When you watch a golf tournament on TV, most of us are pretty much focused on the top of the leaderboard. But I often catch myself thinking about the eighth-place guy who misses his final 5-foot putt for par to slip into a tie for 17th. I can’t help myself, but my first thought is, “Wow, that cost him a lot of money.”
What happens down the leaderboard goes largely ignored, unless you’re playing in the event, which most of us never truly relate to. A good way to understand this, however, is to play in a four-round tournament, which is what the world’s largest amateur golf tournament provides.
I’m talking about the Play Golf Myrtle Beach (S.C.) World Amateur championship, which just concluded its 43rd edition. This year, I “competed” in it for the third time. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my best week, so my focus was mostly on trying to avoid finishing at the bottom of my flight. I grinded it out until the end, seeing a glimmer of hope with pars on three of my last four holes at Shaftesbury Glen Golf & Fish Club.
It was a silver lining in a long week that was both frustrating and enjoyable. Even when I struggle, I still love the competition against the course, myself, and the field. But most of all, the overall experience was worth it.
In case you're not familiar with the Myrtle Beach World Am, it caps at 3,000 golfers with 61 flights played over 55 golf courses (each flight plays four different courses). Originally the Myrtle Beach Dupont World Amateur Handicap Championship until Dupont dropped out as its sponsor, the event has filled what has traditionally been somewhat of a dead week on Grand Strand, which stretches 60 miles from the North Carolina border down to Pauley’s Island, S.C., as a way to attract golfers.
It costs around $700 to enter, plus transportation and lodging. I wound up flying to Atlanta from Houston, then renting a car and driving 5½ hours to Myrtle Beach to save more than $500 on airfare into Myrtle Beach.
Even though most competitors come from within driving distance, players come from all over the world and 49 states. The average age is 62.5, which makes sense because retirees have more time for this sort of excursion than working folks.
A lot of golfers travel in packs to this event. A group from my club in Houston brought a couple of dozen, and we met a few times, including an opening dinner at Bummz by the Beach on Sunday night. They also kept a group text going throughout, and we had a competition to see who would finish highest in their flight.
That’s right; it wasn’t me. Not even close. But again, despite my disappointing play, I still had a great time.
If you've thought about playing, I’ve compiled 10 reasons you might want to consider going. Next year’s event is scheduled for Aug. 30-Sept 3.
Meet New People, Make New Friends
There are thousands of golfers playing in the Myrtle Beach World Am, and your chances of winning the whole thing are pretty low, to say the least. So most competitors – or participants, as it says on the badge – are just looking to have fun and meet like-minded people from other parts of the country.
In the 11 World Am rounds I’ve played (I lost one round a couple of years ago to a hurricane), I haven’t played with anyone I wouldn’t tee it up with again. Most of the folks I met had pretty interesting backstories. That includes Brian Nichols from Boston who I played with in my first round at the Hackler Course. Brian used to be a regional scout for the Seattle Mariners, so in between my bad holes, we talked a lot about baseball.
“It’s just a great experience. Four days of top notch courses,” Nichols said. “I really like the camaraderie and meeting people from other parts of the country. And I like the competitiveness of it. Everybody has the same goals, first and foremost to have fun and second to compete. And in the back of your mind, you're representing your region.You think your area is just as good as everybody else’s. Or maybe better, and you try to prove it.”
By the way, the Hackler Course is the official course of Coastal Carolina University, and it’s run by the Professional Golf Management program there. The students who work there will become PGA Professionals, and the ones I interacted with have me convinced the game is in good hands.
Terrific Golf Courses
You get to play four courses, and every flight plays a different rotation. So not everyone can play the best courses every day, but, by and large, they’re all quality venues. My friend Carlos Abarca, who lives in Katy, Texas, just outside of Houston, struggled on the Fazio Course at Barefoot Resort (as did most of the players in his flight), but he couldn’t stop gushing on how much he liked the beauty, conditioning, and design of the course.
My second round was played at True Blue, one of two Mike Strantz gems located at Pauley’s Island on the south end of the Grand Strand. If you are not familiar with late, great Strantz’ works, True Blue is a work of art, with each hole crafted like a puzzle that you have to figure out. It’s also beautiful and well conditioned, and certainly the highlight of my four rounds, despite the double-bogy, par, double bogey finish.
Real Competition (Or Not)
The World Amateur isn’t exactly a professional tour event or even a high-level amateur event like the U.S. Amateur, but it’s as close as many of us ordinary golfers will come. That’s because you’re playing four consecutive rounds where you’re following the Rules, holing out every putt, and feeling real pressure.
But for those who aren’t really interested in competing and just having a good time, the World Am has a place for them as well. There are noncompetitive flights where you just play for fun on four different golf courses.
But back to the competition: Guess what – you don’t have to play lights out to win your flight.
“It’s interesting to me that you just have to shoot near your handicap in order to be in contention to win,” said Amy Gehrke of Muskego, Wisc., who finished second in the Senior Women’s flight (handicap 0-14), shooting a a stroke or two above her adjusted 6-handicap each day.
David Vaughan, a retired pastor from Ohio who moved to South Carolina, presumably to play more golf, won my flight (Mid-Senior Men, handicap 7.9-8.5) shooting 82-82-83-84. You can do the math. You just have to play decently. On a side note, Vaughan was so upbeat and optimistic, I couldn’t wallow too much in the 92 I shot on Day 3 at The Links at Brick Landing with him in my group.
Handicaps Are Well Vetted
Sure, we all know about sandbaggers, and the Myrtle Beach World Amateur has had to defend itself over the years over sandbaggers. But the folks that run the event have been very vigilant over the years, especially recently.
It starts with having to submit your GHIN, and you can’t turn in a handicap with a handful of scores on it right before the event. In fact, they don’t necessarily take your current handicap, but rather your lowest index over the past year. That prevents golfers from turning in a bunch of high scores prior to the World Am to get into a higher flight. In my case, it meant I was a couple of flights down from where I would have been had I used my then current index of 9.4. But thanks to my performance in Myrtle Beach, I’m now a 10.5.
Also, any golfer who goes out and shoots seven or eight strokes below their handicap on a particular day will be investigated with a possible outcome of disqualification or possible reduction in the number of strokes that golfer receives. The truth is, however, that very few golfers shoot under their handicap. In fact, if you can shoot your handicap every day, you’re probably going to win your flight.
The World’s Largest 19th Hole
This isn’t just any 19th hole, this is the world’s largest 19th hole, because this is where the 3,000 golfers and guests gather each night after play. For that, you need a pretty large venue, which is why this is held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
The first night is well attended, which is why the food lines to the dozen different stations from the likes of Big Mike’s Soul Food, Carolina Ale House, Pop Stroke, and perhaps the most popular, Friendly’s Ice Cream, can be a bit long on Monday night. But not everybody goes every day, so it gets a little less crowded each of the four nights.
Still, you could eat at the 19th Hole all four nights if you wanted, get free cocktails, win a prize or two in a drawing (like a PGA Tour Superstore gift card), enter the putting and par-3 contests, and listen to great live music and even dance if you were so inclined. I thought the bands were terrific, but the most popular attraction is Kaoreke Night, when the ballroom is packed. I think some of the performers were golfers – and most of them were pretty good – but the crowd favorites might have the comedy troupe from World Am host St André Golf, when Aaron Chewning did “Walking from Memphis," Hannah Rae Aslesen got “Jiggy with it,” and the mustached Jonathan Pawlowski performed his rendition of Limp Biscuit’s “Break Stuff.”
“He terrified half that room,” Chewning said of Pawlowski, who jumped off the stage. “He does not care.”
Optional Skins Games
Not all the flights have skins games, which are not affiliated with the tournament, but many of them do, and they are run by selfless competitors who have been playing the World Am for years.
I got shut out this year (not a single birdie in four rounds), but two years ago, I made nine birdies during the weekend and cashed in five for skins. The beauty of the skins game is there is always something to play for down to the last hole. In fact, I was in position on my 72nd hole to do just that, but I missed the putt, which is how the whole week went. Again, though, I had a good time.
Good Goodie Bag
The goodie bags in past World Ams might have been a little more generous, but you still get plenty when you register at one of Myrtle Beach’s PGA Tour Superstores and go through the line.
The gifts include a nice golf shirt, hoodie pullover, a compact logoed wallet, $20 credit to PGA Tour Superstore, a bag tag, and World Am rope cap. At the end, participants also received a year-long membership to GolfPass.
The Beach Awaits
Although I didn’t stay right on the beach this year, I have in the past, and most participants are in one of the beach resorts or hotels by the ocean.
Honestly, the beach at Myrtle Beach is pretty good. It has nice sand, and if you’re brave enough to get in the water, you can cool off from the heat. I liked taking early morning or evening walks by myself. It’s calming. Maybe if I had done that more on this trip, I would have shot lower scores.
Plus, there are all kinds of bars and hangouts right along Ocean Drive. A large group of players from my home club gathered at Bummz, where they ate outside, overlooking the ocean. Hard to beat that.
Beyond Golf
If you’ve never been to Myrtle beach, you probably don’t realize how much entertainment is there. From country reviews to tribute concerts (like Michael Jackson), and the huge Hollywood Wax Museum, there’s no shortage of other activities. Of course, if you’re a little older, like me, you might be a little tired to take in some of the extracurricular activities, but they are there. Maybe the best way to enjoy what Myrtle beach has to offer, is to plan on an extra day or two before or after the tournament.
Chance to Be a World Champion
Ah yes, if you do happen to put together four really good rounds, you can compete for the overall world championship. That’s because that’s determined by the net winner, not the gross winner.
The 2026 champion turned out to be Michael Fincham of New Bern, N.C. He was among 60 other flight winners who competed in a fifth round at Grande Dunes Resort Course in Myrtle Beach. Fincham, who won Flight 13 (Senior Men, ages 50-59), defeated Bruce Shevely, who is from Murrells Inlet, S.C., just down the road, in a one-hole playoff.
