Celebrating the game of golf in the Lowcountry
About LowcoGolf
Coverage of the Lowcountry's top golfers, news from the local golf industry, and reviews and resources for visitors – all in one place.
Since the early days of Hilton Head Island's emergence as a top tourist destination, the game of golf has played a significant role in attracting folks from all over the country — and the world — to the Lowcountry. The Heritage golf tournament — South Carolina's only annual PGA Tour stop — and the iconic images of the candy-striped lighthouse at Harbour Town Golf Links have become synonymous with this coastal paradise, and the game of golf is an integral part of the fabric of the Lowco.
From the juniors who train at the area's numerous elite academies to the up-and-coming amateurs and pros hoping to one day make their way to the PGA Tour, the Lowco is rich with golf talent. LowcoGolf keeps you updated on the exploits of the area's top golfers, fills you in on the latest news and biggest personalities from the local golf industry, and provides valuable resources for golf-crazed visitors, ranging from course reviews to best-of lists.
LowcoGolf is the only place to find comprehensive coverage of local golf and research to plan your dream golf vacation in the Lowco. We hope locals and visitors alike find it to be an invaluable resource that celebrates the game of golf and what it means to the Lowcountry community.
Staff
Justin Jarrett
Publisher & Founding Member
Ian Guerin
Senior Editor & Founding Member
An avid golfer in high school and college, Justin was immediately introduced to a different level of the game when he left the Midwest for the Lowcountry in 2005. His first assignment at The Island Packet was covering the Players Amateur at Belfair, which an up-and-coming Georgia Bulldog named Brian Harman won in dominant fashion, outdueling fellow future PGA Tour stars such as Marc Leishman, J.B. Holmes, and Dustin Johnson.
A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Justin has earned numerous sports writing awards at the state and national levels and founded LowcoSports.com in June 2017 to provide grassroots local sports journalism in an underserved media market.
Justin and his wife, Megan, live in Bluffton with their two children, who keep him too busy to work on his once-proud golf game.
Brian Rietveld
Senior Contributor & Golf Analyst
Ian’s introduction to Lowcountry golf was about as spoiled as it gets. After checking in to the Inn at Harbour Town under the cover of night in 2019, he opened his curtains the next morning to realize his room was overlooking the first fairway.
It was only the beginning of his love affair with everything golf on the island and its surrounding communities had to offer.
The University of Missouri graduate has lived in South Carolina since 2004 and has had countless stories published in news outlets throughout the state and country since. The bulk of his work has come while covering golf and prep sports. He has earned awards in beat reporting, game stories, enterprise packages and feature writing. He is also the author of a 2016 book on the Beach Ball Classic high school basketball tournament in Myrtle Beach.
Ian and his wife, Katie, have three children - all of whom may eclipse his abilities on the course any day now.
Wes Kerr
Senior Contributor
During the summer of his 8th grade year, Brian played his first round of golf at a county owned and maintained nine-hole golf course in Camden, South Carolina. He has been hooked ever since. To have more access to golf, Brian began working at the historic Donald Ross designed Camden Country Club. Here, his love for the game, architecture, and history of golf all became an obsession.
As a four year letterman in high school he would play matches and tournaments with the likes of Jonathan Byrd, Lucas Glover, and Bill Haas while earning all-region honors his senior year. Realizing his playing future was going to be recreational, Brian attended Clemson University and majored in Secondary Education (Economics & Political Science). In 2001, he moved to Hilton Head Island and taught at Hilton Head High School. In 2005, his childhood dream of coaching his own golf team came true, leading the Seahawks to a top-five finish at the state championship. In 2016, Brian was hired to lead the May River High School boys golf team in their inaugural season, where the Sharks finished in the top five in the state championship.
Brian began covering golf for LowcoSports.com in 2021, including the RBC Heritage, Palmetto Championship at Congaree, and the Junior Heritage at Sea Pines.
Brian and his wife, Emily, live on Hilton Head Island with their two dogs, Ramona and Sophie. He is currently an assistant principal at Battery Creek High School and Emily is a science teacher at McCracken Middle School. He has played all but two golf courses in Beaufort County and hopes to check those off his list this year.
Ever since he was a young child growing up on the golf haven of Hilton Head Island, Wes developed a strong passion for the game. After attending the Heritage numerous times throughout his youth, he was hooked on the island’s beloved sport.
The Lowcountry native learned the game from legendary Palmetto Dunes director Doug Weaver and continued to improve his craft through the island’s junior programs before graduating from Hilton Head Island High School in 2015. Kerr then attended Davidson College, where he majored in mathematics and performed sports analytics for several teams while also studying communications. After finishing his degree in 2019, he returned to the Lowcountry to help grow LowcoSports.com alongside Justin Jarrett, adding a podcast to the website while also contributing recaps, feature articles, and a weekly column. Wes's highlights so far at LowcoSports include covering state title games alongside the 2021 RBC Heritage and Palmetto Championship at Congaree.
Wes resides in Hilton Head Island, and always enjoys the excitement and relaxation of getting out on the course.