I had the pleasure of playing Charleston Municipal yesterday. Wow, what fun!!! Many discussions (though, I couldn't find them through a search) have claimed for this course to be a Raynor design. I've never played a Raynor course, so I wouldn't know one from the other, but I can give you a few things I learned while there. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.
In talking with a pro shop worker, they use Johnny McAdams as the "architect of record" as he was the first head pro at the golf course. I can tell you simply that someone who was just a club pro in 1929 didn't build these green sites. On the clubhouse exterior there is a sign that claims the course to be the Jenkins Links -- as the land was donated by someone with that last name.
About this same time in Charleston, Mr. Raynor was building Country Club of Charleston (just minutes from the City course) as well as Yeamans Hall so the fact that he was in the area cannot be disputed.
The following is from Ran's review of Country Club of Charleston:
"However, in the case of Charleston, the land was essentially flat, no surprise being that it is in the low country of South Carolina. How would Raynor's style fit onto featureless property? Would it stick out as perhaps too engineered? The answer to that question is emphatically 'No.' Indeed, given the success on this subdued landscape, the authors think that Raynor did well to stick with his 'winning formula' (a horrible expression, we admit) for designing courses.
A Raynor course is readily identifiable. His tees were always geometric and rectangular in appearance. He moved little land once off the tee until the golfer approached the green. His bunkers were in general deep with a flat bottom and a steep grass face. His greens were large and even often times square-ish but he wasn't afraid to build bold movement within the greens. He tried when possible to adopt the four short holes as described in detail in the George Bahto Feature Interview contained in this site. Yes, Raynor definitely had some firm design beliefs.
And once again at Charleston, he brought all these beliefs and design concepts to bear with great success. One result is that Raynor imbued virtually all his holes with some form of character. The fact that his layouts are generally solid throughout is one of the principle reasons we feature his courses as frequently as we do. Think about it. Fishers Island, Yale, Camargo, Shoreacres, Yeamans Hall - there are very, very few indifferent holes."
These words describe the City Course as well.
It would be interesting to see the original par of the course. I think it may have been 70 as the two "5's" on the back measure just 453 and 468. The ninth (possibly Raynor's Prize Dogleg) is a wonderful long-4 at 461 yards. Only one other par-4 one the course is 400 yards.
The seventh is one of the neatest par-5's I've ever played. I tried to read up on the concept of the "Alps" hole but can quite figure out whether this would be that hole or not. The 12th appeared to be a "Cape" and the 14th is a "Short" as far as I can tell.
If anyone has other information on this golf course, I would be love to hear what you've got. No matter, it was a joy to play!!