Low Country Golf Hall of Fame inducts inaugural class
After Saturday night's inaugural induction ceremony for the Low Country Golf Hall of Fame, inductee Jim Ferree recounted a conversation he had with his father, longtime golf professional Purvis, in the late 1960s when Jim was a golf pro in Savannah.
Purvis asked Jim if he'd been over to Hilton Head Island to play the Ocean Course and if he knew "those people" and if so, what he thought.
Jim Ferree, a winner on the PGA and Champions tours who was the first golf pro at Long Cove Golf Club, responded that he'd played the Ocean Course, he knew those people and he wasn't sure what he thought.
His father responded, "Well don't go near them. They're probably rabid. They have to be crazy to think people are going to go to that island to play golf."
Only a couple of years later, Jim Ferree said, his father was buying real estate on the island from "those people."
"Those people" were brothers and partners Charles and Joesph Fraser who brought golf to Hilton Head Island.
The Fraser brothers, along with Ferree, writer Charles Price, Bluffton amateur Kevin King, longtime Secession director of golf Mike Harmon and longtime area professional Tim Moss made up the hall of fame's inaugural class.
Bob Collar, director of the Hilton Head Island Amateur Golf Association and the driving force behind the formation of the hall of fame, said the Frasers and Price were chosen for what they did to promote golf and Hilton Head Island, while the four living inductees were voted in by the hall's selection committee.
"Being selected means people appreciate what you've done," Jim Ferree said. "It means you've done some pretty good stuff, even if you don't realize it yourself. Somebody did. And it means you weren't a (jerk)."
THE INAUGURAL CLASS
Charles E. Fraser
He was the visionary who helped shape modern Hilton Head Island and, in developing Sea Pines, led one of the first projects to combine golf and real estate.
Joseph Fraser Jr.
The hands-on, quieter partner of brother, Charles, he was instrumental in bringing the PGA Tour's Heritage Classic to the island. He founded the Heritage Classic Foundation.
Charles "Charley" Price
A golf writer and author, Price was hired by the Fraser brothers to promote the Heritage. He used his contacts and wrote numerous articles for publicaitons such as Sports Illustrated and Golf Digest to promote Harbour Town Gof Links and Long Cove Golf Club, raising the visibility of Hilton Head Island. He founded Golf Magazine.
Mike Harmon
A former PGA Tour player, Harmon is the longtime director of golf at Secession Golf Club. He has more than 20 victories within PGA sections. He's a past winner of the Bill Strausbaugh Award, given to PGA professionals who distinguish themselves by mentoring fellow PGA pros.
Kevin King
King played professionally on the Champions Tour in 2007, but as an amateur, he has dominated amateur golf in the Lowcountry for more than two decades. He was won multiple regional and state amateur championships, the S.C. Open, a Hilton Head Open and nine Hilton Head Island Amateur championships. In addition, King has qualified for almost 20 United States Golf Association events, including seven U.S. Amateurs, six U.S. Mid-Amateurs and a U.S. Open.
Tim Moss
Moss is a longtime PGA professional who has served at several area courses. The co-founder of Secession Golf Club, he helped bring the U.S. Junior Amateur to Moss Creek.
Jim Ferree
Ferree was the first director of golf at Long Cove and is a winner on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. Ferree was chosen as the model for the knickers-wearing player on the Champions Tour's logo. He was the Senior PGA Tour's Comeback Player of the Year in 1993. He's a member of several golf halls of fame, including the S.C. Golf Hall of Fame.
This story was originally published March 28, 2015 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Low Country Golf Hall of Fame inducts inaugural class."