Greetings Golfers,

I’m writing this from Beaufort, SC … not Beaufort, NC. The North Carolina Beaufort is getting pounded by Hurricane Arthur. I’ve seen enough rain for this year – I didn’t need to travel to the eye of a hurricane.

My brother and I have made this trip to South Carolina an annual 4th of July adventure. Is it hot here? Yeah – feels good … I actually haven’t been wearing sweaters. Some years we leave a hotter Minnesota – seriously. Fortunately, MN isn’t in the 90’s … those ultra-hot temps would do bad things to the saturated turf.

This area is known as the “LowCountry” … it ranges from Savannah up to Charleston and includes Hilton Head Island … Beaufort is in the middle. It’s pretty rugged country – I can’t imagine what it was like to settle it. Those had to be pretty hardy people to deal with the jungle-like conditions and zillions of snakes and alligators. But it’s also beautiful – Pat Conroy does a great job describing it in his books.

The Fourth of July is a big deal here – the Marine base at Parris Island is only 7 miles away. Our plan is to play golf today on the base golf course. You can hear the recruits going through training drills – it’s an amazing place.

And this is an amazing country. The 4th of July reminds me of what early Americans did and sacrificed so that we can live in such an incredible country. I can’t imagine how people settled this area. Or how others settled Minnesota. I guess dealing with a year of heavy rains isn’t so bad.

But I’m still glad that I’m not in Beaufort, NC … I don’t think I could minimize being in a hurricane.

Have a Happy Fourth.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com