You have to appreciate a place that makes a community project out of building the world’s tallest sandcastle.

In May, during the annual Myrtle Beach Sun Fun Festival, crews dug their toes and fingers and shovels into 300 loads of sand — more than 6,000 tons of it — to build a castle 49.55 feet high. (Take that, former champ Virginia Beach!) No matter that the castle architects and sculptors were ringers from Sarasota, Fla. Not even Hurricane Barry, which came in and lopped nearly six and a half feet off the top of the castle before the official measuring took place, could dampen the spirits of the crowds that gathered to watch the castle crew do their stuff.

Myrtle Beach, S.C., knows its sand. Whatever grains aren’t on one of the region’s 60 miles of beach probably wind up in a bunker on one of its 100-plus golf courses. For while the beach (dubbed the “Grand Strand”) made this a vacation destination for families from the southeastern United States, golf put Myrtle Beach on the map for the wider public. The local convention and visitors bureau estimates that more than 4 million rounds are played in Myrtle Beach each year.

So, if you find yourself heading to Myrtle Beach for a conference or for business, you’re going to want to bring along your golf clubs (everyone does) — and you might also want to plan on bringing your family to this relaxed resort region.

The Myrtle Beach area encompasses 12 cities, from Little River — at the North Carolina border — to Pawleys Island in the south. Slightly more than 225,000 people call the area home year-round, and they welcome more than 14 million visitors annually.

As a recent article on PGA.com noted, “If golf is the currency of South Carolina, then Myrtle Beach is the mint.” In fact, it was the development of golf courses in the 1960s that turned Myrtle Beach from a beach resort — waking up for Memorial Day and going back to sleep after Labor Day — to a year-round destination. Today, about one-third of the courses in the area are rated with four stars by Golf Digest. Among the favorites are Barefoot Resort in North Myrtle Beach, offering four championship courses; Ocean Ridge Plantation and Sea Trail, both with multiple courses in Sunset Beach, and the Willard Byrd-designed course at the Litchfield Country Club in Pawleys Island (Global Traveler, GTee, September 2007). Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is the area’s oldest golf reservations agency and a good place to start making your golfing plans.

Although Myrtle Beach takes its golf seriously, it does have a sense of humor about it. How else could you explain the area’s weird and wacky array of miniature golf courses? Among the 50 along the Grand Strand are Hawaiian Rumble (tel 843 272 7812), the home course for the U.S. Pro Mini Golf Masters National Championship complete with an “active” volcano; Jungle Lagoon (tel 843 626 7894), with two 18-hole courses, waterfalls, lagoons and spouting elephant statues; the medieval-themed Dragon’s Lair (tel 843 913 9301) and the two fantasy-oriented courses at Mt. Atlanticus Minotaur Golf (tel 843 444 1008).

Of course, even Myrtle Beach does not live by golf alone. There are other active pursuits here as well, including kayaking, fishing, and diving the many historic wrecks off the coast. If you prefer your sports on the spectator side, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (tel 843 918 6000), an Atlanta Braves minor-league affiliate, play baseball at BB&T Coastal Field from April to September. Last year’s “record-breaking” crowd at the newly renovated stadium just inched past 6,000, which means that you’ll have a super view of the action from anywhere in the stands, including “Pelican Beach,” where the “bleachers” are beach chairs set in the sand beside a private tiki bar.

This being a seaside resort, there are the requisite number of amusement parks and attractions nearby, including Myrtle Waves Water Park (tel 843 913 9269), with 20 acres of wetness, and the NASCAR Speed Park (tel 843 918 TRAK), where you can drive a half-scale stock car on a half-mile track. Both are part of Broadway at the Beach, a sprawling festival center containing a slew of shops, restaurants and nightspots, an aquarium and the newly opened Pavilion Nostalgia Park, a recreated amusement park with old-fashioned rides and games.

If quiet relaxation is what you’re after, spend a day at Brookgreen Gardens (1931 Brookgreen Drive at U.S. Highway 17, Murrells Inlet, tel 843 235 6000). This National Historic Landmark was the creation of Archer and Anna Huntington, who opened the vast park in the 1930s as a sculpture garden and nature center. In addition to 1,200 works of sculpture, it encompasses a zoo, the Lowcountry History and Wildlife Preserve, and the remnants of four 19th-century rice plantations.

Yet the true beauty of this region is, and always has been, the beach, where there’s space to be as quiet, or as noisy, as you like, and miles and miles of white sand in which to dig your shovel or simply curl your toes.

LODGING

BAREFOOT RESORT

The Davis Love III golf course, ranked No. 1 on Golf Digest’s 2005 list of the Top 50 courses in Myrtle Beach, is one of four open to guests of this “resort plaza.” (Tom Fazio, Pete Dye and Greg Norman designed the other courses.) Accommodations run from hotel-style guestrooms and one-bedroom villas near the resort’s yacht club (opened in 2006) on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway to three- and four-bedroom golf course villas. There are swimming pools and casual dining options on the resort property, but here it’s really all about the golf. $$-$$$$
4801 Harbor Pointe Dr., North Myrtle Beach
tel 888 556 4972
http://www.barefootgolfresort.com

ISLAND VISTA

There are no bad views from the rooms in this 149-room, all-suite hotel; every balcony faces the ocean and the beach. Built on the site of the 1980s-vintage Island Vista Inn, the new Island Vista luxury resort opened in 2006, offering one- to four-bedroom suites furnished in traditional style and featuring modern conveniences including high-speed Internet access and en suite laundry and kitchen facilities. There’s a full-service restaurant serving breakfast and dinner daily, an indoor/outdoor pool complex that’s heaven for kids, and a reception staff available to make golfing arrangements.$$-$$$
6000 N. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach
tel 800 854 5426
http://www.islandvista.com

MARINA INN AT GRANDE DUNES

Although many of the area’s hotels lean toward suite accommodations, with or without kitchen facilities, at this 2 ,200-acre resort you have a choice: luxury villa suite, studio suite or luxury guestroom. All have water views — whether of the Intracoastal Waterway or the resort’s marina — and all have wireless, high-speed Internet access, plus other creature comforts such as high-thread-count sheets. There are two top-ranked golf courses at the resort as well as tennis courts, a fitness center, indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs, and four restaurants. $$-$$$
1000 Grande Dunes Blvd., Myrtle Beach
tel 877 347 2633
http://www.marinainnatgrandedunes.com

DINING

DIVINE FISH HOUSE

A beauty spot beside the water, this is a local favorite for its food and atmosphere. The décor is clean and casual and the menu takes local specialties — both seafood and Southern cuisine — and gives them clever spins, such as an appetizer of fried green tomatoes layered with chèvre cheese and Thai chili sauce, and a Tidelands sea bass crusted in parmesan cheese and fresh herbs. $$$
3393 Highway 17 Business, Murrells Inlet
tel 843 651 5800
http://www.divinefishhouse.com

SEA CAPTAIN’S HOUSE

Voted the area’s best seafood restaurant by the readers of the Myrtle Beach Sun News, this cozy restaurant housed in a 1930s-era house beside the ocean has been a local landmark for generations. All the requisite seafood entrees are served, including the fresh catch of the day. Portions are substantial and there’s a very reasonable and extensive kids’ menu. $$$
3002 N. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach
tel 843 448 8082
http://www.seacaptains.com

ORIGINAL BENJAMIN’S CALABASH SEAFOOD BUFFET

If no-frills seafood is your thing, you’ll find it all here — and we do mean all, the buffet goes on for yards. Shrimp, clams, oysters, scallops, crab, catfish and more come baked, broiled and especially fried. Similar “Calabash-style” seafood buffets can be found all up and down the Grand Strand; this is one of the larger ones, reeling in diners by the busload. $$
9593 N. Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach
tel 843 449 0821
http://www.originalbenjamins.com

INFO TO GO

Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR) is small, and the local Chamber of Commerce is pushing hard for construction of a new terminal to replace the existing one. Not only will a larger terminal ease the strain on the airport and make room for new air service, but it is also expected to attract more visitors who will stay longer and spend more in the area.

Prime Time Golf & Travel (tel 866 443 6600) in the baggage claim area rents golf shoes and clubs and arranges tee times for incoming visitors, and golf club shipping for those on their way home.