WATCH: Clemson Historic photo n. 142 ‘Golf team in 1930’

TigerNet will post several historical photos of Clemson during this time with little or no sport.

Longtime TigerNet member Mintaka® submitted many of the photos and we appreciate that she is part of the TigerNet family.

Mintaka’s vision: Today we will take a brief look at the history of the Clemson golf team and those involved in its creation.

The first golf team in Clemson was founded in 1930 by a number of cadets who approached then CEO, James G. Gee, to form a golf team. Gee approved and the cadets granted their wish. This 1930 photo shows the golf team on Bowman’s course. Also, in the photo above, the first coach of the golf team, Reverend George Hodges (far right).

At the time, Hodges was the minister of the Methodist church in Clemson. Over the years Hodges has served as a minister in numerous churches across the state. Indeed, a congregational community hall was named for Hodges in Clinton SC. Hodges, however, only coached the golf team for a year before being reassigned to another Methodist church.

Fast forward 52 years later and we see Clemson’s first golf team to win an ACC championship, in 1982. Under coach Bobby Robinson, (who later became the athletic director), Clemson’s golf team finally turned. corner and became a constant national contender.

And it all started with a handful of cadets and a Methodist minister. Interestingly, one of those cadets lived to see the success of Clemson’s golf team. In the 1930 photo, alongside coach Hodges, is Alan McCrary Johnstone, grandson of Alan Johnstone, one of Clemson’s original elected directors.

In 2003, when the Clemson golf team won the NCAA national championship, the team was named Alan McCrary

Johnstone as an honorary captain. Not only was Alan Johnstone the last surviving member of Clemson’s very first golf team, he was also the only founding member of the IPTAY.

Unfortunately, Alan McCrary Johnstone is no longer with us. At the age of 95, he died in January 2006, in his hometown of Orangeburg, SC. And while Johnstone Hall was named after his grandfather, Alan McCrary Johnston’s legacy lives on in Clemson’s golf team.

Feel free to share any thoughts that come to your mind about our latest historical photos. Hopefully everyone will enjoy looking back over the years at Clemson.

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WATCH: Clemson Historic photo n. 142 ‘Golf team in 1930’