Hilton Head Island

Golf Travel

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

BY: JUNE DAGNALL

For golfers everywhere, a trip to Hilton Head Island tops their wish lists. The reasons are clear why these courses are the cream of the crop. There are more than 30 courses clustered within the island’s 70-square-miles and sprinkled offisland around historic Bluffton and Beaufort. The next round of golf is never more than a few minutes away, and multi-course resorts such as The Sea Pines Resort, Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort and The Heritage Collection make 36 holes a day the norm, not the exception.

Many of the world class golf courses found on the island are designed by brilliant golf architects such as Pete Dye, Rees Jones, Robert Trent Jones and Jack Nicklaus, offering exciting challenges to players of all skill levels. Golfers will enjoy ideal weather year-round, and much to do après-golf. End your perfect golfing day with delicious seafood, and local specialties such as gumbo and peach cobbler. Stunning scenery adds to these magnificent and memorable experiences. Here are some of the top courses that appear time and time again at the top of golfers’ bucket lists.

Come and play where the pros play. The epitome of golf on Hilton Head Island is Harbor Town Golf Links. This course places a premium on finesse, imagination and shot making rather than strength. Since 1969, the course has been a regular on the PGA Tour. Designed by Pete Dye, with collaboration from Jack Nicklaus, Harbor Town epitomizes Lowcountry course design complete with live oak-lined corridors, diminutive greens and Dye’s trademark bulkheads lining languid lagoons. The 18th hole is recognized around the world. The iconic par 4 is played with the Calibogue Sound on the left side and the iconic red and white hooped Harbor Town Lighthouse as the backdrop to the green. A photo here is a must for those stories to talk to your friends about once back home.

This is the oldest course at Palmetto Dunes and a long-time favorite on Hilton Head. It is widely considered one of the most scenic and challenging courses in the state. Golfers will experience an extensive lagoon system which winds through the course and impacts play on eleven of the 18 holes. Add to this the famous Jones bunkers and the round will make for very interesting golf. The RTJ course is located right on the Atlantic Ocean and the constantly shifting winds make every hole play differently, providing both challenges and rewards for players of every skill level. The panoramic views of the ocean from the elevated green of the par-5 10th hole will undoubtedly provide golfers with one of their most memorable rounds of golf on Hilton Head. The green is set by the ocean and you will likely need three shots to reach the it when the wind off the Atlantic is blowing in your face.

Just a smooth 3-wood away from Harbor Town is The Sea Pines Resort’s newest offering, Atlantic Dunes by Davis Love III. A complete reconstruction has been done on this ocean course by Love Golf Design via lead architect Scot Sherman. The layout encompasses a reconstruction and recreation of the resort’s historic Ocean Course which was the first golf course built on Hilton Head Island. Thousands of indigenous plants have been installed in these areas to complete the seaside feel accentuated by native grasses and coquina shells scattered throughout. This Lowcountry track features water on almost every hole, and you will be surrounded by beautiful Spanish moss-draped oaks, and lurking gators, if you look close enough. This course provides a true coastal golf experience and is said to have a very upbeat energy feel to it.

This course has a reputation for being tough to beat, and yet impossible not to enjoy. Hilton Head Island’s only par-70 public golf course, the George Fazio Course at Palmetto Dunes is one of the island’s most distinctive and challenging layouts that offers an exhilarating experience and is revered as the island’s truest championship challenge. For beginners and advanced players, the Fazio course offers an exceptional golf experience.

With only two par 5’s, the heart of the course lies in a series of long par 4’s, beginning with the 432-yard first hole and ending with the 462-yard 18th. The tree-lined fairways roll gently on the front nine, while the back nine offers tighter shots that require strategic positioning off the tee. With relatively small greens and undulating surfaces, the Fazio course challenges and delights golfers. A true challenge emerges over the fabulous finishing four holes, where they meet three well-bunkered par 4s and the great par-3 17th over water with out-of-bounds creeping in from the left. With new state-of-the-art Diamond Zoysia greens, the Fazio Course delivers a peak golf experience.

The experience of playing the Arthur Hills Course at Palmetto Hall takes on an added dimension when you discover the golf course was built on an old Civil War garrison. History aside, however, the Hills Course, which opened in 1991, stands proudly as yet another grand achievement by the legendary Ohio-born designer. It opened to glowing reviews and was almost immediately named to Golf Digest’s list as one of “America’s Top 10 New Courses,” awarding the course four stars as one of the best places to play. The course has one of the most distinctive layouts found on Hilton Head Island. Tucked within the serene enclave of Leamington, this shot-maker’s favorite offers continuous lines of dunes, a rolling layout, numerous water hazards and thick stands of palmettos. It emphasizes accuracy and precision over distance, resulting in formidable challenges at every turn. The putting surfaces are well known for their tournament quality year-round.