In the beginning (1991), the BGA began our annual trek to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We decided to go in January because it broke up the winter and, equally importantly, it was cheap. Very cheap. And since any course we play at any time of the year will produce bad scores, we might as well play bad golf cheaply. In fact, out cost per stroke was embarrassingly low.
Well this was so much fun the next year we started going for a long weekend in December and another one in January. We did this for a few years until we got the bright idea of taking a week-long trip in January 1999. Disaster!
We found that our bodies couldn’t stand the stress of so much fun. Mr. Fifteen ruptured an arm muscle and eventually needed surgery; The Commish went down like he was shot and got to ride with an flag designating he was an invalid because he couldn’t walk, and Mr. Four Skins back hurt so much he eventually needed surgery. But, on the bright side, we discovered that a few Aleve tablets let us play all 171 holes—except for Mr. Fifteen sitting out 9 holes on the third day, the day he tore his arm muscle.
Since this physically debilitating trip we have settled on 5 day trips with 4 days of golf. This we have found we can handle without upgrading our medical plans.
In those early years we played mostly skins games and did not keep extensive records. However, beginning in 1995 we began keeping every round on the computer so every shot has been recorded and remembered. If you want to plumb the depths of our futility feel free to check out some of the posted statistics.
Remember, in the BGA there are no gimmes, not even a mercy gimme. I still recall my greatest shot being a 25-foot downhill snake from the fringe to save an El Niño and not record a double digit score. Without having to sink every putt how many of you would have holed out and how many would have picked up like it didn’t mean anything?
Also be sure to check out our unbiased (and unpaid) opinions of various courses and eateries in Myrtle. Your opinions are also welcome. If you send it, we will post it.