College golf went prematurely dark on March 12, the day the NCAA announced it was canceling postseason events across all spring sports in light of the coronavirus. Golfweek is partnering with PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com to put two playing opportunities for individuals in the college golf community back on the calendar, and both will be held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The Golfweek Myrtle Beach Collegiate will debut at the Barefoot Dye course June 24-26, and the Golfweek Myrtle Beach Coaches Challenge will go off at the same venue on the same weekend. The latter event provides a place to play for coaches itching to get back on the golf course just as much as their players are.
Myrtle Beach, a mecca of golf, has continued to see rounds played throughout the coronavirus, but with safety precautions in place.
“We’ve been fortunate that the golf courses have been able to stay open in this area under the precautionary measures that have been asked of us. So the golf itself has been able to be played, just in a different sense,” said tournament director Scott Tomasello of PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com. “It leads us into this thought that if we’re able to host people, let’s do it in every way that we can, which is where this idea started.”
College golf comes to Myrtle Beach annually in March for the Coastal Carolina-hosted General Hackler Championship, an event that PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com helps organize. TPC Myrtle Beach also hosted an NCAA men’s regional in 2019. The Golfweek Program Challenge, which features men’s and women’s teams from the same university, is played each fall at True Blue and Caledonia.
The Barefoot Dye course has hosted mini-tour events in the past, so “we know it has some teeth,” as Tomasello said. Extensive waste bunker areas will help in the social-distancing effort. There’s less need for rakes. Play will also go off with styrofoam inserts in the cups and players potentially doing their own live-scoring input. It’s a no-frills event that satisfies collegians’ desire to get back out there and ready for the upcoming college golf season.
The event for coaches, meanwhile, offers a little something different. Head coaches may team up with their assistant coach or a coach from another school. The event will be divided into men’s, women’s and mixed divisions, and potentially further divided within divisions based on entries. Teams will play a scramble format for the front nine of the first round, Pinehurst alternate shot on the back nine and then will play 18 holes of best ball in the second and final round.
Registration for the 54-hole Golfweek Myrtle Beach Collegiate can be found at this link. Coaches interested in registering for their event can do so at this link.