Myrtle Beach's Grande Dunes Resort Club Honored as 2009 National Golf Course of the Year

The Resort Club at Grande Dunes, a course that credits its success to its staff and culture as much as course design and conditioning, has been named the National Golf Course Owner's Association's 2009 Golf Course of the Year.

Grande Dunes bested its competition every step of the way, first claiming "Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course of the Year" in July, and then being named "South Carolina Golf Course of the Year" in September. 

The "Course of the Year" Award honors a member that demonstrates four criteria: exceptional quality of the course, exceptional quality of ownership and management, outstanding contribution to its community and significant contribution to the game.

"I think we've created a culture that inspires our people to perform at a higher level," says bob Swezey, executive vice president of golf and resort operations for Burroughs & Chapin, which owns and manages Grand Dunes in Myrtle Beach, S.C. "If you help people feel better about themselves, they'll feel better about the place they work. In the end, the facility, customers, industry and community win."

Grande Dunes is the seventh Grand Strand golf course to win the region's state chapter award since it was implemented in 1996. The other winners were Burning Ridge, TPC, Wild Wing, Tradition, Arrowhead and King's North at Myrtle Beach National.

"The Grande Dunes Resort Course exemplifies the quality of golf in the Myrtle Beach area," said George Hilliard, Executive Director of the Myrtle Beach Golf Course Owners Association. "The management has played a significant role in developing the course, contributing back to the community, as well as enhancing the game of golf. We congratulate the Grande Dunes Resort Club for the honor they have received and are proud to have them as a member of the Myrtle Beach Golf Course Owners Assocation."

Past recipients of the NGCOA "Course of the Year" award include Saratoga National Golf Club (New York, 2005); Pebble Beach (Oregon, 2006); The Legends Golf Club (Minnesota, 2007) and Reynolds Plantation (Georgia, 2008).

Grande Dunes will be honored on Feb. 3 at the 2009 NGCOA Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Grand Dunes has been ranked as one of the best daily fee courses in the U.S. by Golf magazine and last year was ranked by Golfweek as one of South Carolina's 10 "Best Courses You Can Play."

Designed by Roger Rulewich, the Grand Dunes Resort Club offers a dramatic design featuring seven holes that play along the Intracoastal Waterway. With its numerous elevation changes, wide Bermuda fairways, generous bent grass greens, and more than 34-acres of freshwater lakes, this course sets a new standard for world-class play.

Playing more than 7,600 yards from the back tees, Grand Dunes Resort Club is one of the longest courses on the East Coast.

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