Rymer: Memories of East Lake, and My College Playing Days in Myrtle Beach
It’s TOUR Championship Week, and as the FedExCup season draws to a close next door in Georgia Charlie Rymer’s approaching the final leg of filming for his latest video series, “Breaking Par.” Each occasion has stirred up fond then-and-now memories, both of East Lake and his college golf days in Myrtle Beach. Join Charlie on his latest trip down Memory Lane.
By Charlie Rymer
I’m of the age now where memories and stories become one of your most precious possessions. With my golf game these days I certainly don’t have the ability to create exciting new memories, at least not with my performance. Seeing the TOUR Championship teeing off this week at East Lake in Atlanta brings back wonderful memories from my days at Georgia Tech. East Lake was our home course. I spent more time there playing golf than in any classroom.
(To be fair, I likely spent less time in the classroom than any student who has ever graduated from Georgia Tech. Let’s just say class attendance was not my superpower. I admit this now that both of my children have graduated college.)
Through the fog of time, I can remember making birdie at what is now Hole 15 at East Lake the first time I ever played it. It seemed like the hardest hole on the planet. I also have memory flashes of a clubhouse in ruins with just a lower locker room, small grill, and pro shop open and functioning. The facility had essentially been abandoned when the Atlanta Athletic Club moved to the northern suburb of Duluth. The interior of the clubhouse looked like the house in The Addams Family TV show.
When I first saw East Lake after Tom Cousins spent millions renovating the course, clubhouse, and community, it was overwhelming. Not only did he restore a golf club and bring the world to it every year for the TOUR Championship, but he also restored a community and brought it hope. He’s an amazing man, and what Tom Cousins has done at East Lake and beyond, through Purpose Built Communities, is an amazing story and inspiration.
As I continue work in Myrtle Beach on visiting and playing 66 courses, I have similar flashbacks to great memories over the years. I guess you could argue that it’s not really “work,” but it does take a while for me to stretch out these days. On a recent taping at Long Bay Golf Club in Longs, SC near North Myrtle Beach, I recalled playing the NCAA Regionals there. Long Bay was a brand-new Jack Nicklaus course back in 1989. Thirty-four years later it just re-opened from major restorations, and from then to now it remains in wonderful condition. I tried to confirm NCAA Regionals results on the Internet and apparently, I played college golf prior to records being kept and the invention of the Internet. My best recollection is that Georgia Tech finished in second place, and I was fourth individually.
We celebrated punching our ticket to the NCAA Championship with a few cold beers in the parking lot. My family was there, and my grandfather Leo busted out an old cooler filled with Milwaukee’s Best (Leo refused to drink “premium beer,” and we’ll just leave it at that). The Clemson team also advanced and when soon-to-be U.S. Amateur Champion Chris Patton walked by Leo offered him a beer. Chris was just about to grab the beer when he noticed the brand, quickly stopped and declared, “I don’t drink THE BEAST.” Leo quickly shot him the bird and we all had a great laugh.
Earlier that week we were paired with Georgia and Temple. It was a bit of a culture shock for the boys from Temple to be in South Carolina. It was a serious shock when a Temple player had a run-in with Dick Copas, who was the head men’s golf coach at Georgia. Coach Copas, who recently passed away, was serious Old South and also had a coaching position with the Georgia football team. He recruited me, and I always had great respect for him. He was quite the character.
As the three of us approached the 10th green in the first round I noticed Coach Copas standing behind the green. He was easily recognizable because of the straw hat he always wore. All three of us had hit the green and as we repaired our ball marks Coach Copas complimented the Temple player in his classic baritone voice.
“Good shot, son.”
The player from Temple offered a nasally reply.
“I’m not your son.”
Coach Copas was quick to acknowledge the faux pas.
“You’re right. Good shot, asshole.”
And that is my all-time favorite memory from playing four years of college golf at Georgia Tech.
Come on down to Myrtle Beach and create your own memories. Just don’t offer Clemson folks cheap beer.
