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I am planning a trip to hilton head this winter, maybe in jan. I was wondering if anyone knows must play golf courses in the area, I know there are so many of them. I will have time to play 2 to 3 courses.
thanks for the input.

I was just up there last week, and only got to play one round. So, I can only tell you one place NOT to play - Crescent Pointe! It is on the way onto Hilton Head, and though it is a challenging (129 slope from the white) Arnold Palmer layout, and could be an awesome course, the local conditions and lack of management leave much to be desired.

We had a 1:19 tee time, arrived early, got our cart and were waiting to tee off by 1pm. There was a foursome on the green, a foursome waiting to hit their approach shots, a foursome waiting to tee off, and another foursome in front of us waiting. About 1:25 the foursome ahead of us (a twosome) teed of from the front tees - these guys were old enough to have called Ben Hogan "Sonny". They assured us that they were only playing 9 holes.

The course had just overseeded, so it was supposed to be cart-path only. The dinosaurs ahead of us were driving all over the fairway, right up to the greens, leaving obvious tire marks. Many of the greens resembled the surface of the moon - they obviously haven't introduced ball mark repair to the area yet. And these greens were challenging enough without watching the ball bounce from crater to crater. Also, those little bottles of sand on the cart? I don't think they've ever been used. The only divots with sand in them were the ones we made.

It took over 3 hours to play the front nine! Once the guys in front of us left, we thought it would speed up. Nope! After number 10 (the only hole we played all day without having to wait between shots) we caught up to a group - 2 men, 2 women. They had no concept of ready golf. They lined up every putt like they were playing for a million dollars. They also had no idea why the course provides rakes around the bunkers!

We were only able to play through 14, and by then it was just too late (5:15pm) and we had to head to our hotel to make it to a reception for the business conference we were attending. We regret the wasted round, as there are so many great courses in that area. We'll plan better next time!

I'm going to Hilton Head in April.

thanks inconsistent for your insight, wont be playing there.
So any ideas where to play?
thanks

I have been there a few times. Of course Harbour Town Golf Links, where they play the Heritage Classic, is the most well known. Expensive, but a great course cut through the trees, with tiny greens. Indigo Run and Colleton River are great if you can get on. The courses at Palmetto Dunes and Palmetto Hall are excellent. Also check out the Ocean Course and Sea Marsh Course.

Also, depending on where you stay, Shipyard and Port Royal are nice as well. The thing about Hilton Head is that may of the courses are restricted to guests of that particular property (or if you have a package that includes golf at a particular course). But I don't think you can go wrong with any of these

Hilton Head National (Gary Player) is very nice and a pretty good price. Shipyard is not bad as well. I know a few more, but the names escape me.

I played Shipyard last year and found it to be quite average - the greens were rather slow and the course was not memorable at all. That said, I shot 2 under 70, tying my best score of that year. But for $78 (that was the staying-at-Shipyard rate) I thought it was a terrible value.

Glad I read the post on the disaster at Crescent Pointe as I normally recommend the course. I have not played there in 2 years. For a period of time, that was the best course to play...local rate was $37 and it was always in great shape....
Other courses... HH nat'l, Old South and Old Carolina..sister courses.(although I heard a rumor one was closing) Further off the island, almost to Bluffton is Islands West and Eagles Pointe...To me, just as good as the resort courses but is usually a lot less $$$ b/c it is 20 min from the island. Like mentioned above, so many courses are restricted to guests but the ones I listed have no restrictions...You might want to check out Palmetto Hall (it may be called Palmetto Dunes)...anyway, it is usually a little pricey but is a GREAT round of golf I believe there are 3 nines. I have played it twice but it has been a couple of years...I've walked the course at Harbor Town several times for the MCI and I can't see how it is worth $330 when Palmetto is equally beautiful for less than a third the price....

It was quite a while ago that I played Shipyard. It was pretty good then and I don't remember it being that expensive.

The best course I.M.O. is Long Cove. Harbour Town is also a must.


brianf

Isn't Long Cove private?

Yes but if you have a local Pro in your area call ahead or get a letter of intoduction from your club they will accomidate you. We played about 3 years ago. The only issues were we had to play later in the day. We had a letter of intoduction from from our club. Let me search through some paperwork I have and I'm sure I still have the Long Cove Clubs G.M.s name.


brianf

Ahhh. That did not take long. His name was still in my Palm. Robert Patton. I'm not sure if he was the GM or the Head Pro though, but he was the person to call.


brianf

Long Cove is the #1 Rated layout in SC. A Great Dye layout. Very Private but if you can get on it's awsome.

I shot a nice smooth 80 at Long Cove last time I played it...51-29. Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde.

HH National is always in good shape, Heritage Golf has done well with the Port Royal properties although their pricing is a little high. Our course is in great shape although it is allowed to go dormant since a majority of our play is spring/summer. It is private but a very good layout and much less than most other clubs around. PM me and I can set you up here, if you'd like.

PHall's courses are a little worse for the wear than PDunes. My favorite courses in the area are:

1. PDunes Hills Course
2. Belfair East Course (Private)
3. Long Cove (Private)
4. The Golf Club at Indigo (Private)
5. Belfair West Course (Private)
6. Harbour Town (Only Worth the Price ONCE to say you've played it)
7. Pinecrest Golf Club (Private)
8. Berkley Hall North (Private)
9. Hampton Hall (When in good shape)
10. Old South Golf Links
11. Colleton River Dye Course (VERY Private)
12. Colleton River Nicklaus Course (VERY Private)
13. Wexford (Private)
14. Oldfield (Private)

Those are in no particular order...