If you asked most golfers where the story of American golf begins, the answers would likely be Pinehurst. Maybe Shinnecock coming off the U.S. Open. Even Augusta National would likely get a few votes.
Few would say South Carolina.
Yet the Palmetto State occupies a central place in the story of American golf. The game’s earliest organized roots can be traced to Charleston. Some of the country’s most influential courses were built here and moments that changed the sport forever have unfolded on South Carolina fairways.
Ours is a story worth telling.
Over the coming months, SouthCarolinaGolf.org will explore 20 Moments That Shaped South Carolina Golf, a series exploring the people, places and events that helped define golf in the Palmetto State.
We’ll revisit dramatic championships like the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island and Phil Mickelson’s improbable PGA Championship victory. We’ll explore the origins of American golf in Charleston, the rise of Myrtle Beach as the Golf Capital of the World, the architectural masterpieces that transformed Hilton Head and Aiken, and the people whose vision forever changed the game in South Carolina.
Some stories will be well known. Others have largely been forgotten. All of them deserve to be remembered.
This series isn’t intended to be a definitive ranking of the state’s greatest golfers or finest courses. Instead, it’s a look back at the moments that shaped South Carolina’s golf identity.
A new installment will be published each week here on SouthCarolinaGolf.org and shared across our social media channels. We hope you’ll read them, share them, and perhaps even introduce us to a few stories we haven’t yet uncovered.
Golf has given South Carolina an extraordinary history.
It’s time to tell it.
