PGA Week In Charleston-The Number One Destination Showcasing Its Attraction

Kiawah Island Ocean Course

The rains have been descending upon the Lowcountry these early August days like a swarm of mosquitoes descending on a spottail fisherman in the backwaters of Gray Bay. Dodging the raindrops running from one destination to the next and arriving in dry clothing has become a challenge. There seems to be a definite daily pattern taking hold. The day begins sunny, the clouds build as the morning progresses, by afternoon the rains pour down, and in the evening the skies clear out. It's mid-summer in the Lowcountry. High humidity equates into precipitation as the heat of the day builds in an unstable atmosphere and voila(pardon my French), you get rain. How's that for a weather analogy Al Rocker.

The PGA's top golfers have been likewise descending upon the Lowcountry these early August days, by air and by sea. Walking from hole to hole with the least amount of strokes will be their challenge starting on the 9th. The extended forecast is calling for the possibility of rain and wind for the entire tournament. The Ocean Course already has a reputation for being dominated by fickled breezes. The capricious winds will show no favorites and figures to play a significant role in being a spoiler. Arriving at the 501 yard, 18th hole on par with dry clothing will be an added challenge for the golfers. An anticipated 200,000 hearty spectators will swamp the course through the week, but the Sunday crowd will see the final putt of the tournament. Drive for show, putt for dough. Will it be won by a Bubba Watson miracle shot or a Tiger Woods off the green chip in. One thing is for sure, Tiger will be feasting on Charleston's oysters, Casanova's favorite aphrodisiac. Come on, play fair.

Just for fun

You can bet a bucket of oysters all those spectators will be spending some money while they're in town. The PGA and the College of Charleston Office of Tourism Analysis forecasts that the championship will generate a downpour of some $193 million for South Carolina. Charleston will be close to all the action. Its renowned restaurants will be cooking up a storm of their own as they cater to the thousands of expected visitors here for the tournament. Some of the featured restaurants during PGA week are Bowens Island, Melvins, Slightly North of Broad, Fig, Husk, Red Drum, Charleston Grill, Martha Lou's, Red's Ice House, and Hominy Grill. Beautiful accommodations, informative historic tours, and a lively nighttime scene is all a part of the package.

Since it is PGA tournament time in Charleston, the area golf courses will be benefiting from all of the hype it generates. After watching the pros, the amateur golfers in the Lowcountry will be wanting to test out their own skills. At least, that is the way it is for me after watching any sporting event. Historic Charleston is surrounded by courses of exceptional variety from breathtaking coastal terrains to tree-lined forest fairways. As already mentioned earlier in this article, the Kiawah Island Golf Resorts Ocean Course is one of those courses.

View Larger Map The Ocean Course is located on the eastern-most end of Kiawah island and boasts more seaside holes than any other course in the Northern Hemisphere-10 in all. The raised golf course has unobstructed views of Kiawah’s beautiful Atlantic coastline from every hole. It is no stranger to notoriety. It hosted the 2007 Senior PGA Championship and the 2012 PGA Tournament, now underway, is the first of golf's four majors to be played in South Carolina. If you are interested in golf packages, visit Kiawah Island Golf Resort's web page. You can stay at the beautiful Sanctuary Hotel. For a complete list of all the packages the resort offers go to Kiawah Vacation Packages. The Kiawah Island Golf Resort has four additional courses.

Five other courses featured this week are Patriots Point Links, The Plantation Club at Edisto Island, Wild Dunes Resort, Charleston National and Crowfield Country Club. All have PGA specials. Patriot Point Links is in the heart of Mount Pleasant with holes overlooking Charleston Harbor and nestled in the shadows of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. The Plantation Club at Edisto Island is offering a charter bus with express access to The Ocean Course and on-board refreshments each day for its guests. The Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms will have a 19th Hole with extra TVs and streaming video on laptops, so if you want to play and then watch the PGA every day, they have that setup all day long. The Charleston National signed up with the PGA to offer a special, where if you bring your PGA Championship ticket or show it on your phone, you get a 10 percent discount. Crowfield Country Club will offer green fees at $40 before noon, $30 after Monday-Friday, and just $5 more on weekends. Seniors can get a $29 rate all day weekdays.

This week an estimated 500 million people in 200 countries will view the tournament on television. The Lowcountry scenery will leave a lasting impression on those visiting as well as everyone watching from afar. Come and see for yourself. Once you come here, you just might want to stay, I did.

Kiawah Island Golf Resort

Charleston Has A Long, Illustrious Golf History And In 2012 Welcomes The 94th PGA Championship

Mark Twain once wrote, "Golf is a good walk spoiled." I am assuming by the tone of Twain's humorous quip about golf, he was either a poor golfer or never satisfied with his efforts. Sometimes after spending a day on the links, I have to agree with his comedic yet profound assessment. Now, I will reveal the case in point. This corresponding opinion is coming from the person who caught out of the air his own drive off the tee. You may wonder how that seemingly illogical feat could be possible. In verification to its unusualness, my fellow golfers for the day said it was a first for them. It's too bad a camera wasn't rolling because the video could have went viral and possibly been an instant hit on YouTube, subsequently leading to what could have been for me a brief claim to fame. Bearing this in mind, golf is one of those situations where at times I look brilliant and other times completely inept. I think it to be a good day on the course if I find more balls than I lose.

Painting by Carrol Ezel of David Dee's shipment

The first documented golf played in North America was right here in Charleston, although some dispute this notion and say New York was the first place. In the final analysis, the collective facts tilt in favor of Charleston. The most compelling of the facts revolve around a Scottish shipping merchant by the name of David Dees. David Dees moved to Charleston from Leith, Scotland, the place famous for organizing the first golf club in 1744. Dee's was also a store owner on E. Bay St. in the famous Rainbow Row. In 1743 Dee's received a shipment of 96 clubs and 432 balls from the Port of Leith. A very sizable shipment suggesting there was an active market in Charleston for acquiring this necessary equipement, at the time called mashies (clubs) and featheries (balls).

Existing written accounts show there was a golf association that played at Harleston's Green, a public park between what is now Calhoun and Bull Streets, east of Rutledge. This green area was commonly used by the public for riding and socializing. There was no permanent course as of yet, so they would dig holes around the park and hit the balls into them. William's Coffee House on the corner of Bay Street and Tradd served as the groups "club house". The first golf club was formed years later in 1786 called the South Carolina Golf Club. The Gazette, a Charleston newspaper of the time, made reference to the clubs scheduled events. Not so surprising, most of the members were of Scottish decent of which Charleston had a substantial population.  A similar group of golfers was formed a few years later in neighboring Savannah.

11th hole Country Club of Charleston

The South Carolina Golf Club's claim to fame is substantiated by the fact it has been listed as the oldest golf club in the United states by the USGA. The present day course, built in 1925, is called the Country Club of Charleston. It is located at 1 Country Club Drive. The course is home to one of the most feared holes in the Southeast. The 187-yard, par 3, number 11 is also the courses signature hole. It has a mounded green with an eleven foot deep bunker on the right and a seven foot bunker on the left. The intimidation is avoiding the deep bunkers off the tee because from there the picture isn't a pretty one.

This coming August 9-12, the Charleston area will be center stage in the world of golf. The 94th PGA Championship will be played on the No. 1 toughest course in the United States, the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. The ranking was from a list of 75 registered courses compiled by Golf Digest. On March 22, reigning PGA Champion Keegan Bradley, visited the course for the first time during Media Day and said this about the course, “I think it’s a great track. It was very difficult, but fair at the same time. It’s going to take a complete player to win on the Ocean Course." He also raised the spector of the wind playing the Devils Advocate when he further said, “If the wind blows when we’re here in August, I think the winning score could be over par." Outside of Scotland and Ireland, the Ocean Course has more seaside holes than any other course in the Northern Hemisphere.

17th hole tee on the Ocean Course, Kiawah Island

Over the last few months, 12 holes at the Ocean Course have been tweaked for the Championship, mainly the reshaping of bunkers that have been altered by wind-blown sands over the years. The greens on the 5th and 11th hole received the most attention. The 5th hole is a 217-yard, par 3. A bunker on the left side of the green was lengthened to make a back, left pin placement more problematic. The 11th, a 591-yard, par 5, had an elevation change around its green. The left side used to be up about 3-4 feet above the surface of the green. It’s now about 6 feet below the surface in a collection area. The idea here is to create the temptation to go for the green on the second shot. A collection area is where a shot due to the slope of the terrain, either occurring naturally or man-made, will easily roll into.

You can play golf all year round in beautiful, historic Charleston. There are 20 championship golf courses around the Charleston area to choose from. With the 94th PGA Championship coming in August, Charleston's area hotels are offering plenty of golf packages for your convenience. Tickets for the Championship can still be purchased for the week days. So, grab your clubs and have some fun. When on the course, keep your expectations reasonable and you won't spoil a good walk.

My golf game

Golf trivia: Featheries were an appropriate name for golf balls before the advent of the modern golf ball. They were made from goose feathers and cowhide or horsehide. The feathers were stuffed into the leather while both items were wet. As the two dried out the leather shrank and the feathers expanded to create a hardened ball. The finished ball was then painted.