SFGA at Cheraw State Park GC, Aug. 24, 2021

Tuesday, August 24, 2021 I played golf with 29 other SFGA members at Cheraw, SC. It was my turn to drive the hour and a half one way. I left Chadbourn at 7:36 A.M. I met LR Odham and Mike Waddell at 7:00 A.M. in Fair Bluff. We stopped, with our masks 😷 on to eat grits, fried over-easy egg, Larry’s brand pork sausage, and biscuits. But I noticed their biscuits were actually those frozen ones, not their usual homemade ones. I opted for toasted white bread. $4.75. Very good! If you are ever on the road between Fair Bluff and Fairmont, stop in a Marshall’s and enjoy their breakfast. Mike and LR swear they have a great lunch too.

The course was in the best shape I’ve seen it since 2017. Greens and fairways were very well maintained. They have a new Pro. The Pro Shop was busy with regripping work and they have a Ping 425 iron fitting setup. It was too hot even at 9:00 A.M. for me to even think about anything extra.

I practiced my putting and hit a small $3.00 bucket of balls which evidently didn’t help my game. Lewis Sauls warned me “don’t waste energy before a round because you only have a limited number of swings in you a day!” Words from the wise!

I played with some awesome golfers! Our foursome consisted of Edwin Skipper, David Medlin, Ray Crabtree (I owe you a dollar for that Diet Mountain Dew you paid for in the clubhouse) I didn’t carry enough ice in my cooler. Everything was getting warm. That course has lost a bunch of shade trees. It may be me getting older.

The course is a challenging layout. The up hill and down hill lies really impacted my swings! Down hill shot and the lack of sand in the bunkers is tough. The bunker hazards are really like hitting on a hard pan clay road bed in many places. There are a few with manicured “clay/gravel/course grained sand”. They are stroke makers! I visited them way to often! The first cut off the fairway was another challenge to me. The ball would drop just out of sight indicating the grass was a couple of inches deep. This lush green impacted the club’s path and speed. I tried to clubup every time and used hydrides a lot. That helped.

My take away Tips on playing Cheraw for high handicappers like me: 1. Pack your patience 2. Slow your swing and put every effort into staying in the fairway 3. Use a club - shot you can depend on. 4. Have fun! It’s not going to be your lowest round, I guarantee that!

The Southeastern Fellowship Golf Association held a tournament at Cheraw State Park Golf Course on August 24th with 32 Players participating. The next event will be at Timberlake Golf Course in Clinton. The winners this week were:

1st Place (132) Emery White Rudy Pait Roger Canady Rob Conway

2nd Place (136) Mike Waddell Linwood Hedgepeth Charles Hungerford

3rd Place (138) Kenny Stanley Lewis Sauls Jerry Strickland Terry Blackburn

4th Place (139) L.R. Odham J.C. Wiggins Livingston Lewis Breece Horton