Courtesy: Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday

I remember a great golfing road trip two buddies and I took way back in 1985.

One of us had won the use of a rental car for a week at our corporate golf tournament.

So, we loaded up this big Chevy Caprice and headed out of Toronto and down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, golf Mecca to the world. It was a wonderful trip, to say the least.

Back then, there were dozens of courses to choose from in the area. At the height of golf course development in Myrtle Beach in 2001, there were 120 courses. That's a lot of courses.

And that has created a problem. Actually, two.

First, that many courses found it hard to attract business. Down came the prices as competition grew for the golfers' dollars. In the off-season, when the tourists were at home playing their own tracks, the courses offered tremendous deals to local residents. Basically, the cost of a cart rental got you 18 holes of golf on a resort course.

The second problem has been the housing boom in the U.S. Myrtle Beach has not been overlooked and housing prices have soared. Developers hunted for land for new subdivisions. And guess whose land they were eye-balling? Yep, the financially hurting golf courses.

A number of those courses were sold; the developers had their land and, presto, more subdivisions. Ironically, those developers are sitting on a great deal of unsold units as the housing market has hiccupped. But the courses themselves are gone for good.

For more on this story, see these two temporary story sites:

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/16458271.htm

and

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/16463032.htm

So, is the era of cheap golf in Myrtle Beach coming to a rapid end? It may very well be for the local golfers.

But for the rest of us? Mickey McCamish from Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday told me the area still represents the best value in America for the golfer. There are roughly 100 courses to play with at least four new ones opening either this spring or next year, Mickey told me.

So golf course development is far from done in Myrtle Beach. "It's just at a different pace", said Mickey.

That's certainly good news for Myrtle Beach. And a testament to the growth in the game of golf in North America today.