Immerse yourself in South Carolina Golf and Liquid Gold!
By: Claudio DeMarchi
Did you know that Columbia is the State Capital of South Carolina and the largest city in the State? Combining the graces of a rich past with the vibrancy of a city that is home to a major university and majestic Lake Murray, a jewel in itself with over 650 miles of shoreline, you are just about to discover another of South Carolina’s golf jewels.
Who doesn’t like to start off the year with a great deal? After all, is that not what after Christmas sales are about?
Check this deal out – Stay at the Hyatt Place Columbia for 4 nights and play 3 rounds of golf for $359.00 per person based on double occupancy. https://golfpackagesofsc.com/
Making the deal over the top is the fact that you can play two of the top courses in the area!
The Windemere Club ©Peter Ellegard
Although private, the Windermere Club is accessible through Golf Packages of South Carolina and the moment you walk through the door you’ll feel like a member. True Southern hospitality. A Pete and P.B. Dye design in which the Dye’s design philosophy of creating as many unique and memorable holes possible holds true. A superb test of golf for any level of golfer, the Dye’s took full advantage of the terrain changes with rolling fairways leading to slick bent grass greens. For the ladies it should be noted that Alice Dye, Pete’s wife, carefully selected the tee positions for the ladies tees. They also have one of the coziest 19th holes in the State!
Cobblestone Park Golf Club is a semi private facility, 27 holes on 240 acres of rolling hills, and is home to the men’s and women’s golf teams of the University of South Carolina. Generous landing areas off the tee with rolling fairways lined with towering oaks and pines lead you around strategically placed ponds and bunkers to some large true rolling greens. The area has some of the highest points in the county providing some panoramic views of some of the most photographed golf holes in the State.
What appeals more to golfers after a round of golf than a cold one? Not much! The craft beer craze that has swept America in the past decade has also found a home in South Carolina. More than 40 craft breweries from the Upstate to the Coast are pumping out a tasty array of ales, lagers, pilsners, stouts and more.
Cobblestone Park
Looking for something a little more potent? Across the State local micro distilleries have emerged since 2009. Yes, legal moonshine if you dare! Dating back to Prohibition and backwoods moonshine stills, where farmers turned corn and sugar into liquid gold. After the laws changed in 2009 more than two dozen microbreweries across the state are producing bourbon, rum, vodka, and of course moonshine!
Of course with quenching a thirst comes a food adventure as well and no shortage on that front either. A few that we really like and where you can get a good sampling of both are Twisted Spur in Columbia’s downtown Vista entertainment district. Also in the area are the likes of Hunter-Gatherer Brewery and Alehouse and Old Mill Brew Pub both on Main Street and walking distance from each other.
It’s cold and blustery throughout the northern States and Canada so why not double your pleasure and your fun? Just gallop up the road on I-26 to Thoroughbred Country and you will find yourself in Aiken, South Carolina, and across the border from the hallowed grounds of Augusta.
Right in line with the great bargain in the Columbia area, Aiken is not to be outdone. Staying at the Fairfield Inn Aiken for 4 nights and playing 3 rounds of golf based on double occupancy you are only looking at $363.00 per person. https://golfpackagesofsc.com/
For us golfers we always feel that golf carts have the right of way and that’s the case almost everywhere. But not here in Aiken. Often referred to as the Saratoga of the South, Horses rule! Horses have the right of way!
Mount Vintage Golf Course
Not the biggest city in the State, Aiken does boasts a vibrant and unique downtown shopping and dining experience. A major undertaking to revitalize the historic downtown area started about 5-6 years ago. The Aiken Winter Colony was established by Thomas Hitchcock Sr. and William C. Whitney, and over the years, Aiken became a winter home for many famous and notable people, including those with such last names as Astor, Vanderbilt, Pinkerton, Rockefeller and others.
These days, Aiken has a very diverse demographic, but there’s a saying that you’ve truly succeeded when you live on a dirt road. That’s because most of the horse district around downtown is on dirt roads, just off the oak canopy of often-photographed South Boundary Avenue. There is even a stoplight on one of Aiken’s busiest roads for horse riders to safely cross.
A Traveling Golfer favorite with more cobblestone walls than any course in America, Mount Vintage Golf Course is a semi-private club that offers 27 holes and has been likened to Augusta National by Golf Magazine. The Chester and Vintage 9-hole complexes hosted the LPGA Aashi Ryokulen International Championship from 2000 to 2004. All three high nines have spectaculars visuals with holes 5-7 around Pavilion Lake considered the “Amen Corner of Mount Vintage.
The 8th hole on the Independent Nine was voted to PGA.com’s South Carolina Dream 18: Hidden Gems. With stacked stone and a waterfall running from the back teeing ground down to the green, one must stop and take a look at the picturesque hole.
Aiken Golf Club
Aiken Golf Club originally opened by a group of golf minded businessmen in 1912 with 11 holes was completed to 18 holes by 1915. It has the distinction of being the first course to offer forward tees for women.
The course went through some tumultuous times changing hands on several occasions and even a time when it was City owned. In 1997 under the guidance of current owner James McNair Jr. (whose father, by the way, still holds the course record of 58) embarked on a project to rebuild the facility from the ground up.
McNair’s vision for The Aiken Golf Club’s was to provide a golfing experience for its members and guests that is reminiscent of a time when the game was appreciated for its Scottish Traditions. Who better to assign such a task to than the legendary Donald Ross!
Thirsty again? Golf seems to have that effect on us – check out the Aiken Brewing Company. It’s a great local gathering spot. The finest local brews and their lineup changes almost weekly. On select evenings, you can also find live music upstairs.
Aiken Brewing Company
For horse racing aficionados it is only apropos to have the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame in the neighborhood. The museum celebrates the great tradition of Thoroughbred racing and Aiken’s vital role in it. The famed Aiken Training Track has been the training ground for 40 champion Thoroughbreds and each have been immortalized in the Hall of Fame.
For your customized quote for a golf package contact Ricky Saucier at 1-888-501-0954 or https://golfpackagesofsc.com/
For additional information on Aiken and Thoroughbred Country visit: http://www.tbredcountry.org
For additional information on the Capital City Lake Murray Country visit: https://www.lakemurraycountry.com/
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January 2017
