Golf on Hilton Head

[Bryan Drennon]

I'm here on Hilton Head till the weekend and have the opportunity to play golf for cart fees at either Shipyard GC or Port Royal GC. There are 3 courses at Port Royal and 27 holes at Shipyard. I'm not sure which way to go as I will probably only play 18 holes. I was hoping somebody has played them and could give me some direction. The only thing I could gauge from the website is that the Robbers Row course at Port Royal was redesigned by Pete Dye. That intrigues me but I'm open to any suggestions. I would love to play a course that had some architectural interest but I would settle for something with good greens. Also, if anyone would like to join me, I have 2 open spots that are good for cart fee only, probably for Thursday morning.

[Greg Tallman]

Port Royal - shorter and tighter

Shipyard - longer and harder

Not an abundance of great public golf on Hilton Head unless you want to spring for Harbourtown

[Chris Flamion]

My suggestion would be to drive to Savannah and eat at 3 or 4 different southern restaurants.......just don't ask about how much butter is in anything.

I love it down there and am thoroughly jealous.

[Ben Stephens]

I have played all the courses at Port Royal - Barony, Planter's Row and Robber's Row and Shipyard. Greg says it all - Planter's Row hosted a PGA Seniors tournament in the 80's - it is a very tight treelined course. Robber's Row is more forgiving but has harder greens - to get to and to putt on.

There are plenty of other good courses on HHI

Melrose + Bloody Point on Daufuskie Island (Melrose is one of the best Nicklaus courses I have played on even though I am not a fan of Nicklaus' courses - this one has good architectural merit)

Oyster Reef (Rees Jones) this is better than the courses at Port Royal / Shipyard

I have heard the new Heron Point at Sea Pines is a good course. There are plenty of others just off the island. The Fazio course at Palmetto Dunes is the one I aim to play next time I'm at HHI

[Anthony_Nysse]

Ben,
  You might want to try Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront. In the years that I worked at Long Cove, it was always in pretty good shape, (renovated in 2003) features big greens, big bunkers and is cut through a lot of Spanish Oaks. Heron Point is pretty good, as well. I beleive that one of the courses at Port Royal now features zoysia putting greens.
  Hilton Head National (weed/Player) is a fun design, for a very good price. You will find it at the bottom of the bridge as you enter the Island.
  Make sure to eat at San Miguels......

[JC Jones]

I would not play Port Royal or Shipyard and would follow the Oyster Reef recommendation.  I played Shipyard 7 weeks ago and cannot truly articulate how bad of a course it is other than the locals (at least one former local) call it "sh*tyard."

[JeffTodd]

I've played all the courses mentioned and I'm familiar with the way Port Royal and Shipyard are usually packaged. Others mentioned Oyster Reef, which is usually included in the Port Royal/Shipyard deals. If available, I would agree that Oyster Reef is a superior course.

I would eliminate Shipyard from the discussion. Of the Port Royal courses I am not a fan of Planters Row; it's a lot of straight out/straight back holes. Leaving Robbers Row and Barony on the table, I'd probably lean toward Barony but neither course is a standout and both have their problem holes. Robbers Row runs through some interesting property that has some historical (non-golf)  interest, so that is a bonus.

[Bryan Drennon]

My suggestion would be to drive to Savannah and eat at 3 or 4 different southern restaurants.......just don't ask about how much butter is in anything.

I love it down there and am thoroughly jealous.

You're a man after my own heart. We're doing that on Friday. I'm from Columbia, SC so we go to Charleston and Savannah several times a year (mostly for the food).

[Bryan Drennon]

Ben,
  You might want to try Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront. In the years that I worked at Long Cove, it was always in pretty good shape, (renovated in 2003) features big greens, big bunkers and is cut through a lot of Spanish Oaks. Heron Point is pretty good, as well. I beleive that one of the courses at Port Royal now features zoysia putting greens.
  Hilton Head National (weed/Player) is a fun design, for a very good price. You will find it at the bottom of the bridge as you enter the Island.
  Make sure to eat at San Miguels......

Thanks for the great input. I may go over to PR and see what the greens look like. Money is an issue as I have someone with me that could care less about anything but price. I'll definitely go over to San Miguels for dinner tonight too. Thanks again.

[Joel Zuckerman]

Bryan,

I'm on my way to Secession Club in Beaufort in an hour...would be happy to have you and your friend along, and summer green fees are a fraction of the regular rate.  If you want to tag along, send me an email at info@vagabondgolfer.com asap with your phone number and I'll call you with the details.

[Ben Stephens]

Ben,
  You might want to try Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront. In the years that I worked at Long Cove, it was always in pretty good shape, (renovated in 2003) features big greens, big bunkers and is cut through a lot of Spanish Oaks. Heron Point is pretty good, as well. I beleive that one of the courses at Port Royal now features zoysia putting greens.
  Hilton Head National (weed/Player) is a fun design, for a very good price. You will find it at the bottom of the bridge as you enter the Island.
  Make sure to eat at San Miguels......

Thanks Anthony!

Will look up for San Miguels next time Im at HHI! I really liked Red Fish restaurant - great food and service.

I also would be interested in playing the Cupp course at Palmetto Hall to see the unusual shaping as well as HH National/PD.

Cheers
Ben