The thinking player's course at Palmetto Dunes, where lagoons wind through ten holes and accuracy matters more than distance.
Arthur Hills designed the second course at Palmetto Dunes in 1986, and his approach departed from the Jones Sr. template that preceded it. Where the Jones course offers generous fairways and defends par at the green, Hills built a layout that emphasizes positional play from the tee through the approach. Lagoons wind through 10 of the 18 holes, creating hazards that are present on nearly every shot but rarely unfair. The course asks where you can hit, not how far.
At 6,651 yards with a slope of 129, the Arthur Hills course is the most moderate of the three Palmetto Dunes layouts on paper. The rating of 72.9 understates the difficulty for golfers who spray the ball, as the lagoons collect offline shots with an efficiency that the slope rating does not fully capture. For accurate players, the course plays straightforwardly. For erratic ones, the water is a recurring theme.
Ocean breezes factor into club selection throughout the round. The course sits close enough to the Atlantic that wind patterns shift during the day, typically building through the afternoon. Morning rounds tend to play calmer and slightly shorter. Afternoon rounds require more thoughtful club selection, particularly on the water-guarded approach shots where a one-club wind error turns a green-in-regulation opportunity into a penalty.
Green fees of $150 to $241 position the Hills course as a value option within the Palmetto Dunes complex. For resort guests playing multiple rounds across the three courses, the Hills layout often serves as the second or third round, which undervalues it. The design rewards the kind of course management that improves over repeated play, and golfers who return to Palmetto Dunes often develop an appreciation for the Hills course that the more famous Jones layout does not generate as readily.
Booking is direct through Palmetto Dunes, with resort guests receiving preferred access and potential package pricing across the three courses.
A complete reconstruction of Hilton Head's first golf course, with water on nearly every hole and Spanish moss overhead.
The only Arnold Palmer design in the area, with six sets of tees and green fees that start at $34.
The lighthouse, the tournament, and a Pete Dye design that has not stopped being relevant for more than fifty years.
Pete Dye returned to Sea Pines nearly four decades after Harbour Town and built a course that plays like a conversation between two eras.
Two distinct design voices on a single routing, with time-of-day pricing that rewards flexible scheduling.
Lowcountry marsh golf at mainland prices, with a slope of 141 that keeps the design honest.
The only par 70 on the island, built around long par 4s and Diamond Zoysia greens that separate the Palmetto Dunes trio by temperament.
The first course at Palmetto Dunes, and the one that best represents the Jones Sr. philosophy of bold bunkering and strategic risk-reward.
A wooded corridor through towering pines and moss-draped oaks, away from the plantation resort atmosphere.
One of the first courses on the island, where small greens and thick rough reward accuracy over ambition.
Twenty-seven holes across three nines, with a green fee range wide enough to accommodate nearly any budget.