Lowcountry Golf Hall of Fame to welcome its 2 newest members

The players’ side is certainly represented, both amateur and professional. Teaching pros, too. No one would think of leaving out the visionaries. There’s even a sportswriter among its ranks.

And Saturday evening, the Lowcountry Golf Hall of Fame will introduce another category to its small roster — artist.

Linda Hartough, who has captured many of the game’s most iconic golf holes on canvas, will join the enshrinement roster as part of the hall’s third induction ceremonies.

“It really makes you feel that all that work is really appreciated. I know it is, but what can you say?” said Hartough, a Spring Island resident who has lived in the Lowcountry since 1980. “It’s just an incredible honor, definitely a highlight in my life.”

The other new member might be tough to categorize, though Doug Weaver’s business card lists him as director of instruction at Palmetto Dunes. He’s also a former PGA Tour pro, TV host and tireless volunteer for the Boys & Girls Clubs and Special Olympics.

They’ll become the 10th and 11th members of the shrine during formal ceremonies Saturday night at Moss Creek Golf Club.

Previous inductees are Sea Pines founders Charles Fraser and Joseph Fraser Jr., golf writer Charles Price, Lowcountry professionals Mike Harmon, the late Tim Moss and Jim and Karen Ferree, noted amateur Kevin King and longtime Sea Pines executive Cary Corbitt.

“I am humbled to be selected,” said Weaver, who moved to Hilton Head Island as a youth in 1977. “I feel so fortunate to have made a living here and stayed here. I’ve been able to touch people and share the joys and thrills of golf.”

Former LPGA professional Rosie Jones is the keynote speaker for Saturday night’s ceremonies.

Hartough grew up around the game — her father was an avid golfer — and she played a bit during her youth.

“But it was too much of a discipline for me,” she said. “I find the game fascinating, but I already have a discipline in my life. I’m more appreciative as a viewer of it.”

And it’s her eye, after all, that has given her renown. Her paintings have been displayed around the world, and for years she held commissions to paint each year’s U.S. Open and British Open venues.

Her list of golf works now far exceeds 100 paintings, with Augusta National and Pebble Beach at the top of the list. Other favorites have included Shinnecock Hills, the restored Pinehurst No.2 and, of course, the greats in Scotland and Ireland.

Golf wasn’t part of her early portfolio, which she displayed at the Red Piano Gallery on Hilton Head Island where a chance conversation led to an affiliation with the home of the Masters.

“Someone from Augusta National saw them and asked me if I could do a golf course. I said sure,” Hartough recalled. Her landscape of Augusta National’s 13th hole turned into a long-term relationship, which led to other calls.

Weaver has called Hilton Head Island home for four decades, except for his college days at Furman and a brief career as a touring pro. He earned his PGA Tour card in 1988, but was off the circuit within five years.

He remains part of U.S. Open lore in 1989 as one of Oak Hill’s “Four Aces” -- joining Jerry Pate, Nick Price and Mark Wiebe with holes-in-one at No.6 in the second round.

“Even though I quit playing golf for a living in ’94, I wanted (an outlet) to continue,” he said. “I’ve just been able to continue loving what I do and expressing it, not jut through competing, but through teaching and sharing it with others.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Lowcountry Golf Hall of Fame to welcome its 2 newest members."