By Stan Olenik Editor – Publisher. The Golf Club
It doesn’t have a name yet, or a logo you can put on hats and shirts, but when it does, it’s going to become something special for high school golfers in South Carolina—something they’ll remember long after the scorecards are turned in.
This spring, four of the six South Carolina High School League boys state golf championships will be played at The Beach.
From Diamondback Golf Club in Loris to the Hackler Course in Conway—and a couple of courses in between—nearly 400 high school golfers will be competing for state championships in May, bringing their clubs, their fans and their families with them to The Beach.
When your state motto proclaims you as “First in Golf,” and your coastline markets itself as the top golf destination in the country, moving the South Carolina High School League championships to Myrtle Beach feels less like a bold idea and more like a natural one.
“This has been talked about for at least 10 years,” said Brandon Smith, the head golf coach at Lexington High School. “Chip Whitt, Roger Smith, Arthur Brooks—all past presidents of the state golf coaches association—and a lot of other coaches have wanted this to happen. Now it finally is.”
Getting commitments from host courses was the first major step. Four classifications will compete at the Beach on May 11-12, with 5A Division II scheduled for the Hackler Course and the AAA championship set for Diamondback.
Two classifications will remain elsewhere this year. The AAAA championship will be played at Cross Creek Plantation in Seneca, and the Class A title will stay at Chester Country Club.
“Each classification makes its own decision,” Smith said. “Both like the idea, but they had already made commitments. We’re hopeful they’ll join us in the future.”
For the coaches who have pushed this idea forward, the goal has always been bigger than convenience.
“Just think about what this means for the kids,” Smith said. “They’re all competing at the Beach. That alone gives high school golf in South Carolina a boost.”
There are tangible perks, too. Every player in the state championships will receive a ticket to attend the PGA Tour’s ONEFlight Myrtle Beach Classic at The Dunes Club.
“Some of our players have been to a Tour event, but many haven’t,” Smith said. “Getting to see the pros up close will be a great experience.”
The boys High School golf season begins on February 2nd
Because the state championships will now be played a week earlier, the overall high school golf schedule will be slightly more compressed. The season will still begin in early March, though some regular-season matches and in-season tournaments may see dates shuffled to accommodate the change.
Nothing is lost in the adjustment—only rearranged—while the opportunity to compete for a state championship at the Beach more than offsets the minor scheduling shifts.
The move also solves a growing challenge behind the scenes.
Since the pandemic, golf has boomed. Private clubs guard dates they once offered for outside events, and public and semi-private courses understandably favor full tee sheets over scholastic tournaments.
“Finding places to play has gotten harder,” Smith said. “With the commitment from Myrtle Beach, we can focus on the tournament instead of scrambling to set it up.”
And that brings us to the part that often gets overlooked.
Junior golf purists sometimes dismiss high school golf, favoring stacked junior events with national rankings, points, and college recruiting optics. They see wide scoring gaps and only a handful of players producing numbers that turn recruiters’ heads.
But that misses the point.
High school golf is about opportunity. It’s about representing your school, riding the bus, wearing the uniform, sharing the ups and downs with teammates and competing . Not every golfer wants—or needs—to be listed on the Junior Scoreboard .
This move to Myrtle Beach doesn’t spotlight the next Tiger, Scottie, or Rory. It shines a light on the version of the game played by schools—and the value that version brings.
There’s still work to be done. Hotel rates, schedules, event logistics, maybe even a gathering that brings all classifications together. But those are good problems to have.
And if history is any guide, the branding experts in Myrtle Beach will do what they’ve always done: create something memorable. A logo. A theme. A sense that this matters.
When that happens, high school golf in South Carolina won’t just be playing at the Beach.
It will finally be treated like it belongs there.
Categories: High School Golf
