Palmetto Dunes Golf Courses

Palmetto Dunes is the island's most complete public golf destination outside Sea Pines, with three distinct courses within one resort, all open to the public. The Robert Trent Jones course is the signature layout: a lagoon winds through more than half of its holes, and the par-5 tenth offers a view of the ocean. It is also the home of the resort's Toptracer Range, which is reserved online; the Toptracer technology is active only when golfers opt in and pay an extra fee. The George Fazio course is billed as the only par 70 on Hilton Head Island, with long par 4s guarded by bunkers and water, and it has no driving range. The Arthur Hills course has hosted collegiate tournaments, and the resort notes that Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval all played here in their college years. It has a traditional driving range, and each course has chipping and putting areas. Different greens grass is used across the three: Champion Bermuda on Robert Trent Jones, Tifdwarf Bermuda on Arthur Hills and Diamond Zoysia on George Fazio. Tee times can be booked online around the clock, and walk-ins are accommodated when possible. Golf attire is required, golf carts are allowed only on the courses and club rentals are available at all three.

Book with an eye on the rules. A credit card is required to book; it is not charged up front, but a penalty applies if you miss a tee time or reduce your party without at least twenty-four hours notice, though weather cancellations may be waived. Nine-hole rounds cannot be reserved online and require a phone call, and nine-hole rates are available after two in the afternoon at Arthur Hills and George Fazio but not at Robert Trent Jones.

Children ten and under play free after four with a paying adult, juniors eleven to seventeen qualify for junior rates by phone or in person, and active and retired military players can receive a discount at booking. Non-player riders pay a fee.

Improve while you are here. The Palmetto Dunes Golf Academy offers lessons, clinics and private instruction all year for every age and skill level, led by former PGA Tour professionals and instructors. A daily clinic runs at Arthur Hills with a small student-to-instructor ratio, private lessons last fifty minutes and the academy uses video analysis. A free exhibition is held every Monday afternoon at the Robert Trent Jones course, which is an easy way to see the courses before you commit to a round.

Check the maintenance calendar. Autumn overseeding brings short periods of cart-path-only play, and each course has aerification windows in late spring and summer, with dates published in advance and subject to change. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons to play, and summer rounds are best early. Many visitors stay in the resort, and the oceanfront resort and nearby hotels are covered elsewhere on this site, but you do not need to be a guest to play.

For golfers who want more than one course in a trip, Palmetto Dunes pairs well with a round at Harbour Town Golf Links, which has a very different character.