Harbour Town Golf Links
Hilton Head Island has a long and storied tradition in the game of golf. When Harbour Town Golf Links reopened in late 2025, one of golf’s ultimate getaway destinations got a little bit better once again as the Crown Jewel of the island got a little bit shinier.
The iconic Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus design, home to the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage for more than five decades, is one of the most important designs in golf and the image of its iconic lighthouse in the background of the 18th hole is one of the most indelible images in the game.
Without the success of Harbour Town, Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye might not have had the prolific architectural careers that they both enjoyed. Not only could that have cost us their course portfolios, but also that of their disciples such as Bill Coore, Tom Doak, Rod Whitman, Bobby Weed, Bob Cupp, and Jay Morrish just to name a few.
Harbour Town is known as a shot-maker’s layout, and it requires the ability to work the ball both ways and has a mixture of holes that favor finesse over power. Its unique routing has produced winners at the RBC Heritage that are known for being long hitters like Davis Love III, Scottie Scheffler, and Jack Nicklaus as well as shorter, more accurate golfers with renowned short games like Loren Roberts, Justin Leonard, and Brian Gay.
It is one of our favorite things about Harbour Town as good golf is rewarded here regardless of your skill set.
The six-month restoration project at Harbour Town was overseen by Davis Love III, a five-time winner of the RBC Heritage who also designed the Atlantic Dunes course at The Sea Pines Resort. Love’s edict was to protect the strategy and integrity of Nicklaus and Dye’s original design, and to ensure that the course is challenging yet fun the other 51 weeks of the year when it is played by us mere mortals.
We can gladly report, mission accomplished.
In addition to Harbour Town and Atlantic Dunes, The Sea Pines Resort also features a third championship course in Heron Point, another Dye design that features similar features to Harbour Town but is a bit more playable.
The 5,000-acre resort boasts five miles of beachfront for guests to enjoy, a wealth of upscale shopping and dining options, and a variety of lodging options that includes an upscale, boutique hotel experience at The Inn & Club at Harbour Town, spacious villas and condos, and rental homes for groups that are looking for a more secluded experience.
In addition to The Sea Pines Resort, Hilton Head Island also features a multitude of enjoyable golf courses and lodging options for vacationing golfers. We’ve highlighted a few of our favorites for you here:
Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort
With three championship courses that have all been named as “South Carolina’s Golf Course of the Year” over the past 15 years, Palmetto Dunes provides you with exceptional golf and three miles of beach along the Atlantic Ocean to enjoy as its name denotes. The Robert Trent Jones course features one of the two oceanfront holes on the island and is often named as one of the top courses on Hilton Head Island. The George Fazio course is the only par-70 design on the island but don’t let that fool you into thinking it is easy as it is considered one of the more difficult layouts in the area. The Arthur Hills course is a strategic beauty that winds extensively through a network of lagoons, and 10 holes here feature water hazards that are lurking around the corner so playing smart often leads to lower scores. With a multitude of villa and vacation home rental options, Palmetto Dunes is great for golf groups to consider when booking a Hilton Head golf getaway.
Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort
Heritage Golf Collection
When it comes to volume of golf, the Heritage Golf Collection is the leader in the clubhouse on Hilton Head Island as they are home to 117 holes of championship golf spread out amongst four locations. The first of these is Palmetto Hall Plantation that features two 18-hole layouts in a gated residential community, with the Arthur Hills and Robert Cupp courses open for limited public play. There are also elegant vacation rentals for easier access to both the Hills, which has undulating fairways framed by moss-draped oaks and towering pines, and the Cupp, which at one time (before the Ocean Course at Kiawah) had the highest back-tee slope rating in South Carolina.
Port Royal Golf & Racquet Club is situated along the Atlantic Ocean coastline on the northwestern point of Hilton Head Island, and the club is set within Port Royal Plantation along with the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa. The Robber’s Row Course, redesigned by Dye, is built on the grounds of a former Civil War fortification while the Barony Course was designed by George Cobb and was one of the first courses on Hilton Head Island.
Shipyard Golf Club provides three nines at this public property set within a natural setting of Carolina pines, flowering magnolias, and moss draped oaks known as the Clipper, Galleon and Brigantine courses. The Galleon was the first of the bunch, the Clipper might be the most difficult, and the Brigantine 9 has a wealth of water in play.
Oyster Reef Golf Club rounds out the courses in the Heritage Golf Collection, offering a Rees Jones beauty that is outlined by towering pines. The course is a favorite of both locals and vacationing golfers.
In addition to these three main golf hubs on Hilton Head Island, there are plenty of other golf options in the area as well including the likes of Dolphin Head Golf Club and Bear Creek, as well as several just over the bridge from the island in Old South Golf Links, and Hilton Head National to name a few. One thing is for sure, you certainly will have plenty of golf to keep you busy on America’s golf island.
Oyster Reef Golf Club
Key factors to booking a golf trip to Hilton Head Island
To say Hilton Head Island is a popular draw for golfers is an understatement. Not only are there are nearly 2 million golfers within a 250-mile radius, but Hilton Head Island is an incredibly easy flight or drive from cities up and down the East Coast, most notably from major metro areas such as New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. where getting away, especially in the winter months, becomes a great option.
When looking at the broader Hilton Head Island/Bluffton/Beaufort market, only the Pinehurst/Southern Pines/Aberdeen area in North Carolina offers as many total holes of golf per capita, according to the National Golf Foundation. The same is true when just looking at public golf supply, speaking to the region’s immense popularity as a getaway for travelers and vacationers, or as a second home destination.
In addition to being easy to get to and providing great weather for golf, an obvious draw of the island is its 12 miles of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean which is perfect to enjoy after a day on the course. Hilton Head Island is also known for a wonderful restaurant scene where you can enjoy some Lowcountry staples like shrimp and grits and fried green tomatoes, or you can take advantage of its location to devour some top-notch seafood. Overall, it makes for a perfect location for any type of golf trip and one visit here and you’ll quickly understand why golfers have been making Hilton Head Island their go-to destination golf trip for decades.
Palmetto Hall Plantation