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By Lisa Allen
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C - Picking the top golf courses in Hilton Head Island, S.C. is like declaring one's favorite flavor of ice cream. They're all good. So knowing there isn't a bad course on Hilton Head, here are five you won't regret choosing.
1. Harbour Town Golf Links at Sea Pines Resort
Of course. Harbour Town Golf Links is the annual PGA Tour haunt one week after the Masters. The golf course itself consistently ranks among the favorites of PGA Tour pros. For the rest of us mere mortals, Pete Dye has designed a dream come true. It starts straight forward, but Dye begins to toy with you by the fifth hole, threading the fairway between a spray of bunkers. From then, look for mosiac-like sandy hazards, some with grass in the middle and others with trees. The clear shots to the green are usually razor-thin.
Harbour Town builds to a crescendo with the 18th hole along the Calibogue Sound and its whirling winds - the famous red and white lighthouse as a backdrop. This is a golf course you would not forget even if it didn't appear on TV each April.
2. Country Club of Hilton Head
For some reason, the Rees Jones-designed Country Club of Hilton Head rarely garners the attention it deserves. It consists of a string of memorable holes that use a variety of tactics to keep you on your game. Gulleys dump mishits into the drink. Ponds wrap around greens, and golfers must contend with a half-dozen bunkers that line a fairway or surround a putting surface. The service is great. The course is in sound shape, and a robust teaching program welcomes players of every age and skill level. Because it flies under the radar, your round will move at a nice pace.
3. George Fazio Course at Palmetto Dunes
The George Fazio Course at Palmetto Dunes Resort is sand city, when it's not presenting a water carry. The only missing element is fire. It's a fun golf course that requires some complex math at each tee to plot your path to the flag. Slightly wayward shots land in expertly placed bunkers. Vast and sharply waved, they offer a wall of sand to navigate, sometimes shoulder-high. You'll lose a stroke in a fairway bunker, because a wedge is the only way out. The golf course is tightly packed, but you'll not notice as you think your way around it.
4. Heron Point at Sea Pines Resort
The Heron Point course at Sea Pines Resort is one of the most challenging courses anywhere. Recent renovations scaled it back a little, but this remains formidable. It will test every golfer with undulating fairways that erupt violently near the green, making essential approach shots that land on the putting surface.
It's Pete Dye in a diabolical mood. He adds lone trees to the middle of fairways and angles greens to require extra precision. His creation includes sand, mulch, limestone and a mixture of grasses. It features six tee boxes, providing a range 5,261 to 7,103 yards, a daunting 143 slope and 75.4 rating from the tips. There's no shame in choosing a shorter tee on this course. It's a smart play from the start.
5. Robert Trent Jones Course at Palmetto Dunes Resort
The secret is out about the Robert Trent Jones Course at Palmetto Dunes Resort, so expect a bit of a crowd at the first tee. But once you get going, it's a delight. Jones throws a wide variety at you, from the relatively benign front nine he wove between trees and sand, to the back, which skips over the island's canal system. Regardless of the hole, course strategy is a must at nearly every tee. There's not much grip-and-rip golf here, despite the length in excess of 7,000 yards.
The signature hole, No. 10, marches right to the beach as just a chain-link fence separates sunbathers from golfers. Not to worry, though. Given the amount of sand on this course, you'll spend time at the beach in your cleats.
The long and storied relationship between golf and Hilton Head Island is well documented and often celebrated. With a little help from the locals, visitors traveling from near and far can see it for themselves.
The 12-mile long, 5-mile wide island is a golfer's paradise whose charm and natural beauty has been maintained by the relentless efforts of its residents for the millions of annual visitors to enjoy.
With more than 20 public courses, not to mention those in the surrounding area, and a host of full-service beachfront hotels and villas not to mention dozens of dining options, trying to make a step-by-step itinerary for your stay on Hilton Head Island can be just as stressful and frantic as the everyday grind you're trying to leave behind.
So why not leave that job up to those who know the island best.
A number of golf vacation planners specialize in creating a memorable HHI experience and focus solely on customizing trips to this low country getaway.
There are numerous outfits to chose from when it comes to planning your special excursion, but no matter which one earns your endorsement they all offer unparalleled knowledge of Hilton Head Island.
Local travel companies boast an intimate knowledge of the courses because they've played or visited them. They know the ins and outs of the resorts and rental properties because they've take the time to inspect the amenities and accommodations offered. So why would you book a Hilton Head golf vacation with other companies that have never even played a round of golf on Hilton Head Island?
www.Golfisland.com is a comprehensive website complete with online quoting. The site details travel options, lodging, and entertainment and offers a detailed history of Hilton Head along with other historical and helpful information.
The current monthly special is a 3 night stay in the Sea Pines Resort which includes 3 rounds of premium golf at Harbour Town Golf Links, home of the PGA's annual Verizon Heritage Classic, The Ocean Course and the new Pete Dye creation - Heron Point.
Booking your trip through a local provider can also save you money and time - companies on the island often get the best rates and can plan every aspect of your trip up to six months in advance.
Another site worth a look is hhigolfvacations.com which prides itself as a local vacation wholesaler. Working with villa rental companies and hotels island-wide, this site can develop a package that suits your needs and price range.
Hotel reservations can be confirmed up to a year in advance and depending on the course, tee times can be confirmed up to 6 months in advance and sometimes can be done so at discounted rates.
www.Hiltonheadgolf.net offers a wide variety of golf packages featuring the Heritage Group's holdings on the island which include Palmetto Hall, Port Royal, Shipyard Plantation and the Oyster Reef Golf Club.
The site has five recommended, award-winning packages available to choose from but also allows the golfer to fully customize his or her own unique experience by selecting their length of trip, courses and lodging options.
Whether you're making a long-term plan or shopping for a spur of the moment trip, it's best to leave the logistics to the locals.
Your perfect itinerary for a long, luxurious golf weekend in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
In addition to premium resorts and hotels, Hilton Head has some great public golf courses suitable for a three-day weekend, including Harbour Town at Sea Pines Resort, the Hills course at Palmetto Dunes and Melrose Golf Course on Daufuskie Island.
Hilton Head Island is easily reachable from north, south or west - and even east if you're in a boat. The laid-back but upscale island is perfect for a long golf weekend.
And since you're considering Hilton Head for a golf mini-retreat, we know you're not exactly scraping together pennies to pay the light bill - you've got the scratch to really put on the dog. Trouble is, you don't know anybody who's a member at one of the area's many excellent private courses. Oh well, the golfers who frequent the public courses aren't exactly railyard winos. With that in mind, here is our perfect, long weekend of golf on Hilton Head at courses the public can play.
FRIDAY
STAY: Since you're playing Harbour Town Golf Links today, you'll be staying at the Sea Pines Resort, a huge, 5,000-acre property in which you can easily get lost. Sea Pines has a mess of ritzy, privately owned vacation homes, ranging from the simple (for Hilton Head) to grand oceanfront estates, from one to seven bedrooms. If you don't want something that ostentatious, you might consider booking a room at the quaint Inn at Harbour Town or renting a villa.
PLAY: Harbour Town is the island's marquee course, one of three at the resort, and one that is frequently mentioned when various magazines put together their "best" lists. This is the course Jack Nicklaus got his designer feet wet on, at the feet of Pete Dye. It launched Nicklaus' career, and he's never looked back.
It hosts the PGA Tour's MCI Heritage Classic, a relatively short course by modern standards at a touch less than 7,000 yards from the back tees, but one that demands precise shots. No. 18 is one of the toughest and most scenic holes in the Southeast, a 452-yard par-4 that finishes on Calibogue Sound. Green fees are in the $225 range.
SATURDAY
STAY: It's an easy drive down the road to Palmetto Dunes, another sprawling resort with three golf courses. You have your choice here as well for accommodations, from luxurious hotel rooms to big vacation homes or villas views of the ocean, marina, golf course or lagoon. If you choose a hotel room, you'll be staying at either the Marriott Beach and Golf Resort or Hilton Oceanfront Resort.
PLAY: Palmetto Dunes' Arthur Hills course is always mentioned when people talk about their favorite public-access courses on Hilton Head.
Hills likes to design courses that force you to make decisions before you take action, and this layout is no exception. The members like it because a course that requires thought and finesse rarely gets boring.
The Hills course isn't one of Hilton Head's monsters at only 6,652 yards from the back tees, but it has traditionally been a favorite of both island regulars and newcomers.
It's an imaginative layout in excellent condition and, as with all Palmetto Dunes courses, it has excellent service. There are relatively few fairway bunkers, and the green complexes are nicely contoured and sloped.
SUNDAY
STAY: A special Sunday treat. You'll be leaving one island for a smaller one, Daufuskie Island. The island, though it's grown in recent years, is still home to less than 500 full-time residents. This is the island Pat Conroy wrote about in his book "The Water is Wide."
The Dafuskie Resort and Breathe Spa has ocean front and ocean "breeze" cottages. The 1,500-square foot cottages have two, three and four bedrooms, and each has its own porch with Adirondack chairs, dining rooms for six, fully equipped kitchens, living rooms with fireplaces and overstuffed chairs. You don't even have to leave the cottage to eat - grocery delivery is available.
And or course it has the Breathe Spa, where you'll have your own "personal spa coordinator," who will probably steer you to the "Chocolate bliss." It's "calorie free" by the way.
PLAY: The Melrose Golf Course, one of two at the resort, is another Nicklaus design. It's 7,081 yards from the back tees. It's well known for its three spectacular closing holes that run along the Atlantic Ocean. "Melrose has all the elements you'd expect from a Hilton Head-area course, and some you don't,"
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