Honors

South Carolina has a rich and diverse past, dating to its establishment as one of the 13 original colonies that would ultimately form the United States. Fortunate for history buffs, its unique stories and cultures are well-documented and on display in a broad collection of galleries and museums found statewide from mountains to coast.

The Palmetto State is likewise distinguished as the birthplace of American golf, being home to the country’s first golf club at Harleston Green, an open pasture in Charleston where in the early 18th century Scottish immigrants introduced their pastime after shipping clubs and balls across the Atlantic. Elsewhere in the state, you’ll find the oldest continually operated golf course in the Southeast (Aiken’s Palmetto Golf Club, circa 1892), and other long-tenured properties with historical significance.

Eager to discover more about South Carolina’s intriguing past and vibrant culture today, LINKS sent a twosome on a four-day road trip that weaved through the state’s Mountains, Midlands, and Coastal regions, working in both visits to a series of museums and tee times at public golf courses rooted in local and American history.

The tandem began in Greenville, playing Furman Golf Club on campus at the state’s oldest private university and visiting the Upcountry History Museum, showcasing the stories of the 15 counties in South Carolina’s Upcountry region. They traveled south to Aiken, learning the town’s railway heritage at the Aiken Visitors Center and Train Museum after a round at Aiken Golf Club, a 1912 design that was the first U.S. course with women’s teeing areas.

Next was a tour of Camden’s Revolutionary War Visitor Center, dedicated to the state’s role in the American Revolution, and Kershaw Golf Club, one of South Carolina’s oldest municipal clubs opened in 1933. The final stop came at the “Golf Capital of the World,” hitting Myrtle Beach’s first golf course, Pine Lakes Country Club, and the South Carolina Maritime Museum in Georgetown.

Each facility is distinct and full of stories to tell, where you choose your own adventure and learn something along the way. And in the Palmetto State, there’s always more to discover.