Golfing Hilton Head on a Budget
By Mitch Kaplan
For an island just twelve miles
long by five miles wide, Hilton Head, South Carolina carries a big
reputation as a world-class golfing wonderland. A place, you’d think, that
would quickly drain your bankbook. But, I discovered Hilton Head can be
played quite well even on a budget. The secret is in the timing and course
selection. Indeed, you can play and lodge at Hilton Head for five days,
including a round at its most famous course, Harbour Town, for about $600.
Here’s how.
• Visit during low
season. From June through August or, better, December through early
February, costs shrink as much as 30%-40%.
• Take a late tee time.
Afternoon play saves $5 to $15 per round. Sure, summer golfers endure heat
and humidity - but they enjoy plenty of elbow room and a leisurely pace.
• Play on-property
courses. Resort complexes (called "plantations") offer discounted rates
to their guests.
• Buy a package.
Sea Pines Resort (at Harbour Town) has one for about $127 per person/per
night that includes lodging and golf at fourteen courses.
To illustrate what can be
done, here’s a sample itinerary that includes two must-play courses, Harbour
Town Golf Links and Hilton Head National.
Day 1: Shipyard.
Test the Hilton Head
waters immediately. Literally. Shipyard Plantation, famous for its resident
alligators and waterfowl, boasts water on twenty-five of the twenty-seven
holes spread out over three nine-hole set-ups -Brigantine, Clipper and
Galleon.
Brigantine's Number 5
typifies the challenges: the 173-yard par-3 is lined left by heavy trees and
right by a lagoon that runs to the front of the green; to the green's left,
a large sand patch.
On Clipper's 517-yard,
par-5, ninth, hit straight out 220 yards to lay up properly for the left
dogleg. Too short and the trees block you; too long and it's fairway sand; a
hook finds water. Sand, trees and water - perfect for a semi-tropical island
setting. Playable during low season or mid-summer afternoon for $50.
Day 2: Indigo Run. The
Jack Nicklaus-designed Golden Bear Course, at 7,014 yards, presents a
natural, uncontrived test. It also boasts the "Pro Shot Yardage System” - a
computer-style, LCD screen mounted in your golf cart that offers such
tidbits as yardage-to-the-hole calculations and hazard warnings. On the
537-yard, par-5, eighteenth, long hitters can try to get the second shot
over the green-sheltering lagoon, but the left side sand and water make
discretion the better part of valor.
Play a low-season
afternoon for $90.
Day 3: Palmetto Dunes.
Palmetto Dunes features three eighteens. Choose the George Fazio. It's the
least expensive to play and after a relatively relaxed front nine, you
graduate to a demanding back nine. "The final four create one of the
toughest stretches on the island" says former club pro John McNamara.
Number-15, a 445-yard, par-4, plays very long to an elevated green that sits
behind two large bunkers. On the par-4 16th, prepare to hit into a
prevailing wind with water on both sides. Number-17, a 230-yard, par-3,
requires an angled tee shot over a lagoon. And, you'll have to hit out on
the 464-yard, par-4, 18th just to play for bogey.
The Fazio costs $75 in
winter, but specials sometimes reduce that significantly.
Day 4: Hilton Head National.
To play National, you must leave the island. It’s worth it. Playing here is
like driving a meticulously maintained classic car. Smooth, awe-inspiring
and gratifying. Locals love it almost as much as Harbour Town.
The signature hole is 17,
a par-3. You must shoot directly over an alarming pond to a green flanked by
a fountain. That requires heady, steady nerves. Another trademark - the
enormous, double-header green that serves both 9 and 18. It's not a long
course, but numerous forced carries mean only the strongest golfers should
play the back tees. Afternoon rates are $55 from May 16 - Sept. 30.
Multiple round specials run as low as $94 for 36 holes.
Day 5: Harbour Town.
Harbour Town's incomparable setting combines tight stands of moss-hung live
oak with wide open marshes that border Calibogue Sound. The layout features
narrow fairways leading to well-protected, tiny greens.
"It's a 'target' course, a
'shot makers' course, that can be short, but requires you to be accurate,"
says pro Bill Layman. "The par-threes are some of the best known in the
world. Work on your short game before playing here."
The par-4, 18th
symbolizes Hilton Head golf, and more. With its tee box set behind an
expanse of marsh, and the fairway running alongside Calibogue Sound to a
green backed by the famous whitewashed lighthouse, this stands among the
most renowned finishing holes on the PGA Tour and typifies the course's
overall challenge.
Harbour Town
stretches our tight budget - $135 in winter/ afternoon, ($100 for Sea Pines
Plantation lodgers). But, we expected that.
For general Hilton Head
information, call 843-785-3673; on-line, visit
www.hiltonheadisland.org/
Also check
www.golfisland.com/
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