Brunswick Isles Golf Trail Featured in the Wilmington Star News

(By Brian Mull)

Some golfers who visit Myrtle Beach prefer to stay and play in the middle of the action, minutes from the restaurants and nightlife plentiful on the Grand Strand. Others are more interested in hanging close to the state line, spending their days on the golf course, and their evenings relaxing at a condo or enjoying a laid-back meal. The recently formed Brunswick Isles Golf Trail seems to suit the latter group.

It’s a scenic tour, skimming the coastline, stretching north-to-south from Bald Head Island Club to Tidewater in North Myrtle Beach. There are 21 golf courses on the trail and three accommodations providers, including Coastal Golfaway, a Wilmington-based company that offers golf packages.

Tom Plankers, president of golf at Sea Trail, and Jack and Paul Himmelsbach of the Glens Group were responsible for organizing and forming the trail, which can be driven in about one hour. The concept is similar to the successful Waccamaw Trail, which features courses on the south end of the Grand Strand.

Golf course architects whose designs are featured on the trail include Arnold Palmer, Tim Cate, Rees Jones and Willard Byrd.

“We did it really to get a little more recognition in Brunswick county,” Plankers said. “Some of the nicest golf courses hooked into the Grand Strand are here. And those who want to go into Myrtle Beach and take in a show or something of that nature, they can be there in 20 minutes.”

Member courses from north to south are: Bald Head, Lockwood Folly, Rivers Edge, all four courses at Ocean Ridge Plantation, three courses at Sea Trail, Sandpiper Bay, The Thistle, The Pearl East and The Pearl West, Brunswick Plantation, Meadowlands, Farmstead, Heather Glen, Glen Dornoch, River Hills and Tidewater.

Former Echo Farms pro Jerry McGraw of Coastal Golfaway said it was a good way for the various package providers to work together and offer visitors the most affordable golf possible.

“We work together along the entire Grand Strand, it doesn’t hurt to centralize it a little bit,” said Thistle director of golf Gene Weldon. “We have great service, great food, and we’re trying to push our area a little bit in these tough economic times.”

Plankers doesn’t see the Brunswick Isles Golf Trail as direct competition with the Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday, which features 76 golf courses and more than 100 package and accommodations providers. Many courses belong to both the Trail and Golf Holiday.

“We get lost in the shuffle a bit,” Plankers said. “We’re making strides to get the player up this way. Once they find the courses we find a lot of repeat
business.”

With summer already the most affordable time to play golf in Brunswick County and Myrtle Beach, the founders are targeting the fall season for an official launch. They recently launched a Web site, brunswickislesgolftrail.com, created by Fuel Interactive, an interactive-only advertising agency.

“We think we’re getting the right level of response,” Plankers said. “We feel like this is going to be a good situation.”