In the words of Jim Nantz, Congaree hosts the third event of the South Carolina swing on the PGA Tour in 2021, alongside Aprils RBC Heritage at Harbour Town and the PGA Championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in May, with a $7.8 million purse up for grabs for the full 156-player field. There are no tee times. Through the Global Golf Initiative at Congaree, Friedkin wants to identify 40 high school students each year from around the world who have demonstrated a commitment to education and personal development, and who also might be good enough to play golf in college but dont have the financial wherewithal, parental support or knowledge to locate the right opportunities and navigate the various hurdles. From 2015 to 2017, the historic house was renovated and other facilities were added[11] to fit in with the style of the existing buildings. Other historic buildings have been preserved and are situated about the property, including comfortable guest cottages and an old school house, all of which have been completely updated. Friedkins colleagues say he has an insatiable curiosity, excels at whatever he dives into, prefers to keep a low profile, and is so bright that hell have the answer to your second question chambered before you finish the first. Its mission is to provide underserved and well-deserving high school students who aspire to play collegiate golf access to the highest level of athletic coaching and academic tools to enhance their opportunities for success. What Is Your Favorite Golf Match Format To Play? Congaree Golf Club is hosting its first PGA Tour event this week. The Congaree Golf Club will get its chance to shine this week when it hosts the Palmetto Championships, a relocated PGA Tour event after the planned RBC Canadian Open was called off for a second straight year due to COVID-19. FROM $237 (USD) HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC | Enjoy up to 5 nights' accommodations at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa and and up to 4 rounds of golf at Palmetto Dunes Golf Club (Fazio, Hills & Jones Courses) and the Country Club of Hilton Head. The tournament was launched as Korea's first official PGA Tour tournament in 2017 and was . However, it has quickly gained the reputation of being the #1 private golf course in South Carolina. Hannah Gostonczik has served as the Program Coordinator for the Congaree Foundation since March 2022. Supported by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism and The Friedkin Group, proceeds from the event will benefit Congaree Foundation (PalmettoChampionship.com). My mom thought it was like the classic too-good-to-be-true thing. A participant in the Congaree Global Golf Initiative putts out during a summer trip to the club in [+] rural South Carolina. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Foundation and manages donor relations and contributions. Bob McNair was born in Tampa, Fla. 2nd hole (photo courtesy PGA Tour) 4. Using sand-capping, Fazio, Davidson and McNeely further firmed up the course. While No. And theyre invited in on an annual basis. Both founders had previous golf club experience, as Bob was an owner of the Golf Club at Briars Creek in South Carolina, and Dan owns the Creek Golf Club in North Carolina. The tournament name will be changed to THE CJ CUP in South Carolina. Bob passed away on November 13th, 2018, at the age of 81. The person who would prefer to simply write a check for several million dollars? Overall, the program has 138 graduates, among them 48 age-eligible collegiate golfers. In January 2021, Congaree Foundation acquired nearby Sergeant Jasper Golf Club, a public nine-hole course; the Foundation will revitalize the course, keep rates affordable, and allow local area high school students to play for free. 384 Davant Drive, Ridgeland, SC 29936 (843) 717-3400. For four weeks, the Congaree kids will go through an intense college preparatory program: a mix of class work, fitness training, counseling, mentorship, golf lessons and an extensive club fitting thanks to partnerships with Cleveland and Ping. Having two teenage daughters, Lesley has hands on experience with the college admission process. It's just remarkable.. The club wants golf to be a vehicle for the kids in the foundations program to use as a tool to get into college. To be sure, this isnt a local country club where you set up a usual Saturday morning tee time. It does not advertise. 1 plays like World No. I never even thought about that.. 130, 10 New International Golf Course Openings to Know for 2023, Expert Wine Advice from Golf Community Sommeliers, 10 Things to Consider Before Joining a Private Golf Club. Eighty-five percent of all graduates have attended college. The ambassador members of the course are likeminded individuals who are invited to be members of the club. There were six players tied for second in the event with a score of -10. In a nutshell: Congaree, which is about 30 minutes north of Savannah, Georgia, is quietly growing an exclusive international membership and boasts a world-class course unlike any other designed by Tom Fazio that is destined to be considered for a coveted place in Top 100 lists. Congaree Golf Club. The foundation bought the club in 2021 and has plans to increase the quality of the course and facilities to provide a new home to area high school teams and a quality public course for local golfers. The Congaree Foundation also has a direct relationship with local charities including the Boys & Girls Club of Jasper County and the Lowcountry Food Bank. An errant tee shot can run quickly through the side of the fairway and get caught in the bunker like a gutter ball in bowling. Voted one of the Top 30 Greatest Clubhouses in America by Golf Digest, its pub, fireside lounge, and pleasant staff exude southern hospitality. Congaree has maintained many of the buildings used in the film some going back to pre-1800 and added a few of their own to blend in with the history. Their affiliation is less dependent on financial dues and more on the time they offerone of the clubs many mentoring programs. The Congaree Golf Club will get its chance to shine this week when it hosts the Palmetto Championships, . The 15th, another short par four and the start of four straight fours on the closing stretch, is among the most fun to watch the pros attempt to go for with its zig-zagging fairway and green that funnels balls from front to back. It's fun," Glover recently told Golfweek. Friedkin is also active in a group called Project Recover that seeks to find the underwater resting places of American military personnel and aircraft missing in action since World War II. 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. Garrick Higgo claims first PGA TOUR title by one shot at Palmetto Championship. All share a love of golf and a passion for helping others. They will get bags and bags of food. There are no tee markers at Congaree, just discs on one side of the expansive teeing ground that give the yardage of the hole. The winning score of the event was -11. The course is often described as a heathland style course and is inspired by the sandbelt region golf courses of Australia. You know they care for you and theyre in their corner. "It's a privilege to welcome THE CJ CUP to South Carolina and Congaree. The bid was voted on and approved by the Ridgeland Town Council in support of the clubs bid for the event. The education, mentorship and training they receive at CGGI stays with them well beyond their time at Congaree.. Toms lifelong passion for golf runs in the family. The gate opens inward to a one-lane gravel road that runs through a gauntlet of ancient live oak trees with Spanish moss gently waving in their gnarled branches. The courses three par-5 holes present good scoring opportunities, although the sloped green at the sixth hole will make a player really work for a birdie. Friedkin and McNairs aspirations were for Fazio to build a course unlike many of the overly lush designs favored throughout the U.S. today. Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. The economy and markets are "under surveillance". articles a month for anyone to read, even non-subscribers! It was at the Carolinas PGA Section where Hannah discovered her passion for helping young people through the game of golf. club's inaugural Global Golf Initiative program from 2017 are showing how they took advantage of life-changing opportunities. As firm and fast of a course Ive experienced, and designed to be that way, makes holding approaches on each elevated putting surface (playing at a cool 12 on the stimpmeter during my round) an accomplishment and leads the caddies, dressed in all white, to recommend using a Texas wedge on the majority of recovery attempts. Keeping in the style of Australian sandbelt courses, the traditional rough is replaced by sand on the course. But thats not what interested South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster when he came to Congaree for a recent tour. Today, members of the [+] club's inaugural Global Golf Initiative program from 2017 are showing how they took advantage of life-changing opportunities. Fazio expects the CJ CUP to produce a similar winning score to the Palmetto Championship, although it may take a different route. They meet with athletic, academic and fitness advisors, golf instructors, get fitted for clubs, learn how to write a college application letter and practice public speaking, among other important skills. Later this summer it will host 36 new, eager and promising students. Davidson and McNeely scouted six to eight locations, but the inland property that would become Congaree stood out from its sandy soil perfect for building a golf course to its peaceful hunting grounds and historic feel. Congaree Golf Club hosted its first PGA Tour event in June of 2021 when it hosted the Palmetto Championship. Davidson and fellow co-director of golf John McNeely, another accomplished PGA professional and the president of Diamond Creek Golf Club, graciously took the time to show me around the property at Congaree, which feels like a step back in time even though its just a half-hour from both Savannah and Hilton Head, and 90 minutes from Augusta. Congaree Golf Club is situated at 8589 Grays Highway in Ridgeland, South Carolina. McMaster announces Palmetto Championship as new PGA TOUR event in South Carolina", "Congaree Golf Club to host PGA TOUR's Palmetto Championship at Congaree", "After a morning call from Gary Player, Garrick Higgo earns first PGA Tour win at Palmetto Championship in second start", "PGA Tour's CJ Cup moves to a Golfweek's Best course in South Carolina", "Davant Plantation Gillisonville Jasper County", "Congaree: A First Look At The Golf Club Built By Billionaires On A Model Of Philanthropy", "Which SC golf course makes pitch for 2025 Presidents Cup? You're not going to get all the way 72 holes and not hit it in some bunkers.. The club revolves primarily around the Congaree Global Golf Initiative, which combines golf instruction and college prep curriculum to help high schoolers interested in the sport pursue postsecondary education. It has a natural look, lends itself to the ground game and plays firm and fast think Royal Aberdeen in a drought, Davidson says. As The Friedkin Group continues to innovate and evolve, Dans commitment to the company includes fostering and inspiring the next generation of leaders from within the organization including his children who will help carry on the values of the organization. To date, 68 students have graduated from the program, and 27 who have already graduated from high school have received college golf scholarships valued at roughly $2.2 million total. In 1995, the historic house was the primary filming location for the movie Something to Talk About starring Julia Roberts. Developed by two men who already owned high-end private golf clubs - Friedkin Group chairman Dan Friedkin with Diamond Creek Golf Club and Houston Texas owner the late Bob McNair with The Golf Club at Briar's Creek - the philanthropic golf facility at Congaree Golf Club is probably unlike any you've come across before. The CJ Cup was launched as Korea's first official PGA Tour tournament in 2017 and was played for three consecutive years at Nine Bridges on Jeju Island before being relocated to the US due to the challenges of COVID-19, a news release said. Simply put, if youre hoping to join the club for you, youre probably not the right fit for them. The biggest, strongest element will be how the ball is bouncing and where it's rolling to, he said. Congaree Golf Club boasts notable ambassador members from many industries, including golf and business. In Jasper County, one of the most impoverished in South Carolina, Congaree Foundation has provided funding support to the Boys & Girls Club, including a $167,000 grant to create the Congaree Career Launch program which will prepare students for future career opportunities. 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.. Congaree was named Golf Digest 's best new private course for 2018, as well as being named the best golf course built during the . And shortly before Beggs was nominated to go to Congaree, she hurt her back during a tournament and said she felt like she was having a quarterlife crisis at 16.. A world-class golf club with a philanthropic mission at its core. This is not a club for the individual. [15], Private golf club in Gillisonville, SC, US, "Streamsong Black, Congaree are Golf Digest's Best New Courses for 2018", "New TOUR event will visit Congaree, a club with a mission", "Gov. So many of our kids are on a road to success. Prior to joining Congaree, Tom was the 1st Assistant Professional at Diamond Creek Golf Club, Assistant Professional at Miromar Lakes Golf Club and an Assistant Professional at Rock Creek Cattle Company. In 1999, he sold the company while retaining ownership of power plants in New York and West Virginia, until 2017 and 2018 respectively. Eleven others went through the program a week earlier. Only two auxiliary buildings survived. Since its founding, Congaree has been hailed as one of the best new courses in America but it was established to be much more than a world-class golf club. The Academy Award-winning actress didnt own property there, but her character Grace King Bichon did live there in the 1995 film Something to Talk About, which also featured Kyra Sedgewick, Robert Duvall, Gena Rowlands and Dennis Quaid. The 18th green at Congaree sits just behind the. The Palmetto Championship was in June, the thick of a South Carolina summer. The fairways arent the only place where the balls will run; the greens are fast, challenging and roll true as a pool table. The two Texas businessmen own other successful golf clubs Friedkin the Diamond Creek Golf Club in Banner Elk, North Carolina, and McNair the Golf Club at Briars Creek in Johns Island, South Carolina but they sought something different, a new club model with a sustaining purpose shared among its ambassadors. So theres a Congaree Foundation and just two `members of the club Dan and Bob. Congaree is a private golf course in the eastern United States, located in South Carolina in Jasper County outside of Ridgeland in unincorporated Gillisonville. I thought theres no way somebody wants to take you to America and do all this stuff for you. The Impact of Congaree Foundation In a short amount of time, the philanthropic efforts of Congaree Foundation have been diverse and widespread. At the turn, a small white shack offers complimentary refreshments, signature meat pies, and every type of snack food or candy you could imagine. We thought, no, it can't, we can't be this lucky. From the very beginning, Congaree was positioned as a philanthropic club. The Congaree Golf Club came into existence in the 2010s. There are, however, ambassadors, prominent figures in their respective fields and well-connected industry types who join via invite only. In 2021, Golf Digest ranked the golf club 39th on their Americas 100 Greatest Golf Courses list. 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. The club established the Congaree Global Golf . Almost every single one of our Congaree Kids has earned a college scholarship, with many of them playing golf at the collegiate level. The golf club is in the part of South Carolina historically called the low country. Afterwards, our college counselor and golf counselor will keep tabs on these kids for their final years of school to make every effort to help.. The couple of guidance counselors in Jasper County are greatly overextended there are 670 students in nearby Ridgeland-Hardeeville High School and many kids rely on schools to supply the majority of their meals. Prior to joining Congaree, Ben served as an Assistant Golf Professional at Wade Hampton Golf Club, the founding Executive Director for First Tee Greater Charleston, as Regional Director for First Tee Headquarters, and as Director of Development for Clemson University. Were a winter club.. Tom Craft has served as the Head Golf Professional at Congaree since 2016. It was only his second day at the Congaree Global Golf Initiative, but DJ Belcher seemed to have gotten into the swing of things. The Foundations support of the Lowcountry Food Bank has led to 105 drive-thru food distributions and 14 fresh-for-all markets to help local families in need. Congaree Golf Club is one of the most renowned golf clubs in the world to open in the past ten years. The conditions should be drier and less humid, but a stronger field featuring Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm and Tom Kim should push contenders to take chances. Congaree has been positioned as a philanthropic club since it was founded. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com. [13], 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. Our ambassadors go down there and give out food, sometimes $15 -20,000 a day." All of this happens out of a golf club that sits tucked behind a white gate that has no signage and no intention of being found by anyone not intending to go there. On the rural road just off the highway, its impossible to miss the dilapidated trailer homes with broken down cars and yards strewn with junk. Congaree Golf Club is a private course that opened in 2018 with only two members, Dan Friedkin and Bob McNair. . Her love of the game carried into college where she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a degree in Golf Enterprise Management in 2019. The club established the Congaree Global. In designing a course decidedly different from those hes done in the past, Fazio was tasked with creating a balance of reward and punishment demanded by whichever teeing area the golfer chooses. McNair owned Palmetto Partners, Ltd. and RCM Financial Services, L.P., private investment entities that managed the McNairs private and public equity investments. Results Since 2017 138 Program Graduates 48 These are life-changing opportunities. Other private clubs have sought to imitate the Congaree approach in some respects. It's firm and fast. We always knew that we wanted to create a golf course for the ages, says McNeely, whose extensive list of prominent club experience includes working under Masters champion Claude Harmon at Winged Foot in New York. Assistant Golf Professional . Among the ambassadors is three-time PGA Tour winner and 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas. Congaree Golf Club opened in 2017 in Ridgeland, S.C., the brainchild of billionaire businessmen Dan Friedkin and the late Bob McNair. I personally believe you're going to have to be a very good bunker player, Davidson said. I write about businesses, news and destinations in the golf world. Microsoft to Cut Engineering Jobs This Week as Layoffs Go Deeper, Apple Delays AR Glasses, Plans Cheaper Mixed-Reality Headset, Saudi Arabia Says Open to Settling Trade in Other Currencies, Stocks Snap 4-Day Rally; Dow Drops Most in a Month: Markets Wrap. The 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree was announced in April of that year. Dont miss anything from the PGA TOUR & its partners, Connect to get special offers and updates, Sign up for the Monthly Minute newsletter, Get the latest happenings on PGA TOUR with WiretoWire, Get the latest happenings on TOUR with WiretoWire. Dan Friedkin is the chairman of The Friedkin group, which is a consortium of businesses that operates in the luxury hospitality, automotive, entertainment, and golf industries. . Hint: It's not the Ocean Course", "Built by billionaires, Congaree has only 1 member but a grand purpose", https://www.friedkin.com/leisure/congaree, https://www.fraser-construction.com/galleries/congaree-club-located-in-ridgeland-sc, https://www.fraser-construction.com/galleries/congaree-golf-maintenance-facility, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Congaree_Golf_Club&oldid=1133372574, Buildings and structures in Jasper County, South Carolina, Golf clubs and courses designed by Tom Fazio, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 13:04. He was awarded Master Professional status by the PGA of Great Britain at a ceremony held at St. Andrews during the 2015 Open Championship. In 2021, the Club hosted its first professional event - the PGA TOUR's Palmetto Championship at Congaree. Upon entering, a serene drive under arching live oaks leads you to a village of historic white buildings, some which have existed on the former rice plantation since the 1800s; this includes the Roberts Cottage, where actress Julia Roberts stayed while starring in the 1995 movie Something to Talk About, which was filmed at the Congaree estate. We want people to be here for the right reasons, Davidson says. Bob McNair was the chairman of The McNair Group and the Owner of the Houston Texans of the National Football League. The annual Congaree Global Golf Initiative is a weeklong camp that teaches the game and provides college admission prep to ambitious studentsto date, the Foundations signature event has graduated 68 students from 16 different countries (27 have gone on to play college golf) and assisted more than a dozen students in earning $2.2 million in scholarship money to attend college. But stick around because well talk about what type of club Congaree is, who founded it, some famous ambassadors and what the future holds for this prestigious golf club. Some of the famous ambassadors of Congaree Golf Club from the world of golf include: Some notable ambassadors from the business world include Jim Crane, Dermot Desmond, and Jim Pallotta. Robert C. McNair (Jan. 1, 1937 Nov. 23, 2018), a leading businessman, sportsman and philanthropist in Houston, Texas for more than 50 years, was the founder, senior chairman and chief executive officer of the Houston Texans National Football League team. The ambassador members of the course are likeminded individuals who are invited to be members of the club. Much of Congarees initial philanthropic activity will occur with a program the club has named the Global Golf Initiative. The course lies in Ridgeland, South Carolina, about 73 miles from Charleston, South Carolina. Weve had more than 100 kids from 16 countries participate in the Congaree Global Golf Initiative and the positive impact its had on their lives is profound, said Friedkin, who has a net worth of more than $4 billion, according to the Forbes billionaires list, making him one of the worlds wealthiest individuals. 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Since the clubs opening in 2017, the CGGI has identified aspiring golfers each year with the talent but not necessarily the resources for college golf. Dan Friedkin is one of the founding members and, Houston Texans owner Bob McNair is one of the, founders of Congaree. October 21, 2022, 11:40 AM. The main house in Something to Talk About was renovated but maintained on the inside to keep its connection to the movie. The result is a strategic low country masterpiece, with a combination of brutish and risk-reward par-4s, and picturesque par-3 holes. Thats assuming your ball hasnt rolled into one of the expansive sand waste areas that border many of the holesrazor-sharp edges from fairways and greens into bunkers make this a commonality with even slightly wayward shots. Before driving from Congaree to Hilton Head, Glover had dinner with Congaree's managing director, John McNeely, and club ambassador Mac Barnhardt, who suggested Glover visit Sergeant Jasper . World No. We have the opportunity to touch so many more lives and empower the next generation of leaders through a shared passion for the game of golf. Slated to completely open in 2025, Shell Bay will feature a boutique hotel and bespoke residences anchored by a world-class private members' club, featuring a private yacht club, an 18,000-square . McNair, who returned NFL football to Houston in 2002 and has an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion according to Forbes, has undertaken similar efforts elsewhere, including a scholarship program in Forest City, North Carolina, thats sent more than 160 kids to local colleges if they graduated high school with a B average. Friedkin and the late Bob McNair, a University of South Carolina graduate who owned the National Football League's Houston Texans, started the club for a base for their Congaree Global Golf. But biggest kudos go to Dan Friedkin, who allowed us the opportunity to create this club.. - Assured first class service for members and guests at world class 36-hole facility. World Golf Hall of Famer Mark OMeara, a two-time major champion, and other former touring pros are among them. The inaugural Global Golf Initiative class started immediately in 2017. So, where is Congaree Golf Club? October 21, 2022 2:40 PM. They had a vision for more than just 18 great golf holes designed by Tom Fazio, so they established the clubs charitable arm, the Congaree Foundation, which is headlined by the Congaree Global Golf Initiative. With a long carry off the tee, including a bite-off-what-you-dare line over a massive waste area, and then a raised green fronted by another vast expanse of sand, some visiting pros have already suggested the 8th hole at Congaree is the hardest par-4 in the world. Congaree isn't like anyplace else. A graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, Tom is a PGA Class A Professional. The Congaree Foundation Learn More. When Fazio first visited, his response was similar: You guys hit the mother lode here.. That number is expected to grow, with North and South American players coming to Congaree and international players training in the United Kingdom. Its overarching mission is to offer educational, vocational and golf instruction opportunities to underprivileged and deserving youth, with current and prospective ambassadors ranging well beyond titans of industry from an NFL Hall of Famer and national championship-winning coach to a Hall of Fame recording artist and a Grammy Award-winning country singer. However, ambassadors are strongly . Inspired by European links courses built on sand, Fazio saw the bones of a compact course in Congaree. Friedkin, 52, is an active conservationist a trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society, chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, and head of a charitable fund established to conserve millions of protected acres in Tanzania. And while there is no initiation fee, Congarees ambassadors, as theyre called, are encouraged to not only make a financial contribution to the charitable Congaree Foundation thats separate from the club, but to take an active role in interacting with youth and sharing their life experiences, both good and bad. What it has instead are invited ambassadors, people prominent in their industries who aren't so much expected to pay cash as donate their time and mentorship. In addition to her involvement with Congaree Foundation, Lesley is employed by The Friedkin Group, supporting the Family Office Legal Team and working on special projects. learn more. Live Oaks that are hundreds of years old.
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