Jay Don Blake garnered plenty of attention last month when he made his 500th career PGA Tour start at the Black Desert Championship. While many stories celebrated Blake’s career and his 1991 Farmers Insurance Open victory, nobody covered his connection to Myrtle Beach.
A Pete and P.B. Dye design, Prestwick has a rich history worth discovering, including its association with Blake. Here are five things you don’t know about Prestwick Country Club:
1. A Touring Pro with Local Roots
When Prestwick opened in 1989 as a private club, Jay Don Blake signed on as the club’s touring professional. Blake moved to Myrtle Beach and represented Prestwick on the PGA Tour, with its logo proudly displayed on his golf bag. Are you curious how he ended up as the club’s touring pro?
2. The Prestwick Skins Game
As part of Prestwick’s grand opening, an $18,000 skins game was arranged, featuring P.B., Pete, and Alice Dye, along with Billy Joe Patton and Tour pros Keith Clearwater, Gil Morgan, John Cook, and Scott Verplank. When Cook withdrew due to a wrist injury, Blake stepped in, immediately impressing the Prestwick team, who signed him as their touring pro a week later. Clearwater walked away with the most winnings in the skins game, donating $6,000 to the American Cancer Society.
(As an aside, can you imagine four PGA Tour players competing for $18,000 today? They wouldn’t get out of bed for $18,000 per hole.)
3. Tickets Sold Out Fast
Prestwick’s grand opening event drew an impressive crowd. The club sold more than 1,500 tickets.
4. Prestwick’s Scottish Connection
Myrtle Beach’s Prestwick shares its name with the legendary Prestwick Links of Scotland, which hosted the first British Open in 1860. The Scottish course gave its blessing for the name, and Jack Reid, the secretary of the original Prestwick, attended the grand opening, noting he felt “right at home” at the course.
5. P.B. Dye’s Hand in the Design
Although originally branded as a Pete and P.B. Dye project, the course was almost entirely P.B.’s vision. From moving 1.3 million cubic yards of dirt to creating the scenic ninth hole and the famously challenging finish, P.B. led every phase of construction. As the Sun News reported, “P.B. was the Dye who designed the course, laid out the land, and was here week after week directing the bulldozers.”
From Jay Don Blake’s time as the club’s touring pro to its transformation into a fully public course in 2016, Prestwick has always been a hidden gem. Want to play Prestwick on your next Myrtle Beach golf trip? Tee times are available at MyrtleBeachGolfTrips.com.
