Sweet Carolina's Tour

Harbour Town Golf Links is the best of the three courses at the Sea Pines Resort and it was created by Pete and Alice Dye and Jack Nicklaus. The resort's two other courses, Heron Point and Atlantic Dunes, both feature prominently in our South Carolina Best in State rankings.

Home to the annual Heritage Classic (now called the RBC Heritage), Harbour Town opened for play in 1969 and it has remained in the top echelons of resort golf ever since. The course is laid out on relatively flat ground with the fairways flanked by pines. The smallish greens are very fair and not tricked up in any way.

Designed by George Cobb, the Ocean Course at the Sea Pines Resort was the first 18-hole layout to open on Hilton Head Island back in 1960 and it was subsequently renovated by Mark McCumber in the mid-1990s. Love Golf Design – featuring Davis Love III, his brother Mark and lead architect Scot Sherman – redesigned the layout in 2016, restoring natural dunes and creating new sand hills which now blend into the layout. Thousands of indigenous plants were installed, trees were removed, mowing lines altered and water hazards made less intrusive – all of which was intended to enhance both the playability and seaside ambience of the course.

What began as a members-only golf course on the island noted for its playability has evolved into a championship-level course with a world-class layout that was completely renovated in 2014 under the direction of course architect Tom Fazio. Today’s Osprey Point still delivers on its playability and natural beauty and gets rave reviews for its pristine conditions and elegant clubhouse. Each hole on Osprey Point is unique and memorable—with four challenging par-3s, four extremely distinctive par-5s and ten outstanding par-4s ranging in length from 340 to 461 yards.

Following an extensive 10-month renovation in tandem with Gary Player Design, Cougar Point reopened on October 1, 2017 to rave reviews—winning over Kiawah Island golfers with its dramatic marsh vistas and superior playability. Whether you’ve played the old Cougar Point or have never stepped foot on its greens, this renovated course is a must-play at the resort. Cougar Point’s short and long par-4s, great risk/reward 5s and extremely scenic and challenging par-3s demand that you approach your round with a smart strategy.

Featuring three oceanfront holes, this characteristic Jack Nicklaus design features ample fairways, approachable greens, and strategically placed lagoons that put a premium on accuracy and a carefully thought-out approach to each shot. Turtle Point epitomizes the Golden Bear’s mantra to “make the player use his mind ahead of his muscles–to control his emotions sufficiently to really think through his options before drawing a club from his bag.” Turtle Point traverses a diverse landscape with holes dictating alternating setups from left-to-right and vice-versa. Turtle Point clubhouse offers locker rooms, a pro shop, and indoor and patio dining at contemporary Italian eatery, Tomasso at Turtle Point.

Donald Ross’s masterpiece, No. 2 at Pinehurst has served as the site of more single golf championships than any other course in America. It has also hosted back-to-back U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open Championships in 2014. As the U.S. Open’s anchor site, the future looks bright indeed. The championship returned in 2024 and will be coming back again in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. Come walk in the footsteps of legends and play the holes that will birth a new generation of icons as well.

Visually stunning from tee to green, Gil Hanse created No. 4 in the timeless tradition of golf in the North Carolina Sandhills. Vast expanses of sand are exposed along the fringes of the course as well as in cross-fairway bunkers. Native wiregrass melds with the area’s rolling topography, making No. 4 one of the most breathtaking golf courses at Pinehurst. Dramatic vistas are everywhere one turns, helping to explain why this impressive course was chosen to host the 2019 U.S. Amateur just one year after it reopened in 2018 following Hanse’s redesign.