This Myrtle Beach golf course named one of SC’s best re-opens with renovation. What’s new?

One of the most well-respected golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area re-opened its front nine holes after undergoing renovation.

Myrtle Beach National’s King’s North course re-opened Oct. 3, 2024, according to an Oct. 4, 2024, press release from its parent company Founders Group International. Renovations to King’s North’s front nine holes included installing new Bermuda grass on the greens, re-doing every bunker and several specific alterations to different holes.

Founder’s Group initially announced the renovations in June 2024 and reported in a press release then that greens would expand by 36% and remove three fairway bunkers from hole number six. While extensive, King’s North’s back nine holes anticipate more renovations. Founder’s Group International’s Oct. 4, 2024, press release added that upgrades to the back nine holes are planned for the summer of 2025.

In 2024, Golfweek Magazine voted King’s North tied for the 11th best public golf course in South Carolina.

The changes were part of making the course more player-friendly. Easing the difficulty of golf courses and making them more compatible with golfers is part of a larger trend in the Grand Strand golf industry, often called improving “playability.” The shift toward playability is a nationwide phenomenon.

Jeremy Goldblatt is the chief operating officer at KemperSports, a national firm that owns and operates golf courses. KemperSports purchased North Myrtle Beach’s Tidewater Golf Course in August 2023 and owns and operates more than 140 golf course.

In an interview with The Sun News, Goldblatt said that making a golfer’s experience more enjoyable on the golf course is a key trend throughout the golf industry. He added that designer’s push to improve difficulty after Tiger Woods’ ascent to the top of the PGA in the late 1990s and early 2000s made golf less enjoyable for the recreational golfer.

“You want a chance to score well; you want a chance to be in the hole after your first shot. Which doesn’t mean it has to be easy, but we want to give people options a bit,” Goldblatt said. “I just think there was a trend where things just got out of hand in terms of force carries and pinpoint accuracy. Most of us don’t have an opportunity to play golf enough to be that good.”