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At the fall line where Lowcountry ends and Upcountry begins, the capital city, Columbia, sits in the very middle of the state. A planned city, Columbia is skirted by three major interstates and the busiest airport in the state. Downtown Columbia houses both the University of South Carolina and the State House. Fort Jackson, one of the largest Army bases in the country, can be found in Northeast Columbia. The State House reminds everyone of General Sherman's march through the South. Cannon ball scars are still visible on the landmark. A historical marker back at the university reminds the traveler that every student joined the Confederacy. Down the street, an old cotton mill has been beautifully converted into the State Museum.

As a growing Southern city, Columbia features several theatrical companies, a symphony, and the Koger Center, which hosts plays, concerts, and ballets. Columbia is a progressive, modern city, leading the way into the New South. Only half-an-hour away is the huge man-made Lake Murray, the sporting center of the Midlands. Here, water-skiers, fisherman, knee-boarders, and boating enthusiasts spend their weekends and holidays. All around Columbia are bustling little towns, Lexington, Newberry, Saluda, and Swansea continue the capital's lead to a prosperous New South. Fly into the center of South Carolina and enjoy a growing modern city that retains its southern charm.

Golf in the Capital City and Lake Murray Country

The Capital City now offers 15 public or semi-private golf courses. Russell Breeden, an architect renowned for his work on the Grand Strand, has spent many hours in the Columbia area. Persimmon Hill near Saluda, Hidden Valley near Lexington, LinRick Golf Club just north of Columbia, and Mid-Carolina Golf Club east of Newberry have been popular attractions for years. Recently, Northwoods Golf Club and Oak Hills Golf Club have become favorites to Columbia residents. Both courses have hosted several mini-tour events. This past year, Northwoods co-hosted the City Men's Championship.

Have your wedge game ready if you plan to tackle Northwoods. Many difficult slopes and sidehill lies around greens make a deft touch a necessity on this P.B. Dye course. Oak Hills offers a traditional, wooded layout, but challenges your iron game with small, severely sloping greens. Missing the green on the wrong side of the hole at Oak Hills virtually assures a bogey.

Two other courses Columbians love to play are Indian River Golf Club and Timberlake Golf Club. Timberlake derives its character from Lake Murray, which provides a hazard on several holes. Indian River, on the other hand, has been designed in a Scottish links tradition. Recently, the Columbia Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau offered a package enabling golfers to play four private courses in the area. Crickentree Golf Club, a long, wooded Ken Killian design with bent grass greens, two 18-hole courses at the Fort Jackson Golf Club, the Wildcat Course and the Old Hickory Course, The Windermere Club, a Pete and P.B. Dye treasure, and The Woodlands Country Club have all joined the Columbia Golf Promotion.

Grand Strand Amusements

From teens who cruise Ocean Boulevard to toddlers who cling to the snorting, rearing horses of the antique Herschel-Spillman Merry-Go-Round, at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park on 9th Ave. N. and Ocean Blvd., it's traditional that kids find a special magic in Myrtle Beach. Marvels include the giant 1900 German Pipe Organ, also at the Pavilion; Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, N. Ocean Blvd. at 9th Ave.; and the animated (thrilling! chilling!) figures of the Myrtle Beach National Wax Museum, 1000 N. Ocean Blvd.

Myrtle Waves Water Park, at the Hwy. 17 Bypass and 10th Ave. N., and Wild Water and Wheels, on U.S. 17 Bus. in Surfside Beach, both offer an abundance of drenching rides.

Family Kingdom Amusement Park at 3rd Ave. S. and Ocean Blvd. features the Swamp Fox, a legendary wooden roller coaster, and Motion Master Moving Theater at 917 N. Ocean Blvd. puts you in the action with hydraulic seats synchronized to move with the action on the screen.

The All Children's Park, one of only three in the nation, is a barrier-free playground at S. Hollywood and 10th Ave. S. in Surfside Beach designed especially for the pleasure of handicapped children.

From amusement parks to outlet malls and family entertainment complexes, the list of attractions for all ages and tastes is growing.

Grand Strand Beaches

The fine white sand and dunes of the beaches along the Strand make for the best in swimming, sunbathing, strolling, shelling and surfing. Municipal rules are in effect in certain areas so consult local Chamber brochures for regulations. Throughout the Strand, sea oats, a vital link in shore and dune ecology, are protected by law.

Golf in the Lowcountry and Resort Islands

Hilton Head Island has become famous as a resort for tennis and beach activities, as well as great golf. Perhaps the biggest factor in its overwhelming golf popularity has been the MCI Golf Classic, played on the tight fairways and small greens of Harbour Town Golf Links. Jack Nicklaus collaborated with Pete Dye on Harbour Town, best-known for the barber-pole lighthouse that watches both Harbour Town's 18th hole and the Calibogue Sound. Purists tend to fall in love with the irreplaceable oaks and pines that drape just close enough to greens to make approach shots a headache to the best of shotmakers. Add to this four par-threes that PGA players call the best on tour, and you are left with a masterpiece.

Sea Pines Plantation offers two other great escapes in George Cobb's Ocean Course, and the Cobb/Clyde Johnston shared Sea Marsh. Cobb also drew up the Ocean Point Golf Links on Fripp Island. With lots of sand and water and only a sparsity of trees, be prepared to hit the ball low on this always windy course. The Fripp Island Resort also offers three and one-half miles of private beach, tennis, boating, and fine-dining in its quiet, uncrowded setting. Ocean Creek Golf Course is a new 18 hole course designed by Davis Love III. This is his first signature course is a great compliment to Ocean Point Golf Links. The par 71 6,500 yard course snakes through ancient live oak forests and traverses the waters edge. Ocean Creek provides a beautiful isolated round of golf - only a few holes have homes bordering the course.

Two other superb golf developments on Hilton Head include the three courses at Palmetto Dunes, and the two at Palmetto Hall Plantation. Four superb architects penned these five courses which are all operated by Greenwood Development Corporation. Palmetto Dunes offers:

The Arthur Hills Course, a heavily wooded, long course that offers plenty of risk/reward situations to the golfer who likes to gamble.

The Robert Trent Jones Course, a well-bunkered track where water comes into play on 11 of 18 holes.

And the George Fazio Course, believed to be the most difficult of the three. This heavily wooded par 70 course plays to a 74.2 rating.

Palmetto Hall Plantation features two courses: its Arthur Hills Course and the Robert Cupp Golf Course. Like all Arthur Hills courses, this one flows naturally with the land. His courses seem to look like they had been part of the land for centuries.

The Robert Cupp Course at Palmetto Hall is unlike any course you have ever played. Cupp incorporated a unique geometric angle to this award winning creation. Square greens, pyramid-shaped mounds, and triangular bunkers intrigue the eye from the start here. Make an effort, though, not to let this high-tech design keep you from noticing the beautiful savannah marshes around the course. Each course at Palmetto Dunes and Palmetto Hall has been highly ranked among resort courses by numerous golf magazines. Also, while in Hilton Head, visit Old South Golf Links in nearby Bluffton. This Clyde Johnston design features different elements such as oak forests, open pastures, and tidal marshes, all within the same course. In 1992 Old South was chosen by Golf Digest as one of the top ten new public courses. Also, take advantage of the Ken Venturi Training Center.

Just a short drive west down Highway 278 from Old South Golf Links is Island West Golf Club. This course, designed by Fuzzy Zoeller and Clyde Johnson, is a favorite by many who travel to the Hilton Head area. Multiple tee placements and strategically placed bunkers force the golfer to carefully contemplate each shot. Along Highway 278 off the Island is Hilton Head National. A Gary Player signature golf course, it has recently been acclaimed by USA Today and Golf Week as one of the top fifty rated courses. Hilton Head National has a total distance of 6,761 yards from the pro tees and was the host site for the Amoco-Centel Championship in 1991.

Back on the island, the vacationing golfer should not miss Port Royal Plantation and its 54 holes of great golf. George Cobb, Willard Byrd, and Pete Dye have designed three courses that combine beauty, diversity and great clubhouse amenities. Precise shot placement and keeping the ball in play are requirements to scoring well. One of Hilton Head's newest courses is Indigo Run. The player on Indigo Run will follow the natural contour of the land with little in the way of man-made mounds or elevated tees.