Charleston National Golf Course and A Bunch of SOB's: A Five-Star Day

What could be better than a sunny 64 degree day on January 19th? A sunny 64 degree day on January 19th, spent on the golf course, especially when the golf course is the caliber of Charleston National Golf Club.

Add to the quality of the day, a group of the best SOB's around. Wait a second, SOB's on the golf course? Your kidding, right? It's not what you think, I am actually proud to call myself an SOB, you know, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

OK, before you arrive at the conclusion that I have totally lost any shred of self-dignity, I should explain. I am happy to be called an SOB, the name of the men's golf association at The Country Club of Summerville. SOB is merely an acronym for the "Summerville Old Boys". Once a month, twelve months out of the year, the men take to the road and travel to various Lowcountry golf courses to challenge the links, and each other. Complete the outing with dinner for forty to fifty SOB's and you have a Five-Star day. Of course it's even better when the event is held at a championship level golf course like the 7,000 yard Rees Jones design at Charleston National. And the quality grows exponentially when the mercury points to the mid-60's and short sleeve golf shirts abound in mid-January.

The course is a classic lowcountry design, located in the coastal community of Mount Pleasant. Ocean breezes swirl around the course and combine with marshlands, tidal creeks, palmetto and pine trees and miles of sand to create a challenge for golfers of any level. The entire course is very picturesque but the views get especially breathtaking on the back nine where the expansive marshland gives way in the distance to Dewees Inlet and the Wando River which seperates the upscale beach area known as The Isle of Palms from Mount Pleasant.

As beautiful as the golf course is, Charleston National is not a course that I would consider to be walker friendly.

The links are just too spread out throughout the marshland with what seems like miles of bridges over the marsh linking tees, greens and fairways. The layout also snakes through some of the most upscale homes and neighborhoods in the Charleston Area.

But what really makes days like today memorable is not the lush fairways, rolling greens and breathtaking views. It's not even the blue sky and warm temperatures. No, what really makes an SOB outing most excellent is the fellowship and comraderie of the SOB's themselves. Sharing the day with a bunch of great guys and golfers makes for a memorable outing. I for one am glad to be called an SOB.