Charleston: The Sneaky Best
Golf Destination in the Carolinas

CHARLESTON, SC – On one hand, there is the rest of the south, embroiled in an eternal struggle to sell its historical wares in the competitive market of eco-tourism. On the other hand, there is Charleston.

Sure, downtown Savannah delights many a visitor with Mr. Oglethorpe’s well-planned wards, and St. Augustine holds many keys to our country’s past, but only Charleston has the power to do battle with the historic towns of New England and the mid-Atlantic.

A city of nearly 100,000 people, Charleston was once the fifth largest city in the fledgling United States, as well as the most hated civic symbol of the south by the Union army. Not surprisingly, the Civil War began in Charleston as the first shots were fired upon Ft. Sumter in 1861.

No city in the United States has persevered through more natural (and unnatural setbacks). The fire of 1861, the havoc inflicted by the British during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and hurricane Hugo all come to mind, and that is not even an exhaustive list.

“Charles Town,” as it was originally founded in 1670, was named after King Charles II, and to this day, not much has changed about the city’s quaint downtown. Perhaps no city in the United States has maintained more of its original structures and character than Charleston.

True, a flurry of modern residential and commercial developments have sprung up around Charleston, and it’s beautiful island communities. The downside of such growth comes in the form of traffic, pollution, and aesthetic compromise, but the upside comes in the form of golf courses, and darn good ones at that.

While Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head may be the most popular golfing destinations in the Palmetto State, Charleston can lay claim to it’s own rich golfing culture. Furthermore, it can make a believable argument as being the best all-around golf and tourism destination in all the Carolinas.

The home of golf in the United States is a hotly debated topic, but Charleston can actually lay claim to the nation’s first golf course and golf club – Harleston Green and the South Carolina Golf Club, both of which were established in 1786.

Unlike golfing in Myrtle Beach, golfing in Charleston is fathomable, and flat out relaxing. Despite it’s popularity as a travel destination, the old town plays host to a limited number of golf courses, most which sport big name designers and are not afraid to charge accordingly.

Some golfers may view this as a drawback; others may view it as charming and manageable. If you do not want to deny yourself one of the true golfing pleasures in life, please choose the later viewpoint.

“We have called it the undiscovered gem of the southeast,” says Doug Schmidt, President of Charleston Golf Partners. “People stop just short of getting to Charleston, or they overshoot it to Hilton Head.”

Unlike golfing in Hilton Head, golfing in Charleston is distinctly southern. You can go Hilton Head and literally not run into someone from the South, much less South Carolina. But Charleston attracts its own, as southerners and northerners alike are drawn to the purity and challenge of true Lowcountry golf.

“Our courses stack up to the finest courses that Myrtle Beach has,” Schmidt says. “Our customers always talk about fighting the traffic up there, and how it is hard to play two courses in one day. That is not a problem here.”

Charleston area golf is strewn throughout a series of islands and peninsulas that collectively make up one of the most breathtaking golfing venues in the country. The most famed, revered, and even feared of these golf facilities makes it’s home on Kiawah Island, just south of the city.

“Kiawah’” as it is simply referred to by golfers, is home to five golf courses, the most famous being the Ocean Course designed by the venerable Pete Dye. Many players and writers consider the Ocean Course to be one of the most difficult layouts in the United States, what with it’s gusty, variable winds and legion of seaside holes.

The course hosted the Ryder Cup in 1991, just a year after it opened, and may be the closest thing on the east coast to a true “links-style” course. Of course, with fame comes demand and with demand comes inflation – if you decide to play the Ocean Course, it may be the only golf outing you can afford on your trip!

Great courses tend to attract other great courses, and that best describes the evolution of golf on Kiawah Island. Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Clyde Johnston and Gary Player are all represented on this little slice of Lowcountry just 45 minutes from downtown Charleston.

Nicklaus’ Turtle Point Course opened in 1981, “round about” the time the Golden Bear started designed courses with a chip on his yellow sweater. Fazio’s Osprey Course opened in 1988, and legend has it that arguably the greatest course designer of our time had to swallow a little pride when Dye’s Ocean Course burst onto the scene like a scalded three-wood.

Isle of Palms is the island most conveniently located in relation to downtown Charleston, and it just happens to be home to the area’s second most popular golfing destination – Wild Dunes, where Tom Fazio has constructed the Harbor Course and the Links Course, both to critical acclaim. Just a twenty-minute ride from the city, and you can be golfing on a course (Harbor) that Fazio actually considers one of his favorites.

But not all the great golf in Charleston is out on the barrier islands. In fact, some of it is actually in Charleston, or in this case, nearby Mt. Pleasant. Crowfield Plantation has been, and will continue to be one of the premier courses of the area due to its hardwood-lined fairways, near perfect conditions, and historical charms. The original plantation house and gardens buffer the course, and every round at Crowfield is like stepping back in a time machine. Well, a time machine with bogeys.

And then there is the focus of this week’s content at GolfCarolina.com -- Seabrook Island. Located just 30 minutes south of the city on John’s Island and right next door to Kiawah, the resort portion of Seabrook is both breathtaking and affordable – a rare combination in these parts.

Seabrook is home to two outstanding golf courses, the Ocean Winds Course designed by Willard Byrd, and Crooked Oaks Course designed by the late Robert Trent Jones Sr. Ocean View will take you on a wild ride through the coastal marshes and dunes of the island, while Crooked Oaks will send you through a maze of Lowcountry Live Oaks and swamps.

“Charleston can compete with Myrtle Beach on prices on our championship packages, and we actually beat Hilton Head with our resort prices,” Schmidt says. “You’ve got the Ocean Course at Kiawah for people who are interested in playing the best. And now we have championship daily fee courses, so everyone can play affordable, good golf.”

So get your “y’alls” ready … we are fixin’ to take on Charleston golf head on.