|
|
|
|
About Golf In Hilton head, SC
|
|
|
Hilton Head, South Carolina (Return to Previous Page)
One shudders to think what might have happened if an earlier name for Hilton Head Island had stuck. "Trench's Island" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, does it? Neither does it conjure up spectacular scenery, sandy beaches, sensational water sports, idyllic weather, gorgeous golf courses, and a lovely Lowcountry setting like "Hilton Head" does. Can you imagine bragging to your buddies that you're traveling to Trench's Island to tee it up for a few days? They'd probably look at you like you'd lost your grip, or hold their noses as if they'd just whiffed a sickening smell. "Trench" sounds too much like "stench", don't you think? Thank goodness cooler heads prevailed. By 1872, "Trench's Island" was nothing but a bad memory and "Hilton Head Island" had reemerged into the local lexicon. And rightly so.
Sailing north from Barbados in search of an entrance to nearby Port Royal Sound, British sea captain William Hilton took a look-see at the island in 1663. Reports that raved about the area's agricultural possibilities were soon on their way back to England, and almost as quickly colonists were on their way from England to what the good captain now modestly called "Hilton Headland." Within a matter of years, the Brits had established the town of Beaufort on the mainland and plantations of indigo, rice and cotton - particularly "long-staple" cotton - were plentiful on the island. An agricultural center it remained until 1949. That year a group of lumbermen from Georgia formed the Hilton Head Company, bought property and began a logging industry that cleared much of the island's pine forest. Electricity was the next outsider to arrive, soon followed - upon the completion of a two-lane toll bridge from the mainland in 1956 - by tourists in automobiles. Thousands of them, in fact. That same year, the son of one of the founders of the logging company, Charles Fraser, bought out his father's interests on the island with the vision of developing a vacation spot for the newly mobile public. He called it "Sea Pines Resort." Telephone service began two years later, and a year after that (1959) Sea Pines built the first golf course on the island. Designed by George Cobb, the recently lengthened 6,906-yard Ocean Course is just one of more than forty lovely layouts that attract thousands of golfers to the Hilton Head area each year. Let's hear it once again for the name change; "Trench's Island" no doubt would've only attracted flies.
Sea Marsh, the second course to be built at Sea Pines, just might be the first one that you should play when you visit here. Another George Cobb design that opened in 1967, Sea Marsh is shorter and friendlier than most of the other courses on the island or mainland (6,515 yards), but still a good test. And it would be a great way to get your feet wet - so to speak - before you take on its bigger brothers.
The most famous tract in the area - also at Sea Pines Resort - is Harbour Town Golf Links. The long-time site each spring of the MCI Heritage Classic on the PGA Tour, Harbour Town is a Pete Dye design that was built in 1969. Assisting the architect as a "consultant" on the project was a fairly good golfer and fledging designer named Jack Nicklaus. While the partnership didn't last all that long, the brilliant work by the two men endures at Harbour Town. Although not considered a long golf course by modern standards (6,973 yards from the back tees), its narrow fairways, tiny greens, intrusive trees, abundant water and whipping winds combine to make it one of the most challenging layouts in America - for both professionals and amateurs alike. Like the best players in the world, you and your pals can also stand on the tee of the 18th hole, take in the incredible view of the majestic Harbour Town Lighthouse behind the green, and then try to make a par. Believe it: a four here will make your day.
As hard as Harbour Town can be, however, many former visitors have vouched for the fact that the Fazio course at the Palmetto Dunes Resort is the toughest tract in town. Designed in 1974 by former PGA Tour veteran George Fazio and his nephew Tom (one of today's leading architects), this 6,873-yard old-style layout might easily be described as "penal." Deep bunkers abound, and the greens here are small and well undulated. Less punishing but just as pretty are the two other courses at Palmetto Dunes: the Jones and the Hills. Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed the first course here, a sturdy 6,710-yard tract that debuted in 1969; Arthur Hills did the third (6,651 yards) in 1986. Five years later, Mr. Hills was asked to design the first course to be built at Palmetto's sister facility, Palmetto Hall Plantation. The resulting layout (the "Hills Course") is a traditional-type design that features rolling, tree-lined fairways, well-guarded greens with plenty of slopes, and a back tee measurement of 6,918 yards. Beautiful? Yes. Easy? No. From the tips the course rating and slope rating are 74.0 and 140, respectively. Both are pretty high. But wait. Even higher ratings (and no doubt higher scores) are waiting for you at Palmetto Hall's second course, a 1993 design by Bob Cupp. Intentionally created by computer to be both extremely unique and extremely disconcerting, the Cupp Course at Palmetto Hall Plantation features striking straight lines, unusually shaped hazards, sharp angles and a course and slope rating of 75.6 and 149. Gluttons for punishment? Then think about playing the Fazio Course in the morning and the Cupp Course in the afternoon. Physical therapists are as near as your cell phone.
On second thought, don't think about the above suggestion - or taking on some of these big layouts from the back tees, either. A night in traction is definitely not worth missing a night on the town at Hilton Head. For an area so small (42 square miles), it's amazing that the island offers more than 200 restaurants to choose from. Your choice of cuisine includes succulent seafood (shrimp, crawfish, catches of the day), sensational southern barbecue, American fare, International dishes - even a few delights you've probably never heard of, let along tried. Listen, with names like The Salty Dog, The Crazy Crab and the Hilton Head Brewing Company, how could the food - and well-earned drinks - be anything but fantastic? Ditto the accommodations that are available at Hilton Head. Depending on your budget, there are rooms here that will fit just about every kind of need - from "okay" to "opulent." And all are designed with one thing in mind: see to it that you are rested and ready to tee it up again in the morning - on the island or off.
Mere minutes from Hilton Head - on the western end of the four-lane bridge that connects the island to the mainland - sits the historic and charming city of Bluffton. In 1844, local farmers rebelled against unfair import taxes levied by the federal government and threatened to secede from the union. Sixteen years later, South Carolina became the first state to do just that ... and the Civil War was on. In 1863, Union gunboats and infantrymen landed at Bluffton in search of Confederate soldiers. When the Yankees left, a number of local residences and churches - but not all - had been destroyed. Today, antebellum homes, historic churches, award-winning restaurants and unique shops abound around Bluffton. So do excellent golf courses. Three of the most popular are Eagle's Pointe, Crescent Pointe, and Old South. Eagle's Pointe is a 1998 design by PGA Tour player and major championship winner Davis Love III. Topping out at a very manageable 6,781 yards, this lovely Love layout features wide, rolling fairways, large undulating greens and dramatic bunkering - all of it set amidst tall native grasses and towering pine trees. The consensus on Eagle's Pointe is that it's challenging but fair.
"Challenging" is also the word on Crescent Pointe. But then, what else would you expect from the only daily fee course in the area that was designed by Arnold Palmer? Built in 2000 with a back marker measurement of 6,773 yards (three other tees are available), Crescent Pointe is definitely one of The King's most beautiful designs. Unusual for most Lowcountry layouts, this golf course features a number of elevated tees and greens that provide players with spectacular views of the surrounding marshland, century-old oaks, tall pines and flowering magnolia. Also hard to miss here (visually, at least) are the numerous pearly-white "beach" bunkers that are scattered about the property. They are some of Mr. Palmer's most beautiful and best.
Appropriately named for the look and feel of the area, Old South Golf Club is a 1992 design by Clyde Johnston. Shortly after it opened, Golf Digest put Old South on its "Top Ten New Public Courses" list. And deservedly so. Popular with visitors and locals alike, this 6,772-yard layout (back tees) has gained a strong reputation for its excellent conditioning and attractive assortment of holes. As the award-winning architect has put it, "The variety of the setting - from oak forest to open pasture to tidal salt marsh - provided an opportunity to vary the design elements and strategy of play." And like its sister course nearby (Old Carolina Golf Club, also designed by Johnson), Old South is a testing but never tiresome layout that you'll want to take on again and again. For a golf getaway from your golf getaway (Hilton Head), Bluffton is a very good choice. Another one is Daufuskie Island.
Located a single nautical mile from HH, this very beautiful - and very secluded - spot is home to the Daufuskie Island Club & Resort. Originally developed as a private facility, the resort is open to the public and accessible only by ferry. Cooler still, the only way to get around on the island is by golf cart, bicycle or your own two feet. If you choose to spend the night, your choices of accommodations are beachfront cottages or the resort's elegant inn. Your choice of amenities and activities include a spa, fitness center, beach club, casual and fine dining, tennis, cycling and, of course, golf. The two courses at Daufuskie Island Club & Resort are called Melrose and Bloody Point. Melrose (named for an antebellum mansion on the property that burned down in 1912) is a Jack Nicklaus "Signature" design that has consistently received rave reviews since it opened in 1987. Something of a links-style layout that measures 7,081 yards from the tips (three other tees are available), the Melrose course is particularly memorable to visitors because its final three holes play along the Atlantic. Ask those same golfers about the other fifteen holes, however, and the general agreement is that they are just as attractive, challenging and memorable as the finishers.
Contrary to how it may sound, Daufuskie's other course, Bloody Point, is not named for its difficulty but for a battle between English soldiers and Native Americans that took place on the southern tip of the island in the 1700s. In fact, this beautiful Tom Weiskopf-Jay Morrish design was originally planned as a private course and primarily for golfers who liked to walk. Consequently, the tees and greens are much closer together than at most modern courses and there aren't many cart paths to spoil the postcard views of the meandering Mungen River. This is not to suggest that Bloody Point (built in 1991) is a walk in the park or that you won't get bloody when you play it. However - even at 6,900 yards from the back tees - it's probably fair to say that it's a bit more manageable than Melrose, relying mainly on deep greenside bunkers and large subtly-sloped putting surfaces to defend the par of its holes. Simply put, it's a very pretty parkland course that, like the other layout at Daufuskie Island Club & Resort, will prove to be a very enjoyable golf experience and well worth the trip - no matter how you get here.
Over all, that's a pretty good description of Hilton Head, too.
|
|
Copyright © 1996-2007 Golfpac ®. All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
If you know your booking code, please enter it above. |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Advanced Search |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Every week you can get the latest on hot deals, contests and discounted specials delivered straight to your Inbox. |
|
Preview |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
