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The Dunes Golf and Beach Club
9000 North Ocean Boulevard
Myrtle Beach, SC 29572 USA
(843) 449-5236
www.thedunesclub.netPage Tools
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The Dunes Golf and Beach Club
Renovated Dunes Golf and Beach Club Set to Reopen
Courtesy of Alan Blondin
The Sun News
The par-5 13th hole at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club is the course's signature hole and has been extended approximately 30 yards to 620. (Photo courtesy of The Sun News)
A two-month renovation project has concluded, and The Dunes Golf and Beach Club is reopening this weekend with new greens and 175 yards of added length.
The Dunes Club will host the PGA Professional National Championship next summer along with the Grande Dunes Resort Course, and it will host the final two rounds exclusively. The course's A1 bentgrass greens have been converted to more heat tolerant Champion Bermudagrass, and the Robert Trent Jones layout has been stretched to 7,370 yards, with all but 30 of the extra yards added to the front nine. "Being at sea level, that's plenty of yardage," Dunes Club superintendent Steve Hamilton said. The changes are generally part of a master plan drawn up in 2003 by heralded course designer Rees Jones for his father's layout, which opened in 1948. Jones revisited his master plan in January, and twice visited the course while it was closed to check on the changes, the last visit coming on Aug. 1. "I think we just followed in the footsteps of what my dad did originally back in 1948, and we're adding a little bit of length here and there because the ball is going farther and making the holes play pretty much the same way my father designed them," Jones said. "... Dad had the elasticity on this course." The course will open Saturday for a pair of members-only shotgun starts in the morning and afternoon. The afternoon shotgun was added after members quickly filled the morning spots. "I think there is a little pent up anxiety to get back to the club," Dunes Club head pro Dennis Nichol said. The Dunes Club allows limited outside play through select hotels, and some of those tee times become available beginning Sunday. Yardage was added through new or extended tee boxes to the par-4 second, par-4 third, par-5 fourth, par-3 fifth, par-4 seventh, par-4 eighth, par-3 ninth, and par-5 13th holes. Changes in addition to length include a new bunker on the left side of the fairway on the par-4 first hole, and a rebuilt front greenside bunker on the par-4 seventh to lessen the steepness of the bunker face. "You talk about a course that has withstood the test of time, it's The Dunes Club," Jones said. "The tree canopy, there's nothing quite like it. Every tree has a wonderful canopy. It's really like 'Gone with the Wind.'" A late decision that was not part of the master plan was made to shift the front greenside bunker on the 430-yard par-4 11th hole - a tough dogleg right with a green that is a near-peninsula into marsh - more to the right to open up the front of the hole. "We shifted the bunker right so they could access the green on the ground on the left a little better," Jones said. "I wanted to open up the entrance because it is a tough shot for the average golfer. You're still going to have to thread the needle a little bit." Jones is particularly pleased with new tees on the par-4 second hole, which has extended to 445 yards, and par-5 fourth hole, which will lengthened to 535 yards. He said the new men's tee on the second hole that has been added to the right of the existing tee is primarily to open up the sharp dogleg left and bring drivers more into play to cut the dogleg. As trees along the dogleg have grown drivers have become obsolete on the hole. "The major tee change is on two," Jones said. The championship tee was moved back 30 yards on the dogleg-left fourth hole, which turns around bunkers and has water fronting the green near U.S. 17 Business. "I think the best tee is probably on No. 4," Jones said. "We're finally getting the length so the fairway bunker will come into play again for better players." The hitting area on the driving range has been expanded approximately 50 percent to 45,000 square feet. "I think The Dunes Club has always been a standard for golf in the south," Jones said. "It's a wonderful place to visit. When you come here you want to come back.... I love this place." Course Photos
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Before & After Photos
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Golf Advisor Editor-at-Large Matt Ginella Explores TPC Danzante Bay at The Islands of Loreto in Mexico with Rees Jones. - TOURNAMENT VENUES
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