SC golf world accomplished plenty during pandemic-altered 2020
All things considered, golf in South Carolina might have enjoyed its best year in 2020, and that’s a tall statement in view of the state’s lofty place in the sport.
Individual achievements ranging from Dustin Johnson’s record-setting Masters triumph that capped a special year to Austin Ernst’s victory on the LPGA Tour to Jonathan Griz’s becoming the youngest player to win the State Amateur — to name just a few — speak for themselves.
But merely playing tournament golf during the coronavirus outbreak deserves cheers, and officials who planned and adjusted to ever-changing situations on the fly merit a standing ovation.
Steve Wilmot and the gang at the RBC Heritage bounced back from a canceled PGA Tour event to stage the tournament without spectators in pro golf’s comeback from a three-month layoff.
Biff Lathrop and the S.C. Golf Assocciation staff, and Clarissa Childs and her crew with the WSCGA, overcame tall obstacles to get most of their tournaments played.
Don’t forget the competitors. Those at the top level, pro and amateur found themselves in unfamiliar circumstances and adapted just fine. And everyday and casual golfers found an outlet, jamming courses and giving the sport a giant-size economic boost after a decade of struggles.
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am at the response of my team at the SCGA, the participants and the host clubs for tournaments,” said Lathrop, the SCGA’s executive director. “Everybody had to buy in to the changes, and the players did all the right things.”
Changes included no touching the flag stick, no bunker rakes, no shotgun starts and restrictions on arrival and departure times from tournament courses.
“We had to find ways to make tournaments work within the framework of safety rules, and we did,” Lathrop said. “We didn’t have any precedents; we often had to adjust at the last minute. We just had to figure out how to do it the right way.”
Tournaments took place, and individuals rediscovered golf courses, but the organizations go into 2021 with more changes on tap.
Restrictions on indoor gatherings forced Golf Day, an annual celebration of the previous year each January, to be canceled in 2021. The SCGA’s annual meeting, part of Golf Day, will be held virtually, and Hall of Fame inductions delayed until 2022.
The Columbia Golf Ball, the SCGA’s big fund-raiser scheduled each year on Thursday of Masters week, fell victim to restrictions on gatherings and social distancing regulations in 2020. Lathrop looked ahead and said: “I don’t see it happening (in 2021). The way things are ... I don’t think we want to have 600 to 700 people together in April.”
The SCGA did hold a small fund-raiser for junior golf in December. “About 75 people, outdoors, socially distanced,” Lathrop said. “I don’t see anything larger than that for a while.”
In terms of playing conditions in the new year, the SCGA will abide by host venue’s rules. “If a club has rakes on the course, we’ll be raking bunkers again,” Lathrop said. “If not, we won’t.”
Going forward, having the experience of an ever-changing landscape in 2020 will be beneficial in the new season.
“But we’re like everyone else in every endeavor,” Lathrop said. “We’ll be happy when the virus is under control and we can get back to normal.”
Until then, “we’ll adapt as necessary,” Lathrop said.
If the results are the same, golf in the state will be doing just fine.
Chip shots. The Midlands Golf Course Owners Association’s 2021 VIP Value Books, which offer special rates at 24 area courses, are available for $70. In addition to the golf course rates, the book includes specials at Hemingway’s Grill, Koosa Golf and Express Oil Change and Tire Engineers. Part of the proceeds benefit he South Carolina Junior Golf Association. Books can be purchased at both Koosa Golf locations, the SCGA office, the Spur at Northwoods, Par Tee Golf Center and online at www.scmidlandsgolf.org. A list of participating course is available on the website. ... Age-group winners in the Ford-Picard Christmas Classic at the Wild Dunes Links Course of the Isle of Palms: Gage Howard (Woodruff, boys’ 13-18), Lextyn Petz (Columbia, girls’ 13-18), Thomas Sabalis (boys’ 12 and under) and Hannah Marsden (Myrtle Beach, girls’ 12 and under).