Hilton Head Golf Scene

The anticipatory phrase “Are we there yet” elicits images of the prototypical American family vacation, a summer sojourn that begins and ends with a long day in the car. Sure, the sound of impatient children has in part been quelled thanks to the rise of text messaging, the proliferation of the iPod and the convenience offered by the portable DVD player, but spending hours in cramped quarters hasn’t necessarily become the equivalent of a deep tissue massage.

At Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort, those excruciating hours spent on the Interstate uncomfortably stuffed in your automobile could be your last, at least until the end of your vacation.

Recently named the No. 1 “Family Resort” in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure magazine, Palmetto Dunes not only offers its guests dozens of diverse opportunities to relax, explore and indulge, the premier resort does so without requiring guests to go beyond its gates.

As the annual host of a renowned PGA Tour event, Hilton Head Island has had a hand in launching some impressive professional golf careers over the years. Thanks to the Junior Players Golf Academy of Hilton Head Island, this sleepy barrier island is also building the foundation to successful collegiate experiences for dozens of junior golfers every year.

At the JPGA, a year-round golf and academic academy, it’s not about simply getting students college scholarships, it’s about getting them scholarships to the college of their choice; no small task considering the competitive nature of junior golf these days. The nine month program strikes the perfect balance between instruction and competition, better preparing students for what they will face at the ultra-competitive collegiate level.

JPGA students enjoy the advantage of competing regularly on the FCWT Junior Golf Tour (Future Collegiate World Tour), a nationally ranked junior golf tour played largely during the winter months and attended by some of the top college coaches in the country.

With the rise in junior golf and the growing demand for families to spend portions of the summer together on the links, Hilton Head has emerged as one of the most family-friendly golf excursions on the East Coast, and the island’s most recognizable resort is leading the way toward that distinction.

Home to some of the finest golf courses in the country, including the acclaimed Harbour Town Golf Links, the Sea Pines Resort offers up its 54 holes of golf to families seeking memorable moments and joint challenges every summer. From the creation of junior tees on its recently debuted Heron Point by Pete Dye course to special junior rates and instructional programs throughout the summer months, the resort is a natural choice for families looking to balance fun on the beaches and the water with excitement on the fairways and the greens.

It can be argued that Jack Nicklaus never quite surpassed Arnold Palmer in terms of popularity, even though he eventually eclipsed Palmers success in professional golf. Before he earned the nickname the Golden Bear, Palmers faithful, known as Arnies Army chided the pudgy 22-year-old by calling him ‘Fat Jack’ at the 1962 U.S. Open held at Oakmont Country Club just outside of Pittsburgh.

But as Nicklaus brought a magnificent power game to the forefront of golf, and denied his opponents again and again with clutch putts and impenetrable concentration, he earned a more distinguished nickname -The Golden Bear.

One of the hundreds of courses created by Nicklaus’ design firm, but one of the few to bear his most recognizable nickname, the Golden Bear Golf Club at Indigo Run has a character all its own, featuring a variety of holes winding masterfully throughout the pristinely elegant Indigo Run community that routinely require more thought than muscle.

The anticipatory phrase “Are we there yet” elicits images of the prototypical American family vacation, a summer sojourn that begins and ends with a long day in the car. Sure, the sound of impatient children has in part been quelled thanks to the rise of text messaging, the proliferation of the iPod and the convenience offered by the portable DVD player, but spending hours in cramped quarters hasn’t necessarily become the equivalent of a deep tissue massage.

At Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort, those excruciating hours spent on the Interstate uncomfortably stuffed in your automobile could be your last, at least until the end of your vacation.

Recently named the No. 1 “Family Resort” in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure magazine, Palmetto Dunes not only offers its guests dozens of diverse opportunities to relax, explore and indulge, the premier resort does so without requiring guests to go beyond its gates. 

The final golf course constructed inside the gates of Hilton Head Plantation, the Country Club of Hilton Head, rises above its peers literally and figuratively in a variety of ways.

Opened in 1987, the Rees Jones design is characterized by wide-open fairways that allow for maximum playability, smallish but frequently elevated greens that revert to a more traditional style instead of featuring multiple tiers and mile long putts and a bounty of strategically placed bunkers ready to smother an errant shot.

On the course’s signature hole, the par-5 12th, you’ll be able to make it to the peak of Hilton Head Island rather easily. As the dogleg left bends around the corner, a plaque is positioned on the right side of the fairway marks the highest point above sea level; a paltry 28 feet, 24 inches. It’s not exactly Mt. Kilimanjaro, but it is unique to the Country Club of Hilton Head.

From year-round golf buddy packages to winter snowbirdie getaways, Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort proudly offers the ultimate Hilton Head Island golf experience.

Golf accolades abound at this premier oceanfront resort. Fodor's Golf Digest bestowed four stars on all three courses, while Golf magazine awarded Palmetto Dunes a Silver Medal, honoring it as one of the country’s “Top 75 Resorts.” It’s no wonder visitors from across the country flock to Palmetto Dunes to tee off on some of the Lowcountry’s premier courses. 

Since its creation in 1957 by visionary developer Charles Fraser, the Sea Pines Company has been the single most influential entity on Hilton Head Island and its golf courses, most notably Harbour Town Golf Links, have greatly influenced golf course architecture from coast to coast.

This year, Hilton Head’s most notable event, the PGA TOUR’s Verizon Heritage, Pete Dye, the most renowned contributor to course design on the island and The Sea Pines Resort’s newest golf course, Heron Point by Pete Dye, will have all celebrated milestones.

What began as the Heritage Classic in 1969 on Thanksgiving Day has evolved into one of the most venerable stops on the PGA TOUR with champions such as inaugural winner Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman. This year the Verizon Heritage, annually hosted by the acclaimed Harbour Town Golf Links celebrated its 40th anniversary.

Playing three world-class courses, including PGA Tour tested Harbour Town Golf Links, all within shouting distance of each other sounds like an ideal golf vacation, but if your game isn’t up to par it might not be so enjoyable.

Fear not, The Sea Pines Resort has all the tools to turn a struggling golfer into a happy golfer, whether it be a frustrated beginner or an accomplished player looking to shave the last few strokes off his scorecard.

• Golf Instruction comes in many varieties at Sea Pines, including private lessons and golf clinics at the Plantation Club and the resort’s renowned Golf Academy.

Casting aside presumption, it’s not a stretch of the imagination to believe that many high-profile collegiate golf tournaments don’t begin with a 45-minute ferry boat ride.

On the weekend of Sept. 6, that’s just what some of the nation’s top college golfers will do, as they board a ferry from Hilton Head Island or maybe Savannah and make their way to the understated barrier island of Daufuskie to compete in the inaugural Rees Jones Collegiate Invitational hosted by Haig Point Golf Club.