Golf Exclusives E-Newsletter - August 1, 2002

Golfing in Charleston is Distinctly Southern

By Shane Sharp, Senior Editor, Travelgolf.com

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 designer names 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.

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 Low Country golf.

Says Scott Martin, co-author of The Insiders' Guide to Golf in the Carolinas: "Charleston is one of the most popular destinations on the Eastern Seaboard and while the Myrtle Beach area gets all the attention from the golf world, the Charleston area boasts some fantastic golf. Charleston is a great place for couples, especially if one of the two isn't a golfer."

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 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 Low Country 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 course is buffered by the original plantation house and it's gardens, and every round at Crowfield is like stepping back in a time machine. Well, a time machine with bogeys.

A complete sampling of Charleston golf this is not. Think more in terms of a teaser, that first little cocktail on a southern front porch that could lead to an entire evening of revelry, relaxation, and relentless partying.

Golf Exclusives Specials
The Charleston Golf Getaway Package Includes:

• 3 nights double occupancy accommodations in a studio suite at Quality Suites
• 3 rounds of golf per golfer including carts at area courses (*)
• pre-booked tee times
• hotel taxes

Cost per golfer: $357 for travel 9/1/02 - 11/30/02

Chicagoland Golf Special:

Top Notch Golf combined with First Class Accommodations - Play at some of the top courses in Chicagoland and stay at conveniently located Marriott's Hickory Ridge Conference Hotel.

Package Includes:

• Overnight accommodations for two, including full breakfast
• 1 round of golf at your choice of area courses (*), including cart
• Guaranteed tee-times
• Compact car rental with unlimited miles during your stay
• Complimentary sleeve of golf balls

• Seven Bridges
• Cantigny
• Kemper Lakes
• Ruffled Feathers
• Dubsdread at Cog Hill
• Prairie Landing
• White Deer Run
• Port Course at Harborside International

Ireland

Play the "Best of the Southwest" in this seven-night land-only package

Package Includes:

• 7 nights double occupancy accommodations, including breakfast daily
• 5 rounds of golf at each of the following: Ballybunion, Lahinch, Tralee, Killarney, Adare
• Guaranteed tee-times
• Compact car rental

Doral Golf Resort, Miami

"Summer Special" package includes:

• 3 nights double occupancy accommodations including breakfast
• 3 rounds of golf with cart
• Guaranteed tee-times
• Rental car