Notebook: Tartan Day at Harbour Town

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ILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- The slogan on traditional South Carolina license plate reflects the state's motto: "Smiling faces. Beautiful places." Both can be found at the Verizon Heritage this week.

Aaron Baddeley wore the plaid in 2006. (Getty Images)

But there's also another plate tagging along with cars these days that isn't as self-explanatory. This mysterious tag reads "South Carolina: First in Golf". Historians traditionally trace the roots of golf in the United States to Yonkers, N.Y. Since supposedly the game left Scotland, where it began, and first landed in New York, how can South Carolina make this claim?

Charles Fraser, the founder of Sea Pines (where the Harbour Town Golf Links course is located), discovered a little known fact. It turned out that Harleston's Green in Charleston, S.C., may have been the first place golf was played on American soil.

A ship's manifest from 1786 referenced "golfer sticks" and "featheries" (also known as golf balls), items that apparently traveled to South Carolina and Georgia.

Because of his findings, Fraser decided to build the Verizon Heritage's tournament traditions around Scottish ones. Even the name itself -- bestowed upon the tournament 40 years ago before Arnold Palmer became the first Heritage Classic champion -- reflects the state's golf "heritage".

So don't be confused by the Scottish-inspired plaid jackets or the confusing "First in Golf" tags (proceeds from the sell of the tags go towards the South Carolina Junior Golf Association). As Paul Harvey would say, now you know the rest of the story.

Heritage History Lesson: Part Two

It's not as coveted as a Green Jacket but the tartan blazer that Verizon Heritage winners receive is certainly more unique.

The plaid coat features the official "Heritage" tartan, a rich, vibrant red and green pattern.

Fans attending the tournament on Saturday, aka Tartan Day, were encouraged to wear their best plaid. A committee selected the best plaid-clad guests and awarded them with Clubhouse badges for 2009.

This year's winners were a trio of Elvis impersonators bedecked in tartan capes. Dean Pirtle of nearby Bluffton, S.C., and friends Shane Alison and Matt Raven strolled along the grounds in their bedazzled white suits and capes with the letters "Tartan Day '08" on the back.

On each day during tournament week, it's common to see Heritage committee members and on-course volunteers sporting the plaid blazer or knickers tucked into knee-high socks. Some men are even brave enough to wear the tartan kilt.

Defending champion Boo Weekley picked up his coat at the opening ceremonies this week and now has it packed in the car for a long trip back to Milton, Fla.

"I got it the other day when we marched around the lagoon there," Weekley explained on Friday.

His "march around the lagoon" was one part of the opening ceremonies for the event. As defending champion, Weekley used a hickory club to fire a "featherie" (pre-20th century golf ball) into the nearby Calibogue Sound on Monday. This ceremonial first shot took place as two men in pre-Revolutionary War uniforms fired a muzzle-loader cannon.

Prior to the first shot, the Citadel Bagpipe Band, flag bearers and selected participants paraded from Harbour Town to the 18th green, where the cannon firing took place.

The times are changin'

The late Davis Love, Jr., (father of five-time Verizon Heritage champion Davis Love III) played the first Heritage Classic in 1969 and tied for 40th. His winnings totaled $405.

When his son played in his first tournament at Harbour Town Golf Links in 1986, he similarly tied for 41st and earned $1,665. The very next year Love III captured the trophy and padded his bank account with $117,000.

Here's where it gets interesting: last year Love III tied for 36th which is, for comparison's sake, close to a tie for 40th. For that finish he earned $23,793.70, a 5775 percent increase over his father's winnings just 40 years ago.

Love III tends to excel at the venue, making the top 10 an impressive 11 times. He's the all-time leading money winner in the event and has earned over $2.5 million. The next closest on the money-earners list is Stewart Cink, who sits nearly $900,000 behind Love.