Charlie Rymer Reminisces on His Path to High School Golfing Glory

Before his broadcast days with Golf Channel and ESPN and playing days with the PGA TOUR and Georgia Tech, PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com’s Charlie Rymer dominated the South Carolina junior golf scene – reaching the pinnacle of junior golf when he won the 1985 U.S. Junior Amateur. So with such big recent events as the Dustin Johnson World Junior and Palmetto High School Golf Championships still fresh in mind, we asked Charlie to look back on his own high school golf days – and some compelling memories that came with it.

By Charlie Rymer

I grew up near Fort Mill, South Carolina. At Fort Mill High School we played high school golf when you’re supposed to. In the spring. Fort Mill didn’t have a JV team, so I was able to play on the high school team starting in the 7th grade. I was a stud. Of course I was 6’2” and 230 pounds in the 7th grade! The older guys made fun of me at first, then they realized none of them could beat me. That’s when they started being nice.

The guys had nicknames like Gasman, Yohan, Yon, Duhar, and L-rod. L-rod drove a Volkswagen Beetle and it caught fire one afternoon. He risked his life to get his clubs out. And he indeed got ‘em out, but his grips melted. He played with these melted grips because he was too cheap to get new grips. L-rod was also a better player with the melted grips. Not a good player, mind you, just a better player.

They called me Hollywood, because I wore aviator style sunglasses on the school bus in the mornings. It was 45 minutes to get to school on the bus and I took my golf clubs with me nearly every day. This was the only way I could get my clubs to the golf course. My mom would pick me up at the golf course after dark. The bullies on the school bus made fun of me for bringing golf clubs. I was terrified that I was gonna cry. I knew if they ever saw me cry, it was game over. I wore the sunglasses so they couldn’t see the tears.

I ended up lettering for six years, and we won the state team championship four of those years. I was also the individual state champion for four years. I’ll admit that signing a full scholarship to Georgia Tech made enduring those long school bus rides with golf clubs held between my knees very much worth it.  

Some of the best days included matches in places like Chester, Pageland, and Lancaster. We played 18-hole matches. Chester was wide open, and I loved it. Lancaster had the first island green I ever saw. Pageland was a great course, unless the wind blew from the north (There was a turkey farm just north of the course). For away matches we’d leave school at 10 AM. The teachers weren’t happy, and that made it seem like even more fun.

We had a very old blue van with most of the upholstery pulled out. If we were lucky Coach would stop at Hardee’s on the way to the course. We all loved their roast beef sandwich. I loved two of them. Sometimes the older guys would sneak beer. Coach acted like he didn’t notice. There’s nothing like eating boiled peanuts and drinking a cold beer in the team van on the way home after whipping the boys in Lancaster, SC.   

Our home course was the Fort Mill Golf Course. I was a member there for $8 a month. In my 7th and 8th grade years the FMGC only had irrigation on tees and greens. The fairways were mostly weeds growing on hard packed red clay. The ball would roll forever! To this day I’m the best you’ll ever see at hitting a flop shot off of hard pan. My freshman year they put centerline irrigation in the fairways. That made the weeds a lot denser. I’m still mad about losing 30 yards of roll off the tee.   

As I look back, it was a magical time. But I didn’t know it. No clue. Riding the school bus carrying golf clubs while wearing aviator glasses was awkward. But I loved the game of golf to the point I would endure harassment so I could play and practice.

I’m grateful for the Fort Mill Golf Course and the fact that I had to work to get there every day. I’m grateful I had to warm up with my own shag balls that I had to pick up myself before starting a round.

I’m grateful that every now and then a well struck drive down the middle would kick funny off the packed red clay and end up in the woods. It prepared me well for a career in golf. It prepared me well for life.