travel
GOLF IS KING ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND
The Sea Pines Resort Leads the Way with Three Award-Winning By, JOHN TORSIELLO
O
n Hilton Head, an island known for its golf, the crown jewel is Harbour Town Golf Links, the area’s number-one-rated course and since 1969 the home of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing. One of three incredible courses that are part of The Sea Pines Resort, Harbour Town Golf Links is set amid scenic Lowcountry landscapes and a must-play golf destination in the Southeast. That’s no surprise, given the fame of this celebrated layout, designed by Pete Dye in association with Jack Nicklaus. The par -71 Harbour Town Golf Links places a premium on finesse, imagination, and shot making. Its diverse collection of par 3s is among the finest anywhere, while the 18th hole – with the iconic Harbour Town Lighthouse in the backdrop and Calibogue Sound hugging its left side–is one of the game’s most recognizable finishes. Guests of the resort and visitors to the island will also want to play the highly
30 30
acclaimed Heron Point, also designed by Pete Dye. The course is a happy marriage of charm and challenge that encourages strategic risk-reward shot making on dramatic fairways and into small greens protected by Dye’s signature mounds and swales. The resort’s third course, Atlantic Dunes, is a reconstruction of The Sea Pines Resort’s historic Ocean Course, the first layout built on Hilton Head Island in 1961 by George Cobb. The total makeover by Davis Love III debuted in October 2016 and retraces the original routing while giving it a new look, new feel, and new challenge. Love, a five-time winner of the PGA Tour event at Harbour Town, rebuilt every hole to accommodate modern shot values. Just as important was protecting and enhancing the course’s seaside setting, which he accomplished by incorporating coquina shells, seaside grasses, the surrounding beachfront, and a bounty of native pines and oaks to line the fairways. The “new” course is more spacious than the original with wider, more scenic corridors, smaller water hazards, and larger,
GolfingMagazine Magazine• •New NewEngland EnglandEdition Edition Golfing
more welcoming greens. All three courses are listed in Golfweek’s top 10 courses in South Carolina – Harbour Town (#2), Atlantic Dunes (#9), and Heron Point (#10) – creating a stellar trifecta for any golfer. And there’s much more golf for the truly committed: Combining the options on the island, in nearby Bluffton, and others within 30 minutes totals more than 25, enough great golf—created by a who’s who of acclaimed architects—to satisfy for a month of exciting play without ever visiting any course twice. Visitors also will be overwhelmed by the choices at The Sea Pines Resort, which includes the island’s premier hotel, The Inn & Club at Harbour Town, as well as luxurious private homes, Beach Villas, and Golf Villas of all shapes and sizes to suit from 2 to 12 guests. Select villas are pet friendly. Spanning the southern third of Hilton Head Island, and located along 5,000 oceanfront acres, The Sea Pines Resort has been a quiet retreat for more than 60 years. Beyond its acclaimed golf, The Resort offers an array
