Myrtle Beach - Miniature Golf

Click on any image to see the full-size version; Right-Click on any image to save it.

SAFARI GOLF
1811 S Kings Hwy
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
(843) 444-9267

Located at the intersection of 19th Ave. South and King's Highway, this corner has been a 36-hole miniature golf course since 1976, when it was "Hurl Rock Golf". It was sold around 1995 and renovated into the present course- which consisted mainly of the addition of various animal figures and other jungle items; the basic course layout seems to remain unchanged, with volcanic rock obstacles on many holes.

Competition from the newer huge, multi-million dollar courses is tough on these older and smaller old-school courses. When I first stopped by on March 31, 2007, the owner said that business was already down about 30% from the previous year, and with newer and flashier courses being built all the time, this older course might not be able to last much longer.

This course is fairly typical of many older 1960s and 1970s courses, without the huge mountains with rivers and waterfalls that are now typical. Because of new ADA rules, it isn't possible to do any renovation or updating this course without tremendous expense; updating or fixing any holes would require converting a whole half of the course so that it is "handicapped accessible".

The course is in need of a fair amount of maintenance, with loose spots in the carpet on many holes- apparently some holes have already had the carpet replaced. The concrete is loose in several places, and the entire course could use some gardening. The clubhouse needs fixing up as well, and no refreshments were available during the May 2007 trip.

The course was open through the 2014 season. In 2015, it was demolished and the property was used as part of the "Radical Ropes Adventure Park", an extensive rope/zipline course that also used adjacent properties.

Overhead Views:

North
South
East
West

These pictures were taken on May 12th, 2007:

Front Course

Hole #1 - I tried banking it off the right side, which got fairly close.

Hole #2 - Very straight, flat hole. Most of these holes have a very pronounced lip, which caused many shots, like this one, to roll out.

Hole #3 - Another very straight hole. Too much power on any of these shots will put the ball in a bad spot.

Hole #4 - Upward bank. Even a little too much power on this one will have the ball rolling back to the start.

Hole #5 - Play it very close to the left side

Hole #6 - Straight, uninteresting hole

Hole #7 - Bank into a left dog-leg. Carpet here definitely needs fixing, and the concrete on back of the bank needs filling in as well.

Hole #8 - Bank this one very close to the middle, and you'll get close.

Hole #9 - Long, straight hole.

Hole #10 - Hole is banked to left, miss and you'll be against the left side.

Hole #11 - With the exception of the odd "water" hazard to the right, this is a regular straight hole.

Hole #12 - Medium, straight downhill shot.

Hole #13 - Finally, a hole-in-one by banking off the left side. Like most curved holes on this course, none of the arcs are smooth, they appear to have been laid out by hand with no geometric aids. Because of this, shots can't "follow" the curved sides, they will eventually just bounce wildly.

Hole #14 - Bank right, through the center, or a tricky but light bank to the left? I tried the latter, and got very close. This is a good use of the old, original volcanic rock obstacles.

Hole #15 - Long, straight shot.

Hole #16 - This hole, like several others, suffers from the non-smooth arcs. It isn't possible to hit the ball so that it follows that back arc.

Hole #17 - Almost made this one- hit it very close to the right side.

Hole #18 - Lightly banked from the left side.

Back Course

Hole #1 - I tried banking it from the right, got in a bad spot.

Hole #2 - Straight shot up the middle, needs some gardening!

Hole #3 - Shot very close to right-side, banked off left side.

Hole #4 - Strange start, just a long, straight shot.

Hole #5 - Somewhat smoother arc, but didn't get close.

Hole #6 - Hit that oddly-shaped section the back, and the ball will bounce all over.

Hole #7 - Follow left side, got very close.

Hole #8 - Too much speed is ok, it will roll back toward the hole.

Hole #9 - Another hole which almost but doesn't quite work, because of the arcs. 3-putted on this one.

Hole #10 - Probably the worst hole of all with the non-smooth arcs, especially the way it changes direction. Its very tough to even get the ball into the final section with one shot.