Beachside Vacation Lifestyle 2019-20

www.beachsidevacations.com | 41 f you are near Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island one evening and think you see a shadowy figure swinging a golf club near the ocean, don’t be overly alarmed. It may be the ghost of one of the soldiers stationed at the fort during World War II. You see, we have dug up some interesting information about there being a golf course during the war that was apparently located on land near the ocean by the present-day Sand Dunes Club, which served as an officers’ club during the war. It appears that few, if anyone, actually remember the golf course. It likely wasn’t there that long − perhaps abandoned right after the war. But an interesting piece of information dug up by Hal Coste, Sullivan’s Island resident and keeper of the island’s cultural and historical flames, showed us a letter that gives credence to the existence of the course. A “Golf Notice” dated March 4, 1941, eight months and a few days before the United States entered the war, and signed by a Major S.J. Adams, laid out rules and regulations for the opera- tion of the course that was “supported by the officer’s mess.” The privilege of playing was extended to enlisted men, who were required to pay $1 a year to have access to the course, likely a nine-hole layout due to the limited area that aerial pho- tos of the time show near the fort. It apparently was believed the dollar-a-year dues would incline enlisted men toward caring for the course as the officers would. But being an enlisted man and enjoying a round of golf was not as simple as laying down a buck every 12 months. The would-be golfer had to be interviewed by a Golf Committee and display his knowledge of golf, “including proper use of clubs and the rules and etiquette of the game.” The enlisted man also FINDING THE FORGOTTEN FAIRWAY: GOLFERS ONCE TOOK ASWING ON SULLIVAN’S ISLAND Y SULLIVAN’S ISLAND I By John Torsiello