Finding accessible golf equipment while traveling is not always a walk in the park.  While clubhouses and dining areas generally comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the adaptive equipment needed to access the courses themselves are not often available. 

 
That “equipment” simply stated means adapted golf carts like the Golf Express, SoloRider and the Parabile – machines that enable golfers with mobility challenges to stand up or swing freely for a fair game.

 My husband, a wheelchair user, and I searched Hawaii over during our honeymoon for an adaptive cart and found none.  Ourside of our home course in Steamboat Springs, we haven’t found one anywhere else in Colorado.  Northern California, upstate New York, and Orlando Florida have come up short in our travels.  We’d nearly given up on the notion of a round or two on the road until we happened upon our golf heaven.  Myrtle Beach… more specifically the Grand Stand. 

 The Grand Strand region is 80 miles of coastline in South Carolina with over one hundred golf courses and plenty more activities to occupy a week-long holiday.  I was hopeful in finding at least one course out of this plethora that would have adaptive golf.  I was not disappointed.

 In the Swing

Four courses in the Grand Strand actually have Solo Riders, but they don’t get used very often, and therefore the rest of the courses haven’t been encouraged to purchase them.  For now, the four courses that do offer them are eager to have them used more often, and are spread out enough throughout the Grand Strand that no matter where you’re staying in the area, you’ll likely be close to one of them.

 Andy Edwards, golf pro at TPC Myrtle Beach (one of ten Tournament Players Clubs in the US), said they’ve had their Solo Rider™ for four years.  Unfortunately it’s only used about once each season, but it’s there.  TPC-MB was designed by Tom Fazio, a world-class golf course architect, and lies inland of Myrtle Beach in a neighboring town of Murrells Inlet.  TPC opened its doors in 1999 as Myrtle Beach’s 100^th course, but quickly moved up the ranks, and was voted as one of Golf Digest’s Top Ten New Upscale Courses in America.

 You get the upscale feel when you roll in; the entry way to the clubhouse has the southern plantation pillars and décor, with a long, winding ramp adjacent to the wide grand staircase.  The carpeting is Scottish Tartan, and the photogenic view through the back windows stretches out into a thinned pine forest that gleams with its manicured greens.  The bunkers and water hazards are a-plenty, but the course was built with every level of golfer in mind. 

 In addition to TPC, the Burroughs & Chapin Company operates several courses in the area, many of which have the SoloRider™ as well.  The Grande Dunes Golf Course, Myrtlewood Golf Club and Pine Lakes International Country Club are their high-end courses with immaculate clubs, gorgeously designed courses, surrounding real estate that melts your pocketbook just looking at it, and all of which offer the use of a SoloRider™.  But in addition to these three primo spots, Burroughs & Chapin manages one more course with a SoloRider™, the Tidewater Golf Glub, as well as several amusement parks and attractions that are also accessible, such as the NASCAR Speedpark and MagiQuest.

 Lapping up the Luxury

If you’re looking for the lap of luxery while you’re here, look no further than the Grand Dunes.  Amenities don’t only include golf, but offer a 5,000 square foot tennis club, a picturesque marina that looks like it was cut and pasted from Venice itself, the ocean club with beach, pool, locker room and dining facilities, and the Hibiscus Spa for the sore muscles from all this play.  All the buildings seem to emanate that southern charm, with wide, welcoming staircases and romantic archways above them, and the sounds of swaying palms and ocean waves oozing the relaxation into your veins as the sweet tea wets your whistle.

 But the golf courses here are certainly the highlight, named “one of the great golf clubs in the world” by PGA Magazine.  Two eighteen hole courses allow for all levels of golfers to test their skills, with six sets of tees, a fully equipped shop, and a list of instructors that can teach adaptive play as well.  The Resort Club offers sweeping Intercoastal views, bunkers you’ll be shaking your stick at, and beautifully manicured greens.  The Members Club, voted one of the top 45 courses in the world, offers a links course feel through a pine tree preserve.  

 For something only-slightly less posh, Myrtlewood Golf Club, Pine Lakes Country Club and Tidewater Plantation Golf Clubs all also offer the SoloRider™, excellent courses, and beautiful views. Myrtlewood offers 36 holes and the only Arthur Hill’s design along the Intercoastal Waterway with a history dating back to 1966.  Pine Lakes Country Club, nickn

amed “The Granddaddy,” is undergoing complete renovations and will reopen in 2009, but is worth a stop just to see the starters in their Scottish Kilts.  Tidewater Golf Club on Tidewater Plantation, named the #1 public course in the U.S. in 1990, is called “the Pebble Beach of the South,” for those of you who truly know anything about golf.  Its ocean-front views separate it above the rest, as this course is nestled between the Intercoastal Waterway and the Cherry Grove inlet. 

 Ode to Beach Lovers

You’d be downright silly to skip the golf in this area, as it is some of the best in the world at varying levels of difficulty, and offers incredible views of the ocean, perfect breezy southern temperatures, and that pleasing southern hospitality. 

 But beyond golf, Myrtle Beach offers accessibility in the form of beaches and beach wheelchairs, entertainment and nightlife, resort and hotel lodging and your choice of transportation.

 Take a day off from golf and hit the beach, soaking in the sun, salt, and sea breeze, and take stock of the fact that Myrtle Beach has spent the last year making sure travelers with disabilities are catered to.  Of the 150 beach access points, 31 of them are currently accessible as of summer 2007, and they hope to double this number by the end of 2008.  Some are concrete pathways, some are ramped boardwalks, and some are basic level entry sand beaches.  All have accessible parking near them, and a few of them have accessible bathrooms.  You can also make use of one of those bulbous-wheeled beach wheelchairs that make beach-rolling easy and trudging through sand a breeze if you’ve got a friend.  The wheels of these chairs are also so large and balloon-like that rolling out onto the water is an option as well with them.  Myrtle Beach loans these chairs out free of charge, and has fourteen of them available on a first come, first serve basis from April 15 to September 15 in a one-hour increments through the beach life guards, but their use is so minimal that you are likely able to reserve them longer.  Outside of this date range, however, you can reserve them on a one-week basis through the city by calling Myrtle Beach Police and Fire at 843-918-1382, and the chair will be brought to your lodging directly, still free of charge, with a photo-id as collateral. 

 Something for the Senses

Accessible entertainment and dining are at no shortage either.  The House of Blues, Broadway at the Beach, the IMAX theater, NASCAR Speed park, MagiQuest,

Celebrity Square, including Froggy Bottomz, Malibu’s Surf Bar, Club Boca, and Broadway Louie’s Sports Bar, Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Café, the Grand Cirque, the Carolina Opry, and Medieval Times all welcome people with disabilities for accessible dining, entertainment, and quality fun.

 You might also want to add the Plantation River Tours to your list, for a Lighthouse Island or an Evening Harbor Tour, also complete with wheelchair accessible boats.  In addition the area offers Barefoot Landing, where the House of Blues is located, with 14 additional restaurants and over 90 specialty shops.  There’s no shortage of entertainment in the Grand Strand!

 Southern Hospitality

The list for accessible lodging is virtually endless, and improvements on access are even being added to older establishments, while the newer resorts that are popping up like palm sprouts will all of course be ADA compliant.  Try the Island Vista or the Crown Reef Resort for ocean-front luxury, complete with grand pool areas, lazy rivers and muti-level decks along with multiple choices of room and suite layouts and ADA options.

 Other options for lodging include the usual plethora of chain hotels including access favorites such as the Marriott and the Fairfield and Courtyard Inns by Marriot, the Sheraton hotels and resorts, and more economical options such as Comfort Inns and Red Roof Inns. 

 Hot Wheels

As for transportation, Coast RTA, the bus line which runs within city limits only, offers lifts on all of its busses in addition to its private services for customers with disabilities. 

But waiting for the bus is sometimes inconvenient, and Myrtle Beach has another option that made me giggle with a U.K. accent.  The Creekside Cab Company offers London Cabs to all its customers, and if you’ve never been to London, then this concept will be novel to you.  London Cabs have a bulbous roof, allowing for more interior room, and a pull-out ramp that is stored against the base of the vehicle, allowing wheelchair users to stay in their own seats and roll into the cab on their own.  Be gone the endless transferring in and out of the rental car! Even if you do rent your own car in the area, testing out these unique cabs will be worth the price of a trip to Broadway at the Beach and allow you some boundary-free drinking time.  A video of the cabs are available at www.creeksidecab.com.  

 Overall, Myrtle Beach’s accessibility and willingness to comply is impressive, and the improvements are expanding annually.  Whether you’re traveling alone or with the usual entourage that accompany disabled travelers, The Grand Strand area should be put on your travel list in the near future for an in-country and therefore reasonably inexpensive trip to the beach!