Marking Time: Soldier’s drive puts post golf course on par                   Ashley Henry Public Affairs Intern

Many people probably do not remember Pfc. Mike Serino. He did not receive a Medal of Honor during World War II, nor did he die in the line of duty.  Nevertheless, Serino has left a lasting mark on Fort Jackson which can be seen at the Fort Jackson Golf Club. It was because of his love of golf and dedication to the sport that the club exists today.   Serino came to Fort Jackson when he was drafted into the Army in 1943. It was during his Basic Combat Training with the 106th Infantry Division that he realized the beauty of the land on which he marched. Two years after his discharge, while he was working as a golf professional in New Jersey, Serino returned to Fort Jackson with the dream of building a golf course. It was then that he met Commanding General Maj. Gen. George H. Decker. The two did not have much in common, except their love for the game. It was with the help of Decker that Serino’s dream was able to become a reality.  Officially, it is said that golf started on Fort Jackson in 1948 with a nine-hole sand greens course on Jackson Boulevard. With $500 that Decker was able to get from the chief of staff, a bulldozer, an operator, a truck and driver and a couple of men, Serino built the golf course.  While building the course, Serino worked with no pay, slept in his car and lived off savings from the 30 months he had served in the Army.  It was also during this time that Serino took Decker to the site of the current 18-hole course, the land that he had marched on so many times before and on which he had dreamt of building a course. Decker, too, saw the beauty of the land. He had plans drawn up and with the help of more than 500 Soldiers and the manual labor of both himself and Serino, construction began Jan. 18, 1949.  Each blade of grass on the course was hand planted by the Soldiers and on Sundays, Decker drove the bulldozer and built the entire sixth green. Almost a year later, the course was finished, and the first round of golf took place on Nov. 11, 1949, Veteran’s Day.  Serino was appointed the head golf professional and greens superintendent of the golf club. His salary was $150 a month, but after paying the bills for the club there was just 28 cents left for him. Regardless, Serino continued to work at the club and use his personal equipment for more than eight years.  With the opening of the practice area, a new Club house and an additional 18-holes, Serino’s dream was complete in 1992.  Decker said in a letter that, “Mike loved the course with a devotion generally reserved for one’s wife and children.”