Hootie & the Blowfish and PGA Professional Dustin Johnson, who is fresh off a win at the WGC Mexico Championship, were inducted into the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame at Pine Lakes Country Club in South Carolina. Johnson and all four members of Hootie & the Blowfish have long had close ties to the Myrtle Beach golf community and were on hand for the ceremony.
A 20-time winner on the PGA Tour, Johnson attended college at Coastal Carolina University and long considered TPC Myrtle Beach, where he continues to display memorabilia, his home course. TPC Myrtle Beach is also home to the Dustin Johnson Golf School and the fourth annual Dustin Johnson World Junior Golf Championship, which as played on the acclaimed course.
The Dustin Johnson Foundation, which raises money to benefit kids academically and with their dreams of playing competitive golf, is based in Myrtle Beach.
Johnson, who has served as the official spokesman for the Myrtle Beach golf community, plays an active role in his junior golf tournament, the golf school and his foundation, and all three endeavors regularly bring him back to Myrtle Beach. Johnson was also in town to open his new expanded 4,000 square foot golf school facilities which includes two trackman trainers, Aimpoint technology, Swing Catalyst, Sam Putt-Lab and K-Vest 3D.
Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker and Jim “Soni” Sonefeld were Myrtle Beach golfers before Hootie & the Blowfish became one of the biggest selling bands in music history. Prior to hitting it big with the 1994 release of Cracked Rear View, the quartet perfected their sound playing Myrtle Beach’s thriving club scene.
The band’s fondness for the area helped lead to the decision to host the annual Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am (MAM) at Barefoot Resort’s Dye Club. This year will mark the MAM’s 25th anniversary, including the last 17 years in Myrtle Beach, and the event has shined a national spotlight on the area, helping attract Golf Channel, ESPN Radio, CBS Radio and many other national and regional outlets.
Most significantly, the MAM, which will be played April 15, 2019 at the Barefoot Resort Dye Golf Club, has raised more than $7.1 million to support education and junior golf in South Carolina.
Anticipation for this year’s MAM, which features a post-golf concert, continues to rise as excitement builds over Hootie returns to the road as part of its 2019 Group Therapy Tour. The tour coincides with the 25th anniversary of the release of Cracked Rear View, which remains one of the best-selling albums in American history. Check it out at HootieGolf.com.
Johnson and Hootie & the Blowfish comprised the 11th class of inductees into the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame.
Established to pay tribute to the men and women who have played significant roles in the development of the Myrtle Beach area golf industry, the Hall of Fame opened in 2009. Plaques for hall of fame inductees are located in a courtyard at Pine Lakes Country Club, the Myrtle Beach area’s first course.
For more information about Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame, visit www.themyrtlebeachgolfhalloffame.com.
