My Non-Golf Vacation to Charleston

I’VE BEEN OUT OF THE golf loop for the last several days. I did catch the last 15 minutes of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday. I saw Adam Scott sink the birdie on the 72nd hole for an impressive four-shot win and I heard caddie Steve Williams declare that it was the greatest week of his life.

The vent was wide open. Steve Williams and Tiger Woods will not be exchanging Christmas cards.

Meanwhile, I was in Charleston, South Carolina, also known as “The Holy City” for its tall church steeples and sometimes called “Chucktown.” It was family vacation, our last summer fling before the kids saddle up for another school year.

(Photo: Charleston National Golf Club)

We did the historic Charleston market and what we call “fancy lunch,” a white-tablecloth dining experience at Slightly North of Broad, my oldest daughter’s pick, and a good one. We spent a day at Isle of Palms beach and took an evening stroll along the Battery and Charleston Harbor and gawked at the lovely centuries-old homes. We joined a Gray Line city tour from Charleston’s first-rate visitor’s center and ducked in and out of the many shops on King Street.

(Shopping is not my forte, but as the lone male in the family I go along and am a good sport, for the most part.)

It was all excellent, great family fun, even with record heat. It didn’t include any golf for the only golfer in the family, but I didn’t expect any.

I did spy one golf course in our wanderings. The City of Charleston Golf Course, Charleston’s lone muni, is situated on James Island. Maybank Highway bisects the old course. We drove by on the way to Johns Island and I reaffirmed my interest in teeing it up on the 1920s layout where they play the city amateur. It looks like my kind of muni track.

There are a variety of other golf courses in the Charleston area, some of which I’ve listed below. I read about them in the handful of guides and brochures I collected on the trip.

Charleston-Area Golf Courses

Charleston National Golf Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Coosaw Creek Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Dunes West Golf & River Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Kiawah Island Golf Resort / Resort Public (90 holes)
(Cougar Point, Oak Point, Ocean Course, Osprey Point, Turtle Point)
Legend Oaks Plantation Golf Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Patriots Point Links / Public / Par 72
Pine Forest Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Rivertowne Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Shadowmoss Plantation Golf Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
The Links at Stono Ferry / Semi-Private / Par 72
Seabrook Island Restort / Stay & Play (36 holes)
(Crooked Oaks, Ocean Winds)
Golf Club at Westcott Plantation / Public (27 holes)
Wild Dunes Resort / Resort Public (36 holes)
(Harbor Course, Links Course)
Berkeley Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
City of Charleston Golf Course / Municipal / Par 72
Crowfield Golf & Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 72
Plantation Course At Edisto / Public / Par 70
Miller Country Club / Semi-Private / Par 71

And to the not-so-distant north and south lie Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head. There’s plenty of golf in the South Carolina coastal area. Where have you played? Any recommendations?

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: butler.corey, Flickr, Creative Commons license)