I was asked the other day about how long we have been coming to the beach and how the trip started. Well, here is a little history lesson.
I won't go into the history of how we met other than to say when I came to VT to work on a masters degree, I knew Kevin's roommate. After a few Saturdays watching baseball at their apartment (back when you could only see baseball on Saturday afternoon) I also met Brent and, new to the trip this year, Mark Neebe.
After we all graduated, some more than once, most eventually settled in the greater DC area and after many trips back and forth for Tech games, Oriole games, etc., I noticed signs for the Shenvalee Golf Resort in New Market, VA and suggested we meet in the middle sometime and play golf a couple of days.
Well, that never happened, but years later after Kevin met Kyle at a reunion the three of us managed to sandwich three rounds of golf around the 1993 VT Spring Game and the burning of David Koresh's Branch Davidian compound in Waco. During that weekend Kevin noted that his mother-in-law owned a condo in Myrtle and he suggested we go there the next year and a tradition began.
In 1994 the three of us made the trek to Myrtle Beach. When we first began the trip, we played some of the worst, but cheapest courses MB had to offer. Over the years the group has managed to play all or parts of 58 Grand Strand courses. We have also upgraded the course quality to include some of the best Myrtle could offer but have tried to keep the cost very low.
Add some mutual friends, the random brother-in-law and others and we have grown from three to sixteen this year.
Below is a history of courses played (and lodging)
1993 Golf Tradition begins in the NRV (Virginia Tech, Draper Valley, Virginia Tech)
1994 Mytle Beach Tradition begins at Heron Point, Quail Creek, Sea Gull - MBYC
1995 Aberdeen/Buck Creek, Lion’s Paw (9)/Panther’s Run (9), Sandpiper Bay (9-rain out) - BT
1996 Black Bear/Myrtle West, Brunswick Plantation, Cypress Bay - TW
1997 Bay Tree Gold, Calabash, Gator Hole - BT
1998 Azalea Sands, Burning Ridge East (9)/Burning Ridge West (9), Meadowlands - BT/CB
1999 Bay Tree Green, Colonial Charters, River Hills - BT
2000 Angels Trace North (13 holes-hail/tornado), Angels Trace South, Possum Trot, Member’s Club – St. James - BP
2001 Diamond Back, Lockwood Folly, Pearl East, Player’s Club – St. James - BP
2002 Sandpiper Bay, Pearl West, Carolina National, Crown Park (9/18 – cart in the pond) - BP
2003 Diamond Back (3 holes – Lightening), Lion’s Paw, Panther’s Run, Tiger’s Eye - SC
2004 Quail Creek, Belle Terre, Myrtle Beach National – West, Wachesaw East - RO
2005 Arrowhead, Wild Wing Falcon, Wild Wing Hummingbird, Wild Wing Woodstork (4 holes-rained out-went bowling) - RO
2006 Wizard, Myrtlewood – Palmetto, Witch, Legends – Heathland - RO
2007 Waterway Hills, Willbrook Plantation, King’s North, River Club - RO
2008 Litchfield Country Club, Arrowhead, Tradition, Prestwick - LR
2009 Wicked Stick, Legend’s Parkland, Legend’s Moorland, Heritage Club - LR
2010 Legend’s Moorland, Legend’s Heathland, Oyster Bay, TPC - LR
2011 Legend’s Heathland, Legend’s Parkland, Oyster Bay, Heritage Club - LR
2012 Man O War, Wizard, Witch, Heather Glen - LR
1993 – The tradition begins – Tom, Kevin, Kyle (VT, Draper, VT)
1994 – Myrtle Beach begins
1997 – Charlie joins group
2002 – Group expands to eight with Randy’s crew
2008 – Group expands to 12
2009 – Group expands to 16 (make that 15)
2010 – Group back to 12 (thinning of the herd)
2012 – Group expands to 16
Lodging Key
MBYC = Myrtle Beach Yacht Club
BT = Bay Tree
BT/CB=Bay Tree displaced due to AC issues, moved to Cypress Bay
TW = Tidewater
BP = Brunswick Plantation
SC = Sun Colony (Rt. 9)
RO = River Oaks
LR = Legends Resort
