Let’s do it! It’ll probably have to be after Aiken for me.
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Is it too late to get on the Merch bus for me?
Hey SC folks. Is May River in Bluffton good?
Yes
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No. Jump google sheet.
I’ll apologize in advance for breaking whatever written or unwritten protocols I might be breaking. Would anyone here be willing to host me for a round at CCofC or Bulls Bay the week of Oct 12th? I’ll be in town for my honeymoon. I’d be glad to return the favor if anyone ever makes it to Nebraska. Lots of great options here (Sand Hills, Dismal River, OmahaCC).
Very good…even for a Nicklaus course.
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I’m looking for quick casual rounds of golf…particularly on Friday afternoons and Sunday mornings. Competitive play - nah. Conditties matter, but all of my options are probably pretty similar in that regard, no? I’m not a design/architecture freak, but walkability would be nice. Practice facilities - nah, as long as there is a range, I’m good.
You make a great point about the reciprocals. That might make my decision for me. Join Camden, play with family and friends there, use the reciprocals around Columbia when I don’t want to make the drive.
Conditions would be similar, but also nuanced. Tee to green, Camden is as good as it’s been in my 5 yrs here. Greens are smooth but very grassy-slow. I should add, they need to be slow. If they were 10+, you may not have any playable pins on 2, 5, 7, 8, & 12.
Columbia has the best greens in town (somewhat biased, but not really). Tee to green it’s always good, but the bunkers need some investment to get it to the next level.
O-burg is all around phenomenal. Better greens than Camden (slower than Columbia), but they spend a lot more money to maintain it. I’m pretty sure they have some benefactor money from Zeus, which lets them pay a bit more attention to things like edging, pine cones, etc.
All three are super walkable and you’ll be chased out of the places if you’re not on a 3:30 pace.
I won’t comment on SVCC, as it’s been a couple years since I’ve been over there.
You’d be well served in either Camden, Columbia or O-burg. Columbia is probably more on the competitive games side, but you can always access one of the three nines if you don’t want to have to join a group.
I lived in Columbia from 1998 - 2000 as a student at USC and again 2005 - 2008. I lived downtown on Main and Taylor 2005 - 2008 and could get to CCC in about 15 - 20 minutes by taking Bull St. to 277, to 77, and then to CCC.
1998 - 2000 I was at The University Club which is now Cobblestone. I walked every round there and the only parts that were really difficult were going up to the green on 4 Garnet and getting back to the old clubhouse from 9 Golf. I kept a national membership there after I graduated and was a student member (grad school) in 2005. Unfortunately, Bobby Ginn bought it in 2005 and while “ruined” is too severe to describe what he did to the place, “criminal” is not. Used to be the only houses you could see from the course were on 7, 8, and 9 Black. Now, they’re everywhere. I don’t take pleasure in other people failing, but I would be lying to you if I told you I wasn’t a little giddy inside when he went bankrupt after what he did to the members that were there when he took it over. Dues doubled overnight, no more walking, and had to play in foursomes. About 20 of us left within a month and went to Windermere…
Windermere has/had soooooo much potential, but the owner there was criminally negligent when it came to the golf course and the Pete/P.B. Dye layout continues to die a slow, painful death from what I’ve heard. Of the 20 of us that went from University Club to Windermere, several of us left and went to Columbia CC in 2006. In hindsight, Columbia CC is where I should have joined when I left University Club.
I was at Columbia CC late 2006 - early 2008 and was extremely sad to leave even though I was moving to San Diego for the Navy. CCC is always in good shape, the membership is super casual, the range is adequate, and you can always find a game. I think they have an ABCD Dogfight every day now. I still really miss CCC and will drive up there to play it with my buddies when I can as well as any SCGA event held there.
CCC’s greens were impeccable the entire time I was a member there and will make you a better golfer or send you to an asylum. I went from a 6 to a +4 in those 18 months and it was due to two things…1) having an immense amount of time on my hands every summer while all of the Midshipmen were gone, and 2) not wanting to go broke since I played in the standing weekend groups where WOLF was the normal game. Ridgewood and Tall Pines (Lake is the other 9) are a demanding 18 holes that reward good shots and absolutely punish bad ones. There’s a reason it’s the only course in Columbia that I know of that hosts local qualifying for the premier USGA events like the Open and the Amateur.
Orangeburg is an incredible hidden gem and as mentioned, the bunkers and areas between holes that don’t get a lot of attention at CCC are better than CCC. But then again, I like that CCC leaves them rough/natural since you’re not supposed to be in there anyway.
A little tip for you if you join CCC…never, and I do mean NEVER, EVER, fire at the flag on #5 if the pin is on the right side. Hit it to the middle, tap that 20 footer lightly enough to roll about six inches if it were a flat putt, hope it stops within a couple of feet, take your par, and get the hell out of there. I had way too many rounds die an extremely painful death on that hole.
There are other greens at CCC that are downright scary to be above the hole like a middle pin on 4, the front middle pin on 11 where you can’t really be below the hole since it’s a false front, anywhere on the front of 12, and the middle of 17 (good luck keeping it on the green if the pin is middle and you’re on the back shelf), but the right side of 5 still sends shivers down my spine.
As for Fort Jackson…the superintendent who was at CCC 2006 - 2008 (Jeff) went to Fort Jackson when he left CCC. He tore up all of the old Bermuda 419 greens, redid the foundations to improve drainage, and installed Tifeagle. I haven’t played the Fort since he redid the greens, but several folks have told me over the years that FJ’s greens are some of, if not the best greens on any military course anywhere in the country, let alone in Columbia. Unless they did renovations other than the greens, Wildcat is the easier course since it doesn’t have water, and Old Hickory is a very stout test. I loved it out there, but it could be hard at times to get a tee time.
If I lived in Columbia now instead of Charleston I’d have gone right back and joined CCC the day I got back in town before I even started unpacking boxes.
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Imma just reply to everyone above about DI and YHC here…
As I mentioned, my associate member access to YHC ends on Sep 27. Unfortunately, I don’t know if I’ll get back out there again before that due to the DI Club Championship on Sep 18 and 19 and having my son the following weekend which is a member guest.
I’m hoping to get bumped up to the next category next April which would mean having access May - Sep 2021 as well as Dec 2021 - Feb 2022. I think I have a good chance, but I honestly have no idea since it’s my first summer there.
That being said, I am full time at DI and guests are allowed any time of day except before 11 am on Saturdays. The nice thing about having 36 holes is that unless it’s one of the big monthly tournaments, there’s usually at least one course open three weekends out of every four.
It’s in good shape now, but the heat, rain, and humidity have prevented the super from getting the greens where he wants them to be on a daily basis (“Tournament ready” which means ideally 12, but minimum of 11). If the break in the heat that happened here today sticks around he should have them up to his standards around the middle of October. It’s just been a brutal summer for growing grass, even Bermuda, here in Charleston.
I’m more than happy to host people at DI, or YHC when I have access, just please give me as much notice as possible so I can try to work my schedule around it due to work travel (when there’s not a pandemic) and having my son every other weekend.
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Not sure if it is a Fight Club policy, but can you shed light on the YHC associate membership? Process, fees, application, etc? I’ve googled but obviously there is nothing like that on the internets.
It’s like ANGC, it’s all about who you know, patience, and it doesn’t cost as much as you probably think it does.
I’m be more than happy to discuss the specifics face to face, but I’m not going to put anything online out of an abundance of caution.
Sorry.
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Smart guy. I’m looking forward to getting down to DI soon. It’s finally fall golf weather.
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No problem. Figured that was the situation but also figured I would ask.
So I can’t really speak to Camden/Orangeburg as I’ve only played them as a reciprocal but if you’re looking for conditioning CCC is your best bet. It’s priced a little higher but in the same ball park as the places you mentioned plus Lexington or Oak Hills.
You can generally get on somewhere out there most of the time. There’s a wide range of games/groups you can play in based on competitiveness, amount you want to play for.
The membership has been trending younger since I’ve been there and for the most is easygoing. @Chippycut was pretty spot on in describing the course.
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For any new guys.
There’s a refuge meetup in Aiken 10/3.
Come join us sign up on the google sheet.
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Whats up everybody. I’m Tyler from Hampton, SC. My hometown is Travelers Rest/ Greenville.
I went to Clemson and have since lived in Greer, Atlanta (grad school at Emory), North Augusta, and now Hampton. I’m a pastor who plays golf now for the community it can create.
I’m proud to say that I’ve also hit driver off the deck at most of the courses in these areas and a few more around our state. I’ve been listening to the NLU pod since '16 and then finally #GotInvolved this year in the pro shop and now hopefully, the refuge.
My family had a weird summer as my daughter spent 38 days in the NICU in Augusta, GA in addition to everything else we have all experience communally in 2020. In a summer that was incredibly disorienting for us, it was playing golf once a week and looking for that weekly NLU podcast that provided me an outlet for a stressful situation. I appreciate the NLU team and the community they have built. Thanks for having me. Cheers!
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Welcome!
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Welcome! Let’s get a little NLU CHS event going soon. @Akarito and I are members at Snee and usually play in the Saturday game together. I know there are a few more Charleston guys on here. Our member-member is this weekend and the member-guest is in a month. Maybe we can shoot for the last weekend in October or first weekend in November?
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