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Known as the Golf Capital of the nation, Horry County has over 120 golf courses, with something for golfers of every skill level. Courses are set in the Lowcountry's natural splendor, with wildlife, marshes, water features, and elegant clubhouses. There are over 2,000 holes to play, making Myrtle Beach the most "golf intensive" resort area in the world. Greens fees (including carts) range from approx. $25 (off season) to over $175 for several of the area's new courses during peak season. Myrtle Beach's first course opened in 1927, and we've been adding quality golf courses ever since.
Fishing, boating, kayaking, and water sports are also perennially popular entertainment. In fact, next to golf the beaches, inlets, and rivers could be our greatest attraction. Among the many species native to the area, anglers can catch wahoo, trout, and snapper. The Gulf Stream warms the Atlantic through the winter here, so fishing is a year-round hobby. You can fish from one of our eight piers, charter a boat, surfcast, or cast a line in one of the many inlets and tidal marshes. The yearly Grand Strand Fishing Rodeo, sponsored by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, is a 51-year tradition offering cash and prizes totaling more than $10,000, and there are other popular fishing events throughout the area.
If sports is your passion, you'll find the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a Carolina League Class "A" affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, hitting home runs at Coastal Federal Field. Myrtle Beach is also home of the Stingrays, a member of the 24-team National Indoor Football League, which plays in the Atlantic East Division against Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia's Ohio Valley Greyhounds. And also, you can not leave out Coastal Carolina University's intercollegiate sports teams better known as the Chanticleers, the cunning rooster from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The Chanticleers compete at the highest level of college sports - NCAA Division I and field 17 sports programs. Coastal Carolina is a charter member of the Big South Conference.
Grand Strand shopping has reached the level of an art form, with outlet centers, quaint shops, upscale malls, and everything in between. Major retailers like Sears, Belk, and JCPenney are here, as well as specialty outlets such as Liz Claiborne. Shopping and entertainment venues like Broadway At The Beach and Barefoot Landing are attractions in themselves. At Broadway at the Beach, there are over 100 specialty stores, a lake, paddle boats, a 16-plex movie theatre, Ripley's Aquarium, and over 20 restaurants including Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. Barefoot Landing has more than 114 shops, and over 15 restaurants including the House of Blues, the Alabama Theatre, lakes, and the Barefoot Princess paddlewheel boat docked in the adjoining Intracoastal Waterway. Specialty stores like the Bass Pro Shops host to the hunter or the fisherman in your family while the new Coastal Grand Mall will suit any shopper on any day! And the highway 501 corridor from Myrtle Beach to Conway offers some of the best outlet shopping to be found anywhere. Research on visitor patterns reveals that shopping is an important reason for traveling to this area, and those who live here benefit from the ever-increasing selection of stores.
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