HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA
Residents exhale with a "whoosh" when winter rolls around and the swarms of summer and fall visitors have vamoosed. They have their island back all to themselves-except for a few savvy tourists that don't mind a little crispness in the air-and a bit o' savings at the pro shop. With winter daytime highs average between 60-65 degrees, midday golf is perfect, even if early mornings are on the frosty side.
Harbour Town Golf Links
6,973 yards, par 71; Green fees: $240-$295
843-363-8385, seapines.com
Springtime and Harbour Town go hand-in-hand, but if you can survive without blooming azaleas and massive crowds, you'll enjoy it just as much. Host to the PGA Tour's Heritage event since 1969, this is the layout that put both Hilton Head Island and architect Pete Dye on the map. Dye had consulting help from a fellow named Jack Nicklaus, but the waste bunkers, railroad ties and funky, tiny greens are pure Pete Dye.
Unforgettable is the 458-yard, par-4 18th, that slithers along Calibogue Sound, with its iconic red-and-white-striped lighthouse looking in the backdrop, but most of Harbour Town is devoted to slender holes where the premium is on placement, where native marsh, lagoons, boarded bunkers and overhanging tree limbs pose endless problems. Yes, it's dead-flat, but it's a wild ride nonetheless.
Daufuskie Island Resort & Breathe Spa (Melrose Course)
7,081 yards, par 72; Green fees: $84-$129
843-341-4810, daufuskieresort.com
Granted, the ferry ride to Daufuskie Island from Hilton Head might be a trifle brisk in mid-winter, but there are few better spots to thaw out than at this Jack Nicklaus-designed stunner. The tree-lined front nine is chock full of '80s-style, attractive Nicklaus brutes with alternate routes of play that culminate in shallow, well-fortified greens, but it's the back nine you've come to play. The 187-yard, par-3 16th and 400-yard, par-4 17th introduce you to the Atlantic Ocean, but the showstopper is the 560-yard, par-5 18th, its fairway bisected by a tree and bunker complex. Lapping at the fairway's border is the Atlantic, which hugs the right side right up to the green. Even if you play safely left, take a quick trip up the right side just to see what you're missing, It's worth the detour.
Heron Point by Pete Dye
7,103 yards, par 72; Green fees: $140-$200
843-842-8484, seapines.com
The latest Hilton Head must-play is an extreme makeover of the island's second oldest layout, a 1966 George Cobb product called Sea Marsh. Cobb was a pretty fair talent, once serving as consulting architect for Augusta National, but he could never have contemplated what Pete Dye has wrought.
In a nutshell, Dye retained the old corridors and most of the trees, but transformed everything else, turning marshmallow into monster, but one that's fun to play. Modestly sized greens are now dished out in sections, putting an emphasis on precise approaches, but the real messes will shake out before then, thanks to Dye's reliance on a multitude of water and sand hazards, many bulkheaded by wide wood planks and grass walls. You might lose a sphere or two-or more-but you won't encounter a dull hole from start to finish.
Great Value: Hilton Head National Golf Club
Player Nine: 3,298 yards, par 36; National Nine: 3,361 yards, par 35; Weed Nine 3,357 yards, par 36; Green fees: $53-$82
843-842-5900, golfhiltonheadnational.com
Gary Player's original 18 dates to 1989 and while there's little that's original about it, the entire layout is pure fun, right down to the price tag. The finishing holes on both nines are worth the price of admission, notably the 440-yard par-4 9th on the National, which asks for a 175-yard carry from the back tee.
While the eight-year-old Weed nine looks similar, it plays quite differently from its elder siblings and shouldn't be missed. It's firmer, more bouncy and offers more variety, especially around the greens. The beguiling blend of holes, the uniformly fine conditioning and the lack of intrusive housing make Hilton Head National the best value in town.
Residents exhale with a "whoosh" when winter rolls around and the swarms of summer and fall visitors have vamoosed. They have their island back all to themselves-except for a few savvy tourists that don't mind a little crispness in the air-and a bit o' savings at the pro shop. With winter daytime highs average between 60-65 degrees, midday golf is perfect, even if early mornings are on the frosty side.
Harbour Town Golf Links
6,973 yards, par 71; Green fees: $240-$295
843-363-8385, seapines.com
Springtime and Harbour Town go hand-in-hand, but if you can survive without blooming azaleas and massive crowds, you'll enjoy it just as much. Host to the PGA Tour's Heritage event since 1969, this is the layout that put both Hilton Head Island and architect Pete Dye on the map. Dye had consulting help from a fellow named Jack Nicklaus, but the waste bunkers, railroad ties and funky, tiny greens are pure Pete Dye.
Unforgettable is the 458-yard, par-4 18th, that slithers along Calibogue Sound, with its iconic red-and-white-striped lighthouse looking in the backdrop, but most of Harbour Town is devoted to slender holes where the premium is on placement, where native marsh, lagoons, boarded bunkers and overhanging tree limbs pose endless problems. Yes, it's dead-flat, but it's a wild ride nonetheless.
Daufuskie Island Resort & Breathe Spa (Melrose Course)
7,081 yards, par 72; Green fees: $84-$129
843-341-4810, daufuskieresort.com
Granted, the ferry ride to Daufuskie Island from Hilton Head might be a trifle brisk in mid-winter, but there are few better spots to thaw out than at this Jack Nicklaus-designed stunner. The tree-lined front nine is chock full of '80s-style, attractive Nicklaus brutes with alternate routes of play that culminate in shallow, well-fortified greens, but it's the back nine you've come to play. The 187-yard, par-3 16th and 400-yard, par-4 17th introduce you to the Atlantic Ocean, but the showstopper is the 560-yard, par-5 18th, its fairway bisected by a tree and bunker complex. Lapping at the fairway's border is the Atlantic, which hugs the right side right up to the green. Even if you play safely left, take a quick trip up the right side just to see what you're missing, It's worth the detour.
Heron Point by Pete Dye
7,103 yards, par 72; Green fees: $140-$200
843-842-8484, seapines.com
The latest Hilton Head must-play is an extreme makeover of the island's second oldest layout, a 1966 George Cobb product called Sea Marsh. Cobb was a pretty fair talent, once serving as consulting architect for Augusta National, but he could never have contemplated what Pete Dye has wrought.
In a nutshell, Dye retained the old corridors and most of the trees, but transformed everything else, turning marshmallow into monster, but one that's fun to play. Modestly sized greens are now dished out in sections, putting an emphasis on precise approaches, but the real messes will shake out before then, thanks to Dye's reliance on a multitude of water and sand hazards, many bulkheaded by wide wood planks and grass walls. You might lose a sphere or two-or more-but you won't encounter a dull hole from start to finish.
Great Value: Hilton Head National Golf Club
Player Nine: 3,298 yards, par 36; National Nine: 3,361 yards, par 35; Weed Nine 3,357 yards, par 36; Green fees: $53-$82
843-842-5900, golfhiltonheadnational.com
Gary Player's original 18 dates to 1989 and while there's little that's original about it, the entire layout is pure fun, right down to the price tag. The finishing holes on both nines are worth the price of admission, notably the 440-yard par-4 9th on the National, which asks for a 175-yard carry from the back tee.
While the eight-year-old Weed nine looks similar, it plays quite differently from its elder siblings and shouldn't be missed. It's firmer, more bouncy and offers more variety, especially around the greens. The beguiling blend of holes, the uniformly fine conditioning and the lack of intrusive housing make Hilton Head National the best value in town.
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