Golf’s $1.6 Billion Economic Engine Powers Myrtle Beach Region

The 9th hole at the Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Golf Tourism Solutions – Jim Maggio

A day after PGA Tour golfer Tommy Fleetwood pocketed $10 million for his Tour Championship win in East Lake, a more economically impactful tournament got underway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Nearly 3,000 golfers this week descended on an area nicknamed “The Golf Capital of the World” for the 42^nd Play Golf Myrtle Beach World Amateur Championship, an event played at more than 50 courses on the Grand Strand that embodies the economic force that drives the region. The first economic impact study of the Myrtle Beach area golf market revealed that the game is a $1.6 billion industry, supporting more than 13,000 jobs and generating almost $483 million in wages and benefits while producing $135 million in state and local taxes.

The World Am is a microcosm of golf’s broad economic impact.

Tournament participants travel from all 50 U.S. states and more than 20 countries, staying in local hotels, dining at area restaurants, and spending money throughout the community during their week-long visit. These golfers represent a cross-section of the estimated 759,000 visitors who traveled more than 50 miles to play courses in the Myrtle Beach area in 2024, accounting for up to 1.4 million rounds and contributing more than $705 million directly into the local economy.

“Golf has differentiated, developed and diversified the Myrtle Beach area for nearly 100 years,” said Tracy Conner, Executive Director of the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association. “Beyond the direct economic benefits, golf has an immeasurable quality of life impact for residents, generates significant charitable contributions for our community and is committed to responsible environmental stewardship.”

The economic study focused on operational, economic and tourism data from 2024 and was a collaboration between the National Golf Foundation, Golf Tourism Solutions, the Myrtle Beach Area Golf Course Owners Association and South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Golf Tourism Solutions (GTS) owns the Play Golf Myrtle Beach platform, which runs the annual World Am.

The world’s largest amateur tournament uses a majority of the courses at the 63 public golf facilities in the Myrtle Beach market, which includes South Carolina’s Horry and Georgetown counties and extends northward into Brunswick County, North Carolina. At the end of 2024, there were 78 total courses in the region.

Drawing a field that ranges from scratch handicap golfers to 36 handicaps, the World Am is played on highly ranked courses such as Caledonia Golf and Fish Club, Tidewater, Barefoot Resort (Love, Fazio and Norman), TPC Myrtle Beach and more. Net divisions are flighted by handicap, so the competition is a net, stroke play event that offers a level playing field and pays out nearly 300 winners.

PGA Tour Superstore is a prize sponsor of the tournament, contributing to the $25,000 in random drawing prizes beyond the flight winners, while GolfPass is another prominent partner.

While competing for the title of World Champion amateur golfer, the field of nearly 3,000 is also contributing to a powerful economic ecosystem that has made golf tourism the cornerstone of the Grand Strand’s identity.