Davis Love III's most playable design at Barefoot, routed through Lowcountry wetlands and live oaks.
Davis Love III built his design career on the premise that a golf course should be enjoyable before it is punishing. The Love Course at Barefoot Resort, opened in 2000, reflects that philosophy directly. Of the four courses on the property, this is the one most likely to leave a 15-handicap feeling that the round was fair and the layout was interesting. That is not a small accomplishment on a property that also features a Pete Dye course designed to test professionals.
Love routed the course through Lowcountry wetland and maritime forest, using the natural features of the site to define holes rather than imposing artificial hazards. Live oaks appear throughout the routing, their low branches framing tee shots and their canopies providing shade on the hotter days of a Carolina summer. Marsh areas border several holes, providing both visual interest and strategic consequence, though Love positioned them as boundary hazards rather than forced carries. The message is clear: if you keep the ball in play, the course will reward you.
At 7,047 yards from the back tees with a par of 72, the Love Course has enough length to challenge low-handicap players. The forward tees reduce the yardage significantly, and the middle tees at approximately 6,400 yards provide a well-balanced test for mid-handicap visitors. Love designed the tee boxes to offer meaningfully different angles and challenges at various distances, rather than simply shortening the same shot.
The front nine establishes a rhythm that the course maintains throughout. Holes alternate between pine-forest corridors and wetland-bordered opens, with the transition between settings providing visual variety. The 5th, a par 5 that plays along a marsh edge, rewards a tee shot that challenges the hazard line with a significantly shorter approach to the green. The conservative play, away from the marsh, leaves a third shot that must carry a bunker complex. It is strategic design executed without flash: no island greens, no railroad ties, no manufactured drama.
The greens are the most accessible of the four Barefoot courses. Surfaces are moderately sized with gentle contours that allow the ball to feed toward the hole from multiple angles. There are no severe false fronts or multi-tiered surfaces that demand specific landing zones. A player who hits the green in regulation will face a reasonable birdie putt more often than not. This design choice makes the Love Course the most enjoyable option for higher-handicap players and groups with mixed skill levels.
The par 3s are well proportioned, with yardages that range from approximately 150 to 200 yards. None require heroic carries or demand a specific shot shape. The 8th, a mid-length par 3 over water, is the most visually dramatic, with the green framed by wetland grasses and a backdrop of live oaks. The shot plays slightly shorter than its listed yardage due to a subtle elevation drop, making it one of the more confidence-building holes on the course.
Love's background as a touring professional informs the design in ways that go beyond playability. The practice facility integration, the flow from green to next tee, the sight lines from fairway to green: these details reflect someone who has walked thousands of competitive rounds and understands how a course should move. Transitions between holes are short and intuitive, contributing to a pace of play that is generally faster than on the other Barefoot courses.
Green fees match the other Barefoot courses at $90 to $168 depending on season. Package pricing across the four courses makes the Love a natural inclusion in any multi-day Barefoot itinerary. Conditioning is consistent with the resort's overall standard, with greens that run true and fairways that provide clean contact on bermudagrass.
The Love Course does not generate the same architectural commentary as the Fazio or the same war stories as the Dye. Its strengths are quieter: a routing that feels natural, greens that invite rather than intimidate, and an overall experience that leaves players wanting to come back. For visiting golfers, particularly those traveling with players of varying abilities, the Love Course is the most democratic option at Barefoot Resort. It asks only that the player hit the ball forward and keep it reasonably straight. Everything else is negotiable.
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