I played there just a couple weeks ago and didn't even think to ask about its history. I think it has probably been nipped and tucked and rearranged considerably over the years. At the very least it didn't strike me as having a coherent design theme. It was a fun afternoon, though. Plays pretty firm with the rough cut just long enough to affect your shot without being so deep as to delay play looking for balls. Something like seven bucks all you can play after 4:00PM.

I played it a few times when I used to live down there, but that's been 5 years.  I don't remember too much about it, that should tell you something.  I do remember that there wasn't much to it, certainly didn't have any Raynor elements or any of the holes that Raynor regularly used.  I'm not sure if he routed it or not, of course he died in '26.  The course is your typical muni.  Like I said the last time I played it was 5 years ago, but I'll probably be back down there coming up soon and have to drive by it so I'll stop by and check it out again.  Of course Harleston Greens was the first golf course in the Southeast (1780's I believe).  It was just outside of downtown Charleston and the house I lived in down there was built on the site of the old course.

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive/arch04/0704/arc07041808308.shtml

This is a link to the article I was mentioning.  If you can't get it and care to read about it, go to charleston.net and go to the archives and type in "city of charleston municipal golf course."  The article was written 7/4/2004.

I have it credited to Raynor designed during the period CC of Charleston was being built.

I have the aerial that shows the classic holes and after spending a lot of time there (about a year ago), although pretty well disguised by now, you can see his design through it all.

There is even a Road hole there with a road behind the green!

I have it pretty well documented now.

Remember, it was a muni for the city from the git-go.

Of course Harleston Greens was the first golf course in the Southeast (1780's I believe).  It was just outside of downtown Charleston and the house I lived in down there was built on the site of the old course.

I have heard many accounts that "Harleston Green" or "Charleston Green" (depending on where you read it) was the first golf course in the entire country.  In fact here is a story that mentions it, and within the same story it is spelled two different ways:

http://www.worldgolf.com/golf-destinations/carolinas/charleston-golf.htm

I have often wanted to find out exactly where that was located in downtown Charleston.  You say that your house was on top of the old location.  Where was that exactly?  Do you know the cross streets?   My wife drags me down to downtown Charleston several times a year and at least if I have to put up with all that shopping the least I can do is think about walking on top of the hallowed grounds where golf in this country probably started.

Let me know I would be very interested.

Wow Mike we must have been typing at the same time.  I just posted and when I went to look your post was already there.

Between some of the holes are abandoned bunkers - just left to grass but not erased - very cool stuff. I think there were a couple of back-to back "jobbers" where one served one hole and the other served the parallel hole from the other direction. Now they are in the (long ago, planted) tree-line but their shapes are preserved.

I mean this is not some kind of semi-great course but it is interesting in the So Carolina/Raynor story.

I think the "Road-hole" green complex is on the 10th, when you cross the road (Maybank Highway)

The "usual suspect holes are there in some form if you know what to look for.

Itz funny, I looked at this course about 8 years ago and just wrote it off as being a local (non-Raynor) course although I felt that there was a distinct possibility that he might have designed a muni for the locals who couldn't belong to "Country Club" (as they refer to CC of C) or Yeamans Hall. He did that on a number of occasions: S'hampton CC, Wanumetonomy in RI, Cranford CC (NJ); and a few others.

A couple of local men contacted me with a lot more material and the "facts" came to the fore.

Then I spent an entire day with one of my contacts and, along with his info, and the course itself, it became pretty clear it was in fact a Raynor design built by CC of C's Johnny Adams.

Adams was the asst pro to the great Henry Picard there - I even have a scorecard from 1933 signed by him (J Adams).

It seems the course originally had 14 or 15 holes because the marsh area on holes 13 - 14 -15 & 16 were virtually too swampy when the tide came in ......  its still a problem there but those holes are pretty neat.

Cost of play in 1929: 50 cents and you could buy a book of 30 tickets for 10 bucks!!

Cost of the course to the city?? ...... $17,003. 09 was spent on construction, maint. And early work on a clubhouse. The land was donated by the city.

Anyhow, to me, this "discovery" stuff is really fun. I've found about 30 courses SR built that he had not gotten credit for (from when I first started researching their work), who now know he was in fact at their course at one time or another.

Ed Galbavy: 4 is some sort of Redan (remember it was J Adams doing the building so there would be major variations - costs and interpretations by him, among some of the reasons for the variations).

Eden is the 11th - Short the 14th - a Bowl on 13.

.... crossing the highway is very exciting .....


in all, very interesting stuff.

HELP if you can: I lost a contact, a Jack Pennington a couple years ago and wish I could "find" him again.

Perhaps someone in the area would recognize the name - a lawyer, I think

gb