The legendary Sea Pines Resort (843-842-1979) is, without a doubt, the premier destination for Hilton Head visitors.  Boasting over 5,000 acres, this gated community is the oldest and largest planned community on the Island.  Charles Fraser conceived and built this first Hilton Head plantation beginning in 1956.  Over 1,300 acres of the area are devoted to parks, forest preserves, lagoons and marshlands.

    There are more than 5,800 single-family homes, over 500 villas, condos and private homes for rent, and a four-diamond inn within the compound. The facilities include four golf courses (one, the Club Course, is members only).  You can choose from the newly redesigned Heron Point course, the historic Ocean Course, or the Harbour Town Golf Links.

Heron Point Course

    The Heron Point Course, formerly called Sea Marsh, opened in September, 2007 after a multi-million dollar redesign by Pete Dye.  The new course is trickier and more difficult than ever before. This challenging 7,103 yard, par-72 course has seven tees.  It winds through oaks and pines, its fairways lined by vast tidal marshes and picturesque lagoons. Additional elevation and undulations, short greens and narrow fairways give the course diversity and challenge. With a variety of surfaces and a consistent ocean breeze, the journey is an interesting test of true golf skill.

Ocean Course

    The par-72, 6,173-yard Ocean Course is the most popular and the most challenging.  Built in 1960, the course was designed by George Cobb and is Hilton Head’s first golf course.  It was renovated 1995 by Mark McCumber.  The course has been selected as a “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Course,” one of 187 in the world to gain this honor.  You’ll see water on most holes, but the signature 15th hole (one of the most photographed on the East Coast) as well as the 16th have panoramic views of the ocean.  Four sets of tees are well placed to give golfers of every skill level a good play.

Harbour Town Golf Links

    This Pete Dye-Jack Nicklaus designed course is the home to the Verizon Heritage of Golf every April.  The course has been played by such legends as Nicklaus, Palmer, Love, Norman, and Stewart. They all agree that this course is one of their favorites on the PGA Tour.  Golf magazine claims it as number 12 in the nation’s “Top 100 Courses You Can Play.”  The par-71, 6,916-yard course requires finesse and pin-point shot placement rather than power. 

    This year, on Labor Day Weekend, the final of three rounds of the 30th Annual Hilton Head Celebrity Golf Tournament (843-842-7711) will be played on this course to help raise funds for local children’s charities.  Over 38 celebrities are matched with amateur golfers to help raise money for 16 local children’s charities.  There is no admission charge.  

    For tees times or additional information about any of The Sea Pines courses, call 843-842-8484.

    Also see “Things To Do” #8, #14, #15, #46, #82, and #84.

Photo courtesy of The Sea Pines Resort