He brought his gifts of golf and gab to Myrtle Beach. His harrowing bout with COVID
Charlie Rymer possesses gifts of golf and gab, the first good enough to dominate junior and college competition en route to making the PGA Tour and the second good enough to spend 10 years on the Golf Channel.
He’s one of those people who never meets a stranger, and his quick-with-a-quip personality makes him ideal for his current job — promoting Myrtle Beach golf. His podcasts with guests ranging from Jack Nicklaus to Dustin Johnson to Nancy Lopez command attention.
But he has a different message to share these days after a month-long bout with COVID-19 that landed him in Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital in Murrells Inlet hooked up to IV tubes and with all sorts of doubts dancing through his mind amid the no-visitors policy.
“There are a couple of things I want to get across,” he said in sharing his experience. “First, our health-care professionals are real heroes, and, second, take all the precautions and follow the protocols to keep you and your family safe.”
Rymer, a member of the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame, left the Golf Channel for the Myrtle Beach job two years ago and now lives with wife Carol in Murrells Inlet. What he calls “a scary situation” is the last thing he envisioned.
“The last 25 days, a month, have been a blur,” he said. “I’m not sure where I got the virus. I had been in western North Carolina and in the Chattanooga area, and I’ve tried to track it, but there are so many possibilities. I can’t say I was sloppy in not following all the guidelines, but I wasn’t as diligent as I should have been, and people should learn from what I went through.”
What he thought “must be” a cold turned out to be more. Carol, a registered nurse, kept tabs on his condition, and a spike in temperature and a dip in oxygen level meant a trip to the hospital.
“I can’t tell you how great all the doctors and nurses are,” he said. “They have their families, and they’re there on the front lines treating patients with contagious diseases like this. They’re wonderful.”
After Rymer contracted the coronavirus, Carol tested positive, too. Did he give it to her? Did she give it to him?
“That’s the crazy thing about the virus,” he said. “She had zero symptoms. She quarantined, but she never had a problem. That’s what makes it so confusing.”
Rymer responded to treatments and got out of the hospital in five days, but it’s an experience he will not forget.
“You don’t want to mess with it,” he said. “It’s strong. Spasms. A hard-time breathing. It gets your attention, and that’s why I want to stress the importance of taking all the precautions.”
After his release from the hospital, “I couldn’t walk 400 or 500 yards without stopping to rest,” he said. “I lost a bunch of weight and it takes a lot out of you. Now (a week later), I’m much better. I got out on the golf course (Wednesday), rode around and maybe played eight (of the 18) holes.”
Rymer will ease back into his duties with Myrtle Beach Golf Tourism Solutions, formerly Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday.
“I tell the world to ‘See Myrtle Beach,’ ” he said.
He has other messages, too — appreciate and be thankful for the health care professionals, and follow all safety precautions.
Notes:
Clemson golfer Turk Pettit tied for 14th in stroke-play qualifying, then advanced to the quarterfinals in match play in the North-South Amateur at Pinehurst, N.C. . . . Division winners in the SCJGA’s Upstate Junior Championship at Easley included Oliver Rotermund (Daniel Island, boys’ 15-18), Taylor Burch (Elgin, girls’ 13-18), Lucas Acevedo (Daniel Island, boys’ 13-14) and Will Ruth (Moore, boys’ 12 and under).
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 11:15 AM.