Working Together to Save Melrose and Bloody Point

Daufuskie residents chip in to save bankrupt golf course By JOSH McCANN jmccann@islandpacket.com 843-706-8145 Published Monday, June 28, 2010 Comments (3) | Recommend (3)Email Article | Print Article | Feeds | | Search the Archive tool nameclose tool goes here Mouse over the photo to enlarge The Melrose golf course on Daufuskie Island looks remarkably lush and green considering it has operated without electricity for more than two months. The course shut down for about a month and a half after the Daufuskie Island Resort & Breathe Spa filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009, but a skeleton crew of workers has since reopened it and kept it alive on a shoestring with dues voluntarily paid by a loyal group of members. To ensure the ocean-side course continues to receive such care, its annual tournament for members has morphed into a fundraiser. Organizers of this year's Firecracker Open, scheduled for Saturday, plan to put all proceeds toward the course's bills. About 80 golfers have signed up. The Piggly Wiggly grocery store at Hilton Head Island's Shelter Cove has donated hot dogs, hamburgers and cases of water. Employees of a security firm and the broker in charge of selling the resort have volunteered to help. "We're basically in survival mode right now," said head golf pro Patrick Ford, who has lived and worked on Daufuskie for about four years. "It's basically crunch time to get money in so we can continue to get fuel to cut the golf course." From shortly after the bankruptcy through December, Ford worked for a company paid with money borrowed by the trustee in charge of the resort's bankruptcy. That contract has expired, and the loan has run out, forcing Ford and superintendent Nick Bright to get creative to keep the course from looking like its sister layout on Daufuskie's Bloody Point, which also is snared in the bankruptcy and is beginning to return to nature. Ford, who estimated his pay has been cut in half since the resort was open, has the Melrose course's calls forwarded to his cell phone. That way, he can answer even if he's picking balls off the driving range or washing golf carts, which must be charged at the nearby cottages and villas that still have power. His attaché case doubles as a "traveling pro shop," in which he stores credit card slips, cash and tee sheets. Most callers aren't aware of the bankruptcy, he said. After he explains the situation, some say they'll try again next year. Others come anyway, catching a ride on a tourist-oriented ferry or chartering a boat from Hilton Head. Those who do are usually pleasantly surprised at the course's condition, he said. To cope with a limited budget, Bright has devised a variety of techniques he wasn't taught in turf management school. Unable to afford liquid fertilizer, he grinds up the remaining granular stuff he has on hand and mixes it in a bucket with an electric drill and a paint stirrer. Unable to afford new parts, he takes them from one mower to make another work. For two months, the two men were the only workers, although they've since added a staff of six. The course doesn't see nearly as much action as it did -- about 10 rounds a day compared to 160 at its pre-bankruptcy peak. Even so, Patrick said he and Bright take pride in their course, which he says is among the best on the East Coast and "probably the best bankrupt golf course" in the country. "It would be criminal if that course ever shut down," Ford said. WANT TO PLAY? For more information, call 843-785-5029. Email Article | Print Article | Feeds | | Search the Archive tool nameclose tool goes here You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register Comments: 3 Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first bottomfeeder wrote on 06/29/2010 09:04:16 AM: Keep it up guys. We should all go play and support Recommend (1) Report abuse kellymac wrote on 06/28/2010 11:29:10 PM: Save your money.Everyone who has bought that place has always scr@wed their vendors and filed bankruptcy. Isn't this the 3rd group in the last 15 years? Recommend (3) Report abuse Raymond wrote on 06/28/2010 10:28:16 PM: Great story! Recommend (3) Report abuse More comments on this story: 1 @Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@: @Nyx.CommentBody@ @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@ Report comment as: (required) X Obscenity/vulgarity Hate speech Personal attack Advertising/Spam Copyright/Plagiarism Other Remarks: (optional) Sponsored Links Read more: http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/06/28/1290266/daufuskie-residents-chip-in-to.html#ixzz0sQZuI3Id