than 35 years to help grow the game of golf. Every November, Myrtle Beach National sponsored George Holiday Memorial Tournament, recently named one of the top-ranked junior tournaments by the Heritage Classic Foundation, draws more than 300 prep golfers to the Grand Strand. During the spring, Myrtle Beach National welcomes more than 150 junior golfers to the area during the Easter weeked for the Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Shoot-out Tournament. In the fall, Myrtle Beach National welcomes women golfers and couples to the Grand Strand for “The Carolina Couples Classic” and “Just Girls Weekend.” For more information, visit MBN.com or call 1-800-882-2614.

Back to top

Litchfield Country Club Offers Launch Your Game Series, April 16 and May 1

04/14/2009

South Myrtle Beach National Course to Provide Complimentary Lessons, Newest Technology Testing and Special Deals on Apparel and Equipment to Golfers

April 14, 2009, Pawleys Island, S.C. – Grand Strand golfers can get their game ready for the spring by participating in the “Launch Your Game” series to be held at Litchfield Country Club driving range Thursday, April 16th and Friday, May 1st. Each session will run from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. and there is no charge to the public to participate. On April 16, Callaway Golf and Nike will be showcased with Ping and Cleveland Golf visiting on May 1st.

Golfers have the opportunity to test out the latest golf equipment, receive custom club fittings, order new clubs and receive discounts for all special orders that day. Litchfield Country Club teaching professionals will also be on hand both days to give free golf instruction to participants. The driving range merchandise tent will feature great specials on golf balls, equipment and apparel for men and women. Golfer can also register to win a 20-inch Sharp Aquos flat screen television by participating in the “Launch Your Game” series.

“The ‘Launch Your Game’ series is the perfect opportunity for golfers to get ready for their best spring season ever,” said Christa Bodensteiner, head golf professional at Litchfield Country Club. “This year, our teaching professionals will be on hand both days to provide free golf instruction and help golfers cut strokes off their game. We hope that any golfer who really wants to play his or her best golf this spring to join us on April 16th and May 1st.”

For more information or to register, contact Litchfield Country Club’s Pro Shop at (843) 237-3411, ext. 1.

About Myrtle Beach Golf
Myrtle Beach Golf is a division of the Myrtle Beach National Company which has evolved into one of the leading golf course ownership and management operations in the Southeast, featuring many of the most well-respected signature courses along the Grand Strand. The company formed in 1971 with the construction of the Arnold Palmer-designed original 54-hole golf complex, which includes the West Course, Southcreek (both designed by Francis Duane and Arnold Palmer) and King’s North, also an Arnold Palmer design that has achieved national notoriety. Myrtle Beach National has grown to include the Robert Trent Jones designed Waterway Hills, Jack Nicklaus’ Long Bay, Tom Jackson’s River Club and Aberdeen Country Club, Dan Maple’s Willbrook Plantation and Willard Byrd’s Litchfield Country Club, all premier Myrtle Beach area signature courses. In September of 2008, Myrtle Beach National took over the management of Blackmoor Golf Club.

Myrtle Beach National has hosted tournaments for men, women, senior or junior golfers for more than 35 years to help grow the game of golf. During the spring, Myrtle Beach National welcomes more than 150 junior golfers to the area during Easter weekend for the Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Shoot-out Tournament. Every November, Myrtle Beach National-sponsored George Holliday Memorial Tournament, recently named one of the top-ranked junior tournaments by the Heritage Classic Foundation, draws more than 300 prep golfers to the Grand Strand. In the fall, Myrtle Beach National welcomes women golfers and couples to the Grand Strand for “The Carolina Couples Classic” and “Just Girls Weekend.” For more information, visit MBN.com or call 1-800-882-2614.

Back to top

Clay D. Brittain, Jr. Inducted into Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame

03/23/2009

Clay D. Brittain, Jr., chairman emeritus of the Myrtle Beach National Company, was inducted as an inaugural member of the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame in a March 12th ceremony held at Pine Lakes Country Club. Along with fellow 2009 Hall of Fame class members Cecil Brandon, Carolyn Cassidy Cudone, Jimmy D’Angelo, General James F. Hackler, Jr. and Robert White, Brittain was recognized for his many contributions to the Myrtle Beach area golf industry.

The Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame was created in September 2008 and individuals were nominated by members of the Myrtle Beach golf industry during the fall. The Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame Board of Directors reviewed each nomination before selecting the most outstanding candidates. All inductees are honored with a permanent monument located in the Pine Lakes Country Club Hall of Fame Garden, adjacent to the newly renovated course and clubhouse.

“I will never forget this day,” said Brittain. “It’s an honor to be among these six wonderful people who all contributed to the Myrtle Beach golf industry. I’d like to express my gratitude to Burroughs & Chapin Company for establishing the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame and the Hall of Fame Board of Directors who included me in this group of inductees.”

“Clay Brittain has always been a tireless promoter of Myrtle Beach golf and tourism” said Pete Pearce, chairman of Myrtle Beach National. “I started working with Clay soon after I moved to Myrtle Beach in 1962 and we were part of the ownership group that formed Myrtle Beach National in 1971. Clay was a driving force behind the success of Myrtle Beach National and it would not be the company that it is today without his leadership. Clay is a grand person and is a deserved member of the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame.”

“You could search the world over and not find a finer, more loyal friend than Clay Brittain,” said Cecil Brandon. “Our friendship is not only one I have thoroughly enjoyed but has been beneficial to all aspects of my public and private life. I am sure all of his other friends feel the same way.”

A 40-year veteran of the golf industry, Clay Brittain, Jr. played an instrumental role in uniting the golf and tourism industries in Myrtle Beach. A native of North Carolina, Brittain moved to Myrtle Beach after college and purchased his first Grand Strand property in 1952 with a 50 percent interest in the Second Avenue Fishing Pier. Hurricane Hazel washed the entire pier away in 1954, but Brittain traded his share in the fishing pier lot for half interest in Sea Captain’s House, the first independent oceanfront restaurant in Myrtle Beach.

Brittain and several Myrtle Beach area hotel owners banded together to form the Myrtle Beach National Company in 1971, and Brittain was named as the first president. The hotel owners wanted to sell golf packages through their hotels but needed golf courses due to the shortage of tee times. Under his leadership, Myrtle Beach National built and acquired nine golf courses through the years and became one of the largest course and accommodation ownership groups in the Southeast. One of his first calls was to Arnold Palmer to ask him to design three premier signature golf courses at Myrtle Beach National. In later years, Mr. Brittain had the foresight to steer the company’s accommodations toward condominiums, a growing trend in Myrtle Beach real estate. In 1997, Brittain was named chairman of Myrtle Beach National until his retirement in 2006.

Brittain was also an important partner in the birth of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday in 1967, a marketing cooperative formed with the goal of promoting the Myrtle Beach area as the world’s premier golf destination.

While shaping Myrtle Beach National, Brittain also helped develop the entire Myrtle Beach golf industry by serving as president of the Myrtle Beach Golf Course Owners Association from 1991 through 1993, and later served as the vice president of the South Carolina Golf Course Owners Association. He was instrumental in urging the Myrtle Beach chapter to join the National Golf Courses Owners Association.

Largely responsible for establishing the PGA golf degree at Coastal Carolina University, Brittain was later honored for his contributions to the community in 2001, when the Clay Brittain, Jr. Center for Resort Tourism at the university was named in his honor. Brittain was the 2003 recipient of the Don Rossi Award from the National Golf Course Owners Association of America for his long-lasting contribution to the golf association. Brittain received the honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service from the University of South Carolina in 1989 and received the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest honor for a civilian from Governor Jim Hodges in 2000. In 2005, he was awarded the Ashby Ward Pioneer of the Year Award for the positive, significant impact he made in the Myrtle Beach area.

Back to top

Myrtle Beach National to Host Sixth Annual Junior Golf Shootout, April 10-11, 2009

01/21/2009

January 21, 2009, Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Myrtle Beach National will play host to the sixth annual Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Shootout during Easter weekend, April 10-11, 2009. The spring partner of the George Holliday Tournament held annually in November, the Junior Golf Shootout, hosts more than 150 boys and girls between the ages of nine and 18 years of age for the two-day tournament. The tournament entry fee is $129 with a registration deadline of April 1, 2009.

Sponsored by Myrtle Beach National, PGA TOUR Superstore and Coca-Cola®, the Junior Golf Shootout features two tournament rounds at Myrtle Beach National’s Southcreek and West Course, lunch each day, a welcome gift, door prizes and fun for the entire family. Sanctioned by the South Carolina Junior Golf Association, tournament participants can earn points towards the Heritage Classic Foundation Rankings.

“The Junior Shootout is a great complement to our fall George Holliday Tournament and showcases college-talent bound players,” said Jim Woodring, vice president of golf operations for the Myrtle Beach National Company. “The Junior Shootout gets bigger and better each spring and offers the same competitive challenges for junior golfers, just earlier in the year. These events support our commitment to growing the game of golf with our yearly program of ‘Kids Play Free’ at all of our courses.”

For more information or to register for this year’s Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Shootout tournament, call 1-800-344-5590 or visit mbn.com.

About Myrtle Beach Golf
Myrtle Beach Golf is a division of the Myrtle Beach National Company which has evolved into one of the leading golf course ownership and management operations in the Southeast, featuring many of the most well-respected signature courses along the Grand Strand. The company formed in 1971 with the construction of the Arnold Palmer-designed original 54-hole golf complex, which includes the West Course, Southcreek (both designed by Francis Duane and Arnold Palmer) and King’s North, also an Arnold Palmer design that has achieved national notoriety. Myrtle Beach National has grown to include the Robert Trent Jones designed Waterway Hills, Jack Nicklaus’ Long Bay, Tom Jackson’s River Club and Aberdeen Country Club, Dan Maple’s Willbrook Plantation and Willard Byrd’s Litchfield Country Club, all premier Myrtle Beach area signature courses. In September of 2008, Myrtle Beach National took over the management of Blackmoor Golf Club.

Myrtle Beach National has hosted tournaments for men, women, senior or junior golfers for more than 35 years to help grow the game of golf. During the spring, Myrtle Beach National welcomes more than 150 junior golfers to the area during Easter weekend for the Myrtle Beach Junior Golf Shoot-out Tournament. Every November, Myrtle Beach National-sponsored George Holliday Memorial Tournament, recently named one of the top-ranked junior tournaments by the Heritage Classic Foundation, draws more than 300 prep golfers to the Grand Strand. In the fall, Myrtle Beach National welcomes women golfers and couples to the Grand Strand for “The Carolina Couples Classic” and “Just Girls Weekend.” For more information, visit MBN.com or call 1-800-882-2614.

###

Back to top

View Archived Press Releases