Beachside Vacation Lifestyle 2019-20

42 | www.beachsidevacations.com had to demonstrate a desire to maintain the course in proper fashion. One must remember that this was a time when there were few public courses, and the game was considered for the most part a pastime of the well-heeled and well-connected. That a common-enlisted man would be allowed on the officer’s course was something of a bold statement for the era. Anyway, if the applicant passed muster, so to speak, and paid his dollar, he was given a pass that he had to keep on his person at all times while playing. Any officer on the course could ask to see the pass, and we can only imagine what happened when some miscreant snuck onto the course and was caught in the act of hitting a seven iron. The notice goes on to say that Pfc. Joseph Chevis, a golf pro in civilian life, was to serve in that capacity for the course, as well as maintain the course as greenskeeper. Chevis was undoubted- ly thrilled with his position, as he was relieved of normal military obligations to give golf lessons, which cost 50 cents, 25 cents apiece for classes of up to four individuals. Obviously, to prevent Chevis from shirking his military duties and simply passing the war giving lessons from dawn until dusk, this part of his duties at the course was limited to a certain number of lessons. Each golfer was asked to help maintain the course by replac- ing divots and being respectful of the playing grounds. The no- tice said, “Careful replacing of divots on the fairways and gently laying the flagstick on the green instead of throwing it down are examples of the small points which will help a great deal.” The Golf Committee for the course consisted of Chevis, Sgt. Claude Lynch and Sgt. Walter Mueller. Now here’s a neat twist: Sgt. Mueller was the father of a local real estate broker, also named Walter Mueller. Sgt. Mueller’s wife was the late Aggie Thomas Mueller, who was the beloved longtime clerk of the court for Sullivan’s Island. Now if all this isn’t enough to tickle your imagination, Coste showed us a photo of Sam Snead with a notation on the bottom that said it was taken in front of the fort in 1941. Slammin’ Sam- my, as the West Virginia native was known, enjoyed an illustrious career in the game, winning more than 80 tournaments, seven of them of the major variety. It must be noted, however, that investigation determined that Snead, who has a street named after him in the Charleston National Country Club area of Mount Pleasant, was in the Navy from 1942 until 1944, when he was discharged because of a bad back. So, if he was at Fort Moultrie, what in the world was he doing there? And did he actually play golf on the long-gone golf course? So, there you have it. A golf course that no one today seems to know anything about, except for Hal Coste and his friends, the only proof being an official notice from almost 80 years ago and a maybe a photo of one of the legends of golf. How much is fact, and how much is myth? Who knows. But the next time you look out toward the ocean near Fort Moultrie or the Sand Dunes Club, don’t be surprised if you think you see a shadowy figure swinging a golf club or carefully replacing a divot. SULLIVAN’S ISLAND