It’s May and it’s our annual Myrtle Beach golf trip. Eric, Jim, Tim and I started this 6 years ago. 72 holes in 3 days of drinking, playing, eating and snoring! What I learned and what to share from this year.

Grande Dunes 7AM. Copyright 2012 David Leveen

1. iPads: Three out of the four of us brought iPads instead of laptops this year. All the condo’s at Legends where we stay have cable modems, but not wireless. I brought my Airport Express which I set up using my iPad and Apple’s Airport Utility for the iPad. Now the iPads and the lone laptop (a Windows machine) were able to get on the internet. I also learned that you can leave your iPad in your carry on and not pull it out when you go through security.
2. Maps app and Contacts on the iPhone: Because we’ve been before and we have our favorite courses and restaurants their addresses are in my contacts app on my iPhone. That way if we want to go from Legends in Myrtle Beach, SC where we are staying to Oyster Bay Golf Links in Sunset Beach, N.C. maps quickly gives us to and from directions. My navi-guessor Eric handled the direction chores in our rental Town and Country man van!

1. Eating: Avoid the chains look for local restaurants run by the locals they’re usually the most fun and have the best food. Yelp and Chowhound.com are great for finding the best local places. We love Crab Catchers on the Waterfront Little River, S.C. and Thai Cuisine in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
2. Golf: If you never use your 4 iron, leave it home. As the attendant at Oyster Bay said as he pulled Eric’s bag out of the man van, “ hey….I think there are some clubs missing!” Have fun, get the domestic six pack specials and by all means get the Bloody Mary’s at Grande Dunes! Remember you can’t call golf a sport if you can smoke cubans and drink while playing. Also, watch out for the alligators they are big!

Our favorite Par 3 at Grande Dunes. A pond and the Inter-Coastal Waterway. All four of us where on the green in 1. Copyright 2012 David Leveen

1. Take a Deep Breath and Turn the Phone off: After playing 27 holes the first day at Oyster Bay we stopped for drinks and dinner at Crab Catchers on the Water. We stayed four hours and had a blast. There was never a lull or phone call during those four hours. Drinks, appetizers , dinner, bald eagles, Croton characters, a weird professor, kids and a guessing game about how old our server was. We didn’t want to out right ask so we asked 20 questions during those four hours. We came close, she was in her mid 40s and from Hartford, Ct. We spend so much of our time with and in front of gadgets and computers that we forget how relaxing talking and taking in your surroundings can be. Try it!

Just Because: Jagger rocking SNL!