Legends Golf: Heathland The Stuff Legends Are Made Of!

Heathland along with Moorland and Parkland golf courses make up the 1300 acre golf facility known as Legends, located just outside of Myrtle Beach. The resort boasts three championship golf course as well as practice facilities and also serves as home to The Classic Swing Golf School. The Moorland course was designed architect P.B. Dye, and is considered the most challenging of the three courses. The Parkland Courses was designed to favor more of an Augusta National type course, while the course I played, Heathland was structured similar to links style courses of the British Isles. Tom Doak modeled several holes after signatures holes from courses like Saint Andrews, Cruden Bay, Royal St. George, and Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

This course was designed with a links type theme, and the look and feel from the tee boxes let's you know that the goal was accomplished. The fairways are wide and rolling, with natural waste areas and rough. The tract really doesn't have a lot of water hazards; water only comes into play on a few holes in the form of streams. However don't let the lack of water and wide fairways fool you this course is well defended in true links style with pot bunkers. Some of the bunkers are worse than others, but all will test your shot making skill if you find yourself in one. The course does set up nicely for all skill levels, of course accuracy is always rewarded but errant shots are playable. The greens at Heathland are quite large, placing emphasis on club selection on approach shots. Pin placement may change your club choice by as many as one or two clubs. The undulating greens make being close to the flag essential. However if you do miss a green the bump and run is a great shot to have in your bag. I found the greens to be fast as well as firm. The contours also emphasized the need to be able to make a god stroke as well as judge speed.

We played in a scramble format so I can't really give you an ideal of what I would have scored playing my own shots, but I did feel that no one in our group was at a disadvantage. If I play this course again and probably will I think I will pay more attention to playing the correct side of the fairway and really watch my club selection on my approach shots. I really enjoyed the golf course and would recommended teeing it up at Heathland anytime.

For more information about Heathland and Legends Golf check them out on the web at www.legendsgolf.com

Salt Creek Cafe: Sunny Sunday Brunch

I love Sunday brunch and I love Salt Creek Café, so I am deliriously happy they found each other. Salt Creek Café, located in Murrell’s Inlet, is stunning. A live oak tree shades the brick patio which features clothed tables and flickering candles. Inside is casually upscale with coastal blue and antique white walls with brick floors. Black and white beach themed photographs accent the walls. If you look closely at the pictures you may recognize the subjects. Recently, Salt Creek Café added a brunch menu available from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. every Sunday. You may order from the special brunch menu as well as the regular menu.

As we were seated in our booth, a carafe of ice water and glasses were delivered to our table followed by a bowl of complimentary cinnamon sugar puffs. The puffs were light as air and a wonderful way to start the meal. A must try at Salt Creek Café, is the three dollar Bloody Mary. Heavenly spiced, their homemade blend is the best on the Grand Strand. This morning my husband and I decided to each try a couple of different dishes off of the brunch menu. With sharing in mind, I ordered the Crab Cakes Benedict with a Creek gravy topped grit cake and fresh fruit ($12). The crab cakes were big on crab and light on filler. The hollandaise sauce was skillfully prepared, creamy and smooth. My husband ordered the Lobster Omelet with asparagus and Monterey Jack cheese ($12). The dish was also accompanied with a grit cake topped with Creek gravy and fresh fruit. The omelet was delightful and fluffy, and the lobster and asparagus made a superb filling, pairing nicely with the jack cheese. I have to say that the most adored part of my plate is the fried grit cake, covered with the house’s special creek gravy, oh my! The little one, ordered off of the regular menu, forgoing his usual cheese pizza, for shrimp and French fries ($6). I am assuming it was enjoyable, since no one got a bite off his plate. To finish off our meal the husband and I shared an enormous piece of decadent cheese cake, drizzled with a slightly tart raspberry coulis ($6). The little one got an oversized chocolate chip cookie.

To be honest, you will see Salt Creek Café appear often in this blog as it is our favorite local restaurant. We love the ambiance, the food, and above all the people. It was during a dinner in this restaurant that I felt, I truly became a local.

Salt Creek Café is located at 4660 Highway 17 Bypass, Murrell’s Inlet S.C.

Check them out on the web at http://www.saltcreekcafe.com/

High On The Hog: Prosser’s B-B-Q

When we vacationed in the Myrtle Beach area, we always ate "high on the hog". We would save all year so we could eat anywhere we wanted and order whatever our heart desired, guilt free. Vacation meant freedom to be extravagant. One of the first lessons you learn when you move to a tourist town, is that you can not live as if you are on vacation. Well, you can but you would go broke before long. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that one of the most talked about restaurants in Murrell's Inlet is inexpensive and delicious.

Prosser's Bar-B-Que sits on the corner of Hwy. 707 and Hwy. 17 Business in Murrell's Inlet. From the outside, it looks unassuming and the inside looks like a place you would expect to see Guy Fieri roll up in his convertible and shoot an episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. The restaurant is very clean and neat, but it is a dive none the less. Alas, I was not here for the décor, I was here for the twenty four foot all you can eat buffet. If I had to pick only one reason to love Prosser's, it would have to be the fried chicken. Delicate, yet crisp, it taste as if your grandmother is in the back frying it just for you. Of course I can't neglect the deep fried pork chops that are so tender you can cut them with a fork. The buffet also has an array of fried seafood, including oysters, shrimp, deviled crab, clams, and flounder. There is also barbeque pork and chicken with Carolina vinegar sauce readily available. Oh my, did I forget to mention the chicken and dumplings? They are heavenly.

The bar is also packed with southern home-style sides. My favorites include sweet potato casserole with just the right amount of sweetness, butter beans, collard greens, or maybe the macaroni and cheese. As you can see there is plenty of great food to choose to from. There is also a salad bar with homemade croutons and salad dressings. My son's favorite is the biscuits; they are flatter than those that I make, but very tasty. I can't resist the lighter than air hush puppies while the husband can't stay away from the homemade pies and cakes. I adore the hummingbird cake. To wash this entire feast down, you must have some of the best sweet tea the beach has to offer.

Although Prosser's is considered a local's favorite on the Grand Strand, with the amount of food at such affordable prices it can definitely help you stretch your vacation dollars, and still eat "high on the hog"!

Prices: Lunch $7.50, Dinner $12.95, and children are priced according to their age.

Prosser's is open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch, and open for breakfast lunch and dinner Thursday through Saturday

Wordless Wednesday

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Myrtle Beach: A Pirates Guide to the Grand Strand

Ever since I was a child when it came time to leave my favorite vacation spot, Myrtle Beach, I would cry. I would tell the ocean goodbye and sob the whole trip home. It is embarrassing to admit that this behavior continued for over thirty years. The good news is that I finally found the cure for my affliction, I moved here. Welcome to Our Myrtle Beach Blog.

~Laura~

Myrtle Beach: A Pirate’s Guide to the Grand Strand Begins….

As you can see my love affair with Myrtle Beach began a long time ago. I began visiting the area with my parents at least once a year for most of my life. I met my husband and we continued the tradition for the last fifteen years, making of yearly trek to paradise. Like a lot of residents of the Grand Strand we started out as vacationers, progressing to die hard Myrtle Beach fans, and finally ending up as locals. We have been living here for almost a year now, and still have those “I can’t believe we live here moments.” It is with this great passion that we decided to start this blog. With over fifteen hundred restaurants, one hundred plus golf courses and all the entertainment opportunities, the Grand Strand is a very happening place. There is always somewhere to go and something to do. Our goal is pretty simple, to provide current information about all things Myrtle Beach through a locals perspective. We hope to make our content enjoyable and helpful to anyone planning a trip to our great beach. With this goal in mind we plan to cover topics such as restaurants, attractions, shopping, as well as some of our passions such as cigars, cooking, and living the low country lifestyle. We will be compiling our favorites of the beach for you to enjoy. We also intend to share some of the tricks and tips we discovered about relocating to Myrtle Beach. We also want to encourage that you ask any questions and leave comments on anything we discuss.