Michael Sturms accomplished a special feat on July 20, shooting a 63 from the blue tees at Harbour Town Golf Links. At the age of 65, Strums accomplished the rare feat of shooting below his age. He carded six birdies on the front nine and three more on the back, beating playing partner Kevin Fitzgerald by 25 strokes! Harbour Town plays at 6,603 yards from the blues.
‘It was just a great day,” Sturms said, “My round was actually better than my score –I bogeyed 18 and should have birdied 9. I almost shot 29 on the front.”
Sturms owns a house in Sea Pines and has lived on and off Hilton Head Island since 1966. He estimates he plays Harbour Town more than 100 times a year.
He spends the rest of his days in Jacksonville, Fla., and came close to shooting his age there too, firing a course-record 63 at Queen’s Harbour Yacht and Country Club at the age of 62!
The man behind the facts at the Verizon Heritage
Apr 16, 2009 8:31 PM EDT
Apr 20, 2009 10:49 AM EDT
By Tim Guidera
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (WTOC) - When you cover the same sporting event every year like some of our people have been doing the last couple of weeks, the people you watch don't mean as much to you as the people you see behind the scenes.
Arnie Burdick doesn't get his information from a computer screen. He's just the reason it's there.
"i hope the folks know what a typewriter is," said Arnie Burdick, Heritage Director of Communications, with a laugh.
The Verizon Heritage's director of communications doesn't email or text or tweet, but he doesn't have any problem keeping up with the ever-quickening flow of news. In fact, for the last 25 years he's been responsible for most of it that comes out of Hilton Head's PGA tour event.
"The thing I like is meeting all the guys and trying to help them get the facts that they need," said Arnie.
But the work Arnie does is secondary to the manner in which he does it, the welcoming smile, the helpful tips and encouraging words that greet anyone who works his room.
"It's amazing, everyone who walks in, he remembers their name, he always knows where they're from and he has something to say about where they're from," said Angela McSwain, Heritage director of marketing.
And what this former newspaperman says makes a difference to every storyteller here.
In the heritage media tent, the best days are when you walk through the door and don't get past the desk when Arnie gets up from his chair, comes over and tells you he liked the story you did the day before. It's always a meaningful 'atta boy' from a knowledgeable man and it makes you want to do an even better job the next day.
"Unfortunately, not as many people know him that should know him, but he is truly an integral part of this event and the success of this event," said Steve Wilmot, Heritage tournament director.
"Arnie's responsible really for this being such a fun event especially for the press,"said Dave Wright, who has covered all 41 Heritages.
And you'd be hard pressed to find anyone more responsible for the closeness even among competitors that exists within the Heritage media than this grandfatherly master of the media center.
The man who thought he was retiring to Hilton Head only to find a new career behind every story at the heritage.
"I guess you'd call it a career; I don't know; but it's a lot of fun," said Arnie.
And so is the Heritage because of Arnie Burdick.
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