Congaree
Club information
Gillisonville, SC
Gillisonville, SC
Gillisonville, SC
Gillisonville, SC
Gillisonville, SC
Congaree Golf Club (South Carolina)
Coordinates32°36′07″N 81°00′11″W / 32.602°N 81.003°W / 32.602; -81.003
LocationGillisonville, South Carolina
Established2018
Typeprivate
Owned byThe Friedkin Group
Operated byCongaree Foundation
Total holes18
Events hostedPalmetto Championship (2021)
CJ Cup (2022-present)
GreensBermuda
Websitecongareefoundation.org
Designed byTom Fazio
Par71
Length7,685
Congaree Logo

Congaree is a private golf course in the eastern United States, located in South Carolina in Jasper County outside of Ridgeland in unincorporated Gillisonville.

General information

Situated on a historic 18th-century estate, and surrounded by over 2,000 acres of lakes and longleaf pine forests in South Carolina's Lowcountry, architect Tom Fazio designed the championship course to fit in with its natural surroundings.[1]

Congaree was named Golf Digest's best new private course for 2018, as well as being named the best golf course built during the decade of 2010–19.[2][3] The club was ranked 39th in Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses 2021–2022.[4]

With the 2021 RBC Canadian Open's cancellation due to logistical challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Congaree was selected to host that week's PGA Tour event.[5] It was called the Palmetto Championship at Congaree[6] and took place from June 10–13, 2021.[7] The winner was Garrick Higgo and it marked his first career PGA Tour win.[8]

It was announced on June 29, 2022, that the PGA TOUR’s CJ Cup will be hosted at Congaree the week of October 17-23, 2022, after the event was contested in Las Vegas at Shadow Creek Golf Course and The Summit Club the previous two years. The name of the tournament has been changed to THE CJ CUP in South Carolina.[9]

In the fall of 2023 Congaree was selected to host the 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup. The tournament is scheduled to be played at the course June 5-7 of that year. The Ryder Cup-style amateur event features the top men’s and women’s collegiate golfers, matching a U.S. team against a team of international players (12 men & 12 women per team).[10]

History

Prior to the development of Congaree into a golf course, it had long been an estate known by other names. Its earliest known date of existence is 1770, when John Hobard received a grant for 100 acres for services rendered to King George III. From 1811 to 1828 it went through three different owners with Richard James Davant purchasing the estate from his father in law and changing the name to Davant Plantation.[11] The original Greek Revival home was burned by order of Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in 1865 along with much of the rest of Gillisonville, SC. Only two auxiliary buildings survived. Davant dismantled a much simpler, circa 1820 house that was located on a nearby plantation, which he also owned, and transferred it piece-by-piece to the site of his former home.

From 1938 to 1991 the property was transferred three more times, ultimately to Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Rutledge Moore. The Moores resided on the plantation year-round and operated it as a quail hunting preserve.

In 1995, the historic house was the primary filming location for the movie Something to Talk About starring Julia Roberts.

In 2014, a North Carolina developer under the name Davant Farming and Timber Company bought the property. The development became Congaree. From 2015 to 2017, the historic house was renovated and other facilities were added[12] to fit in with the style of the existing buildings. This included a lodge, several cottages and a 12-bedroom inn.[13]

In September 2019, Congaree made an unsuccessful pitch at hosting the 2025 Presidents Cup.[14]

Foundation

The founders of Congaree - Dan Friedkin and the late Bob McNair - set out to create a new philanthropic model that unites ambassador-members with a shared purpose to positively impact the lives of young people, locally and around the globe, by providing educational and vocational opportunities through the game of golf. It currently supports programs with the Boys & Girls Clubs, Sergeant Jasper Golf Club in Ridgeland, SC, youth golf instruction at Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School, and the Lowcountry Food Bank.[15]

The signature philanthropic program of the Congaree Foundation is the Congaree Global Golf Initiative, a college preparatory program for underserved high school students who aspire to play college golf. Each summer, participants come to Congaree for a week and receive golf instruction from teaching experts and work with academic and college counselors to help them overcome the barriers to playing college athletics. [16]

References

  1. ↑ "Congaree". The Friedkin Group. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  2. ↑ Whitten, Ron (November 29, 2018). "Streamsong Black, Congaree are Golf Digest's Best New Courses for 2018". Golf Digest. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  3. ↑ "New TOUR event will visit Congaree, a club with a mission". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  4. ↑ Duncan, Derek; Hennessey, Stephen (May 3, 2021). "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses". Golf Digest.
  5. ↑ "New TOUR event will visit Congaree, a club with a mission". PGA Tour.com. March 30, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  6. ↑ WBTV Web Staff (April 2, 2021). "Gov. McMaster announces Palmetto Championship as new PGA TOUR event in South Carolina". WBTV. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Congaree Golf Club to host PGA TOUR's Palmetto Championship at Congaree". Congaree Foundation. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  8. ↑ "After a morning call from Gary Player, Garrick Higgo earns first PGA Tour win at Palmetto Championship in second start". Golfweek. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "PGA Tour's CJ Cup moves to a Golfweek's Best course in South Carolina". Golfweek. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Congaree Golf Club to host 2025 Arnold Palmer Cup". Bluffton Today. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  11. ↑ South Carolina Plantations. "Davant Plantation – Gillisonville – Jasper County". Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "Congaree Club located in Ridgeland, SC". Fraser Construction. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  13. ↑ "Congaree: A First Look At The Golf Club Built By Billionaires On A Model Of Philanthropy". Forbes. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  14. ↑ Braswell, Tommy (11 September 2019). "Which SC golf course makes pitch for 2025 Presidents Cup? Hint: It's not the Ocean Course". The Post and Courier. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "About Us". Congaree Foundation. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Built by billionaires, Congaree has only 1 member but a grand purpose". Golf Magazine. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
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