In doing so you will help a wonderful cause and receive a great rate on each of our signature Courses of Distinction, rated by Golfweek magazine again for 2009.

Each year, Sea Trail donates thousands of cans of food to this cause.

The Rees Jones Course, the Dan Maples Course and the Willard Byrd Course at Sea Trail are just $35.00 each for green and cart fees with three cans of food.

Call 1-800-546-5748 for more details and tee times.

The summer’s biggest change took place at Rivers Edge, where the Arnold Palmer design has replaced all 18 greens.

At Sea Trail Golf Resort The back nine greens were converted to Champion Bermuda – a new strain of grass that will be easier to maintain in the Summer and will putt as fast as Bent grass. They also found the original shape of the greens and put them back to the shape when first built. They reopened Aug. 28, 2009 for play.

Arrowhead Country Club and Sandpiper Bay, both 27-hole facilities that have earned a 4-star ranking in Golf Digest’s prestigious “Best Place to Play” Guide, are converting nine holes to Mini-Verde Ultradwarf Bermudagrass.

Tidewater Golf Club, one of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, closed on June 22 for a six-week renovation project with an emphasis on the tee boxes.

From Golf Holiday By Chris King

It was late Saturday afternoon on a picturesque day in Myrtle Beach as six golfers laughed their way up the fairway after merging into one group on the final hole. After the last official putt dropped at the TPC of Myrtle Beach, all six hung around the green, chipping and putting for a couple extra bucks before reluctantly moving their party to the clubhouse to watch a Red Sox-Yankees game.

The beer was cold, the jokes all seemed funny and there wasn’t a care to be found, other than settling up enough side bets to confuse a hardened bookie.  It’s a scene that plays out at Myrtle Beach golf courses countless times every day

But for Dave Carlos, Rick Delisle, Jeff Kolodjay, his father Rob Kolodjay, Jorge Morgado and Jim Stefanik, their late April trip to Myrtle Beach carried more significance than most. A mixture of childhood friends and family, all six golfers grew up in Chicopee, Mass., population 54,693, and all were on ill-fated US Air Flight 1549, which plunged into the frigid Hudson River on January 15 after hitting a flock of geese.

Morgado and Stefanik are brothers-in-law, and Stefanik and Kolodjay are cousins, in addition to being former teammates on the Central Connecticut State golf team. Carlos grew up a few houses away from Kolodjay and attended Portuguese School with Morgado when they were kids. The group considered itself family before the crash, an event that solidified their bond even further.

All 155 people aboard the plane survived, a testament to the skill of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who is the only pilot to ever successfully dump a commercial aircraft in water, and considerable good fortune. The images of the plane floating in the Hudson are nearly as surreal as they are widespread.

The survivors stood on the Airbus A320’s wings with the New York City skyline serving as a backdrop on a brutally cold, winter day. The inauguration of a new president and the 24-hour news cycle make the months since the crash seem like an eternity for most people, but a man’s memory of facing his own mortality doesn’t fade as quickly.
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“It really changes the way you think about things,” Carlos said of the crash’s impact on his life. “It really puts things in perspective for you. Things that bother you in everyday life, don’t really bother you too much anymore. As time goes on, I’m sure the effects of the crash will wear off, but we are out here having fun and if you miss a shot, so be it.”

A little over three months after the crash, Carlos, Delisle, the Kolodjays, Morgado and Stefanik were able to coordinate their schedules and fulfill their annual Myrtle Beach golf trip, the opportunity to complete a vacation that nearly ended in disaster.

“It kind of makes whatever we do here much more important because we are looking at things a little different now,” Morgado said. “We kind of look at like we are an even closer pack of brothers than we were originally because of what we have gone through.”

What Morgado and his friends experienced in Myrtle Beach couldn’t have been more different than the frightening events of January. The group opted to drive down this time, eliminating any chance of airplane problems, and the April weather was ideal.

Legends Resort, the group’s annual base of operations, provided a three-bedroom condo and golf on the facility’s three courses – Heathland, Moorland and Parkland.

“I think the Legends Resort, as a whole, is the best place to stay in Myrtle Beach,” Jeff Kolodjay said. “I’ve come down 8 or 9 times, and we will never stay anywhere else. From breakfast in the morning to three championship courses, it’s unbelievable. “

Legends also arranged for them to play two of their offsite courses – Heritage Club, the 33rd ranked public course in America, and TPC of Myrtle Beach, the area’s only five-star layout. They also played a round at True Blue, one of the area’s most highly regarded courses, providing a top-shelf itinerary.

Martin’s PGA TOUR Superstore, a 60,000-square foot playground for golfers, gave each of them a $500 gift card, allowing them to replace the equipment, clothes and accessories they lost in the crash.

From Golf Holiday By Chris King

Champion Bermuda is a new strain of grass and will be easier to maintain in the Summer and will putt as fast as Bent grass.

Work began this week ( June 8th ) and they intend to re-open the course for play by August 28th of this year .

Tom says additionally that they were also able to find the original shape of the greens and are putting them back to their original shape when first built!

Sea Trail is also offering special two and three course deal this Summer (through September 9th). The two course special gives the golfer play on two courses for just $99!

Likewise the three course special gives the golfer play on all three courses for just $126! And to sweeten the deal for families KIDS PLAY FREE. For every one adult that pays the kids play free ( 15 years old and under ).

“Golf World spent nearly six months gathering data on golf establishments throughout the country, evaluating them across multiple criteria to identify the nation’s premier facilities. When all was said and done, we received more than 21,000 individual golf course ratings and more than 252,000 criteria evaluations.”

Going beyond the usual ranking of golf courses, along with considering the quality of the golf,The Readers’ Choice Awards takes into account the overall “golf experience.” Some of the criteria considered were quality and condition of the course, the clubhouse, the speed of play, the service, and, for resort courses, the accommodations. Sea Trail and Pawleys Plantation both offer on-site condominium rentals, while Shaftesbury Glen features five luxurious suites situated on the top floor of the golf course clubhouse.

Building on the outstanding success of 2009’s inaugural Readers’ Choice Awards, Golf World is already offering the second annual edition of the Readers’ Choice Awards allowing you, the public, to share your informed evaluations and opinions on the best golf has to offer from public golf clubs, private golf clubs and resort facilities. Your submission to Golf World’s 2010 Readers’ Choice Awards will automatically enter you for a chance to win one of 4 grand prizes.

After a forecasted brief rain tonight the weather is looking gorgeous for this Easter weekend at Ocean Isle Beach and neighboring Holden and Sunset Beaches. ‘Tis the season in more ways than one to come on down to the coast and check out the beauty and the bargains!

This is Golf Magazine’s first ever ranking of the best courses you can play in every state. This follows their rankings of the Top 100 Courses You Can Play. This is quite an accomplishment when you consider all the great courses in the area much less the state. This recognition is in addition to countless other awards and accolades Sea Trail’s courses have received.

Congratulations to Sea Trail!

The Winds golf packages feature all three of Sea Trail’s Signature Courses – The Rees Jones course, The Willard Byrd course and the Dan Maples course.

Be sure to check out The Winds’ September Golf Special (just $69.00 per person (based on quad occupancy) which features The Willard Byrd course and the Dan Maples course. These are great courses!

For the last decade or so “Home Base” has always been The Winds Resort Beach Club on Ocean Isle Beach, NC. These guys love being on the oceanfront with all of the Winds’ facilities and amenities (like the pools, Tiki Bar/restaurant and the hot breakfast buffet each morning).

They choose The Wind’s four and six bedroom Resort Houses as lodging because each has a fully equipped kitchen,  dining area and a Great Room for them to gather in and each bedroom has its own private bath, private deck, cable TV, wet bar with refrigerator and two beds and two double beds.

Best of all each four bedroom Resort House has a large, private whirlpool spa all its own to slide into after a challenging day on the golf course!

Jacob’s Raiders arrived again this week for the “32nd annual Jacob’s Raiders Tournament”. They will play Lion’s Paw, Panther’s Run and Tiger”s Eye courses which are less than ten minutes from The Winds!

On the final night they always gather in The Winds’ meeting rooms for closing ceremonies, trophies, food and drinks. And to “pat ourselves on the back on how good we played golf???” Pizza is on the menu.

Jacob’s Raiders love the fact that they can rely on The Winds’ Golf Staff for all of their tee time arrangements and the way the entire staff welcome them back year after year!