Let’s assume it’s a given you will enjoy the golf on your next trip to Myrtle Beach, but there is more to a great experience than an 8:30 a.m. tee time, no matter how great the course.

Having just concluded my annual 16-man, Myrtle Beach golf vacation, here are five of the most enjoyable aspects of this year’s trip, largely setting birdies and bogeys aside.

– Sure, the morning round was great, but I loved 9-hole replays in the afternoon. The four lowest scorers in the morning picked teams, everyone threw in $5, and we played captain’s choice. It didn’t matter how you were playing; the format was relaxing and everyone had a good time.

– Dinner and drinks every evening. The opportunity to laugh at yourself and others is always to be enjoyed and with a couple hours to cool off, it’s much easier to find the humor in your bad shots. You don’t get many chances to enjoy uninterrupted dinners with friends, so don’t squander the opportunity.

– We used the Golf GameBook app, which provided live scoring, and it was awesome. Our group plays a Ryder Cup style event and it was great to click on the leaderboard and see how all the matches were going, especially on the final day when everything hung in the balance. People, understandably, like to avoid their phones on the course, but it only takes one person in each group to enter scores, and it certainly adds to the experience.

– We concluded our trip at Grande Dunes and it was perfect. Sure the layout is great and the greens were perfect, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Sitting on the back patio, our trophy on full display, watching everyone coming up 18, knowing the match scores because of Golf Gamebook, was the perfect conclusion to our trip. And the food at Terrazza 19 was great. It’s a great setting and the perfect way to say goodbye.

– This has certainly been implied, but the opportunity to see friends is at the top of my list. Our group has guys from Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and South Carolina. For many of us, it’s the only time we see each other all year. The older you get, the more you appreciate those opportunities and that was certainly the case this year.

Even more important than the birdies, bogeys and great golf courses (we played Tidewater, PineHills, Pine Lakes and Grande Dunes), these were some of the most enjoyable facets of my Myrtle Beach golf trip.

Let us know your favorite things about a Myrtle Beach golf trip.

(Grande Dunes Resort Club top photo, Pine Lakes Country Club 14th Hole & Terrazza 19’s patio pictured right)