Tradition Stands the Test of Time
On your next trip to Myrtle Beach,
put it on your schedule: Tradition. Located in
the village of Litchfield Beach in the south
end of the Grand Strand, this Ron Garl masterpiece
offers one magnificent hole after another. Aptly
named, the course is a throwback to the great
courses of old. 
Tradition is traditional in every
sense of the word, as Garl let the natural
elements dictate the design. The couse features
gently rolling, non-mounded fairways surrounded
by native vegetation and dense pine forest. It
also boasts large Tifdwarf greens that were in
outstanding shape when I played it in March 2005.
The practice area is so good you won’t
mind putting in extra time there. The English
manor-style clubhouse with its fine restaurant
offers a gentile atmosphere that is in keeping
with the overall feel of the property.
Opened in 1995, Tradition has received
a ton of well deserved awards including Golf
Digest’s Best New Public Course for 1996
and Golf Course of the Year for 2000 by the South
Carolina Golf Course Owners Association. In 1998,
it received the Top Fairways award from Golf
for Women magazine.
Not long at about 6700 yards from
the tips, Tradition truly demands accuracy off
the tee on most holes, as the ubiquitous forest
and streams and lakes standing ready to snare
wayward shots. A number of greens are perched
on lakes that seem to glisten in the early morning
sunlight. Garl balances these hazards with predominantly
shallow fairway and greenside bunkers that give
competent sand players a fighting chance to salvage
par or, on several of the medium-length par 5’s,
a birdie. If you bring your A game, you will
be rewarded appropriately, but the high slope
and course rating are no accident. This is a
fine and very fair test of golf.
For golf purists who have grown
tired of the artificial, self-conscious designs
of many of today’s courses, Tradition will
reward you with a refreshingly old-fashioned
round of golf. I have played a majority of Myrtle
Beach’s courses, and I put Tradition right
up there with the best of the Grand Strand.
Tradition Golf Club
843-237-5041
info@traditiongolflclub.com
