40-year golfers play for free all week on the Grand Strand

Four men from Pennsylvania just don’t walk up and get in a free round of golf at the Member’s Club at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach.

But Ron Bingeman and his friends are special guests this week on the Grand Strand, as the foursome celebrates 40 consecutive years of golfing vacations here.

“We didn’t have it planned that way (when we started),“ said Bingeman.

He said in 1970, someone at work passed around a pamphlet with information about golfing vacation packages in Myrtle Beach. He and his buddies at the plant had never heard of Myrtle Beach before, but they did love to play golf.

“The cost was $25 a day,“ he said. “That was the room, your breakfast, your dinner, your greens fees—not your cart fees, but we looked at each other and said, ‘this is us, this is now, we’re going to do it,“ he said.

And the group has not missed a year—or barely a day-of golf since 1970.

Bingeman said the group missed one day because of bad weather in all those 40 years.

“We had some near-misses with thunderstorms,“ said fellow golfer Everett Cassel. “We finished before the rains came,“ he said. The group had to re-schedule the week-long outing 20 years ago because of Hurricane Hugo, but was able to still come down with no problems.

This year, Gene Weldon and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday arranged for complimentary airfare, lodging, and rounds of golf for all four men at courses like: The Dye Club at Barefoot, King’s North, The Dunes Club, Tidewater, Thistle, Grande Dunes, Bald Head Island, Tiger’s Eye and Pine Lakes

“I guess I feel like an over-thank you, like we owe them some change,“ said Bingeman. “It’s just phenomenal,“ he said.

The group also attended the Myrtle Beach First Tee golf event on Tuesday.