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COPE -- Golf is considered one of the most popular pastimes in the United States, and golfing enthusiasts often seek innovative ways to make the game even more exciting. Avid golfers enjoy championship tournaments, with many participating in night events.
Now, thanks to one local golf course owner, a new dimension to the golfing experience is being introduced.
Bobby Kilgus, owner of Kountryside Golf Course in Cope, has developed an idea that may influence the way golf courses are designed in the future. Kilgus has installed a specially designed pontoon that will ferry golfers and their carts across a water hazard that separates the front side of the golf course from the back nine holes.
"Riding on the pontoon will help us have as much fun as possible while playing a challenging game of golf," Kilgus said.
The pontoon, built by Bentley Pontoon of Columbia, is 8 feet wide and 22 feet long and is designed to carry the weight of two golf carts, four men and four bags of golf clubs.
Bentley Pontoon has manufacturing plants in Columbia and Missouri, and the company ships pontoons all over the United States.
"When I discussed my idea with the plant manager, he smiled and said he had never heard of a pontoon being used to ferry golf carts across a pond on a golf course," Kilgus said. "So until I find out differently, Kountryside is the first golf course to have their own pontoon ferry boat, and I feel very honored that we are number one."
Kilgus described the unique teeing-off experience from the No. 10.
"When standing here on the tee box on No. 10, golfers are facing a six-acre fish pond," Kilgus said. "After teeing off on No. 10, the ball must travel 141 yards across the pond to the fairway. Players must then drive their golf cart from the dock onto the pontoon, where they push a button, and the pontoon ferries them across the pond to another dock to unload. After unloading, the push of a button will send the pontoon back across the pond for the next group. From the unloading dock, golfers are facing the No. 10 fairway, and play continues to the green."
Another challenge golfers will experience at Kountryside is located at the 13th hole.
"Hole No. 13 is a par-3 (125 yards), and the green slopes down 25 feet, with water behind the green in the shape of a horseshoe," Kilgus said. "I think this hole will be impressive and a unique challenge for golfers."
The idea of installing a pontoon didn't surprise Kilgus' wife, Len, too much, as she said she has grown accustomed to her husband's innovative nature.
"After all, it was Bobby's vision of transforming farmland and wooded property into a bea.jpgul golf course," she said. "Where fields of drought-plagued crops once stood, Kountryside Golf Course now offers peace and relaxation that golfers really appreciate."
The final details are currently being worked out to make the pontoon operable. Bobby Kilgus said he plans to announce a grand opening in the near future.
And, very soon, golfers will have an opportunity to play 18 holes of golf at Kountryside instead of the current nine.
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We opened for business four years ago as a nine-hole golf course." Kilgus said. "After much planning and construction, we will open the back nine holes in November 2007 and become a full-fledged 18-hole golf course."
Glowsticks and flashlights
If your hubby grabs a flashlight and his golf clubs and rushes off at dusk, try to understand. Night golf tournaments are the latest competitive event in the world of golf.
Kountryside Golf Course is noted for hosting exciting night tournaments, and many who enjoy the sport profess that coon hunting isn't half as much fun as swatting a glowing golf ball in the dark.
"Night golf is awesome -- more fun than you could ever imagine," said Robbie Stevens of Neeses. "I have been playing night golf at Kountryside since they hosted the first tournament in 2005. The mood is always upbeat, but at the same time, the game really tests your playing skills."
Bobby Kilgus jokingly said night golf tournaments often resemble an invasion from another planet.
"This game is played in darkness, and golfers must wear glow-in-the-dark neck bands," he said. "Each player is issued two clear golf balls that have a mini glowstick inserted in to the center. The flagpoles are wrapped with orange colored lightsticks, and each hole is surrounded with a green, twister glowstick.
"This can be a little spooky sometimes, especially if a mist settles over the course and the golfers start acting silly."
Len Kilgus said night golf tournaments are usually set up as par-3.
"Players bring their own flashlights to use in transit and to help find their golf ball," she said. "But they can not use flashlights to check the contour of the green."
The next night golf tournament is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at Kountryside. A heavy hors d'oeuvres supper will be served at 6:30 and is included in the registration fee.
"It will be good and dark by 7:30 p.m. this time of year, and we anticipate an exciting tournament," Len Kilgus said.
The night tournaments are designed to accommodate 18 teams, or 36 players, and pre-registration is recommended, Bobby Kilgus said.
In addition to night golf tournaments, Kountryside also sponsors day tournaments, offers special sessions for seniors and hosts fund-raising tournaments.
A divine vision
In 1999, Bobby Kilgus farmed the land in Cope that he inherited from his father, Robert Kilgus Sr. At a time when a severe drought threatened crops throughout Orangeburg County, Kilgus said he began to contemplate his future as a farmer.
"It was the third straight year of drought, and my 65 acres of corn, soybeans and cotton were drying up," he said. "To lift my mood one day, I grabbed a six-pack and my 12-gauge shotgun and decided to go dove hunting.
"While seated on a five-gallon bucket overlooking the field, the words, 'If you build it, they will come,' from the movie 'Field of Dreams' echoed in my mind. And, for a brief moment, I visualized rolling greens, fairways and golf balls instead of dried cornstalks and withered soybeans."
The vision was shocking at first, because Kilgus said he hadn't played golf more than one time during the previous 15 years. But the idea planted itself in his mind and began to blossom.
"When Bobby told me about the vision, I was very surprised, but I believed he could make it work," Len Kilgus said. "I gave him my full support."
Once the decision was made to transform the family farmland into a recreational facility, the couple researched the process of designing and constructing a golf course. Information obtained through an internet search and from a National Golf Association publication enabled Bobby Kilgus to design a nine-hole, par-36 course.
While the Kilguses played a major role in the design of the golf course, the couple said they received assistance and advice from the right people, at the right time, to make Kountryside Golf Course a reality.
"Mack Garrick and Lewis Givens, owners of a construction company in Norway, helped clear the land, shape the greens and dig the
sand traps," Bobby Kilgus said. "New Life Turf of Norway provided growing and irrigation advice and installed Tiff Dwarf Bermuda on the greens and 419 Bermuda grass on the fairways."
Kilgus also received advice from experienced course designers, including Truett McKenzie, designer of Furman's Penny Branch Golf Course.
Four years after Bobby Kilgus' vision, his dream became a reality when the golf course opened for business on Nov. 7, 2003.
A family-owned and operated golf course, Kountryside was also named by a family member, Len Kilgus' sister, Annette Hightower of Orangeburg. Today, Bobby Kilgus maintains the grounds himself, putting his heart and soul into the "field of dreams" that will become his legacy.
Kountryside Golf Course, located at 688 Till Road, is now open seven-days-a-week. For more information, call 803-536-5888.
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T&D Features Writer Sonja Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at sgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.