Golf Courses on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton, SC: The Ultimate Guide for Golfers and Homebuyers

There's a reason golfers who visit Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, South Carolina rarely leave without talking about moving here. The golf is that good — and so is everything that comes with it. Sunlight filtered through Spanish moss-draped live oaks. Salt air drifting off the May River. Neighbors who become lifelong friends over 18 holes. Courses designed by legends like Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, and Arnold Palmer.

This corner of the Lowcountry has built a global reputation on the strength of its golf, and the numbers back it up. Within 15 miles of Bluffton, you'll find 57 total golf courses — 31 public and 26 private, with 48 full eighteen-hole layouts. No matter your skill level, your budget, or your lifestyle, there's a course (and a community) here that fits.

Why the Hilton Head and Bluffton Golf Scene Is Unmatched

PGA Tour Pedigree Right in Your Backyard

Every April, Harbour Town Golf Links at Sea Pines plays host to the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, one of the PGA Tour's elite Signature Events. The tournament, which has run continuously since 1969, draws the world's best players to Hilton Head Island and attracts more than 100,000 spectators each year. Past champions include Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Davis Love III, and Scottie Scheffler, who won in 2024. Justin Thomas took the title in 2025.

For residents of Sea Pines and surrounding communities, watching world-class golf from a bike or on foot is simply a spring tradition. That kind of proximity to PGA Tour play is nearly impossible to find anywhere else in the country.

A Density of Design Talent Found Nowhere Else

What makes this region genuinely extraordinary is the concentration of legendary architects who left their mark here. Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Arnold Palmer, Davis Love III, Rees Jones, Greg Norman, Gary Player — all have signature courses within a short drive of each other. Many communities have two courses. Some have three or more. The quality is relentless.

Year-Round Play in a Sub-Tropical Climate

Hilton Head's mild temperatures mean golfers enjoy nearly 12 months of playable conditions. There's no six-month offseason here. You tee off in January. You play twilight rounds in October. The Lowcountry delivers.

Hilton Head Island Golf Courses: A Community-by-Community Guide

Sea Pines Resort

Sea Pines is the golf heartbeat of Hilton Head Island — the community that started it all. Sea Pines founder Charles Fraser launched the RBC Heritage in 1969, and the resort has been at the center of the island's golf identity ever since.

Harbour Town Golf Links is the crown jewel — a Pete Dye design with Jack Nicklaus as consulting architect, opened in 1967. Its signature finishing hole along the Calibogue Sound, framed by the iconic red-and-white lighthouse, is one of the most photographed holes in golf. Playing it yourself, knowing the world's best have stood in that same spot, is a genuinely special experience.

Heron Point by Pete Dye was rebuilt by Dye himself in 2007, with reshaped fairways, dramatic mounds, and the small undulating greens that are his calling card. Atlantic Dunes by Davis Love III, opened in 2016, offers a classic oceanside links feel with wide views over native dunes and coastal grasses — Sea Pines' newest and most relaxed layout.

Real estate note: Sea Pines is a large, varied community with homes ranging from golf cottages to oceanfront estates. Its proximity to the RBC Heritage makes it one of the most sought-after addresses on the island.

Palmetto Dunes Resort

Three distinct courses give Palmetto Dunes remarkable variety. The Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course (1968) brings wide seaside fairways and classic resort architecture. The George Fazio Course (1974) winds through mature maritime forest with water hazards along the Intracoastal Waterway. The Arthur Hills Course (1986) is perhaps the most celebrated of the three — a dune-driven layout with continuous sandhills and palmettos that Golf Digest called "one of the island's best golf experiences." All three courses are resort-accessible, making Palmetto Dunes a great entry point for visiting golfers.

Palmetto Hall Plantation

Palmetto Hall offers two solid semi-private courses side by side. The Arthur Hills Course (1989) is known for a dramatic 18th hole and earned instant recognition from Golf Digest as a "classic" upon opening. The Robert Cupp Course (1993) complements it with a slightly more modern design character. Residents enjoy access to both layouts in a well-appointed residential setting.

Hilton Head Plantation

One of the island's larger private communities, Hilton Head Plantation contains three courses, each with a distinct identity.

Dolphin Head Golf Club, designed by Gary Player in 1974, was his first course in the Sea Island area — a classic Lowcountry layout carved through dunes and marsh with panoramic saltmarsh views. Oyster Reef Golf Club, designed by Rees Jones in 1982, earned immediate recognition as a Top-25 new U.S. course and remains a local favorite, with tidal creeks and oak-lined fairways. Bear Creek Golf Club, also by Rees Jones (1979), is a championship par-72 with extensive natural wetlands and Audubon Sanctuary certification — notable for its very fast TifEagle Bermuda greens.

Indigo Run

Golf history was made at Indigo Run, which features the only course ever co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and his son Jack Nicklaus II — an 18-hole, 6,700-yard championship track. The community also includes the Golden Bear Golf Club, a public-access Nicklaus design (1992) that emphasizes strategy over power with generous fairways, rolling terrain, and lagoons.

Other Hilton Head Island Courses Worth Knowing

Port Royal Golf & Racquet Club offers two public resort courses — the historic Barony Course (George Cobb, early 1960s) and Robber's Row (Cobb/Byrd/Dye), which winds through live oaks and marsh with four outstanding par-3s. Shipyard Plantation features a 27-hole Cobb layout with three 9-hole nines (Brigantine, Clipper, Galleon) that can be paired for an 18-hole round. Moss Creek offers two private Tom Fazio courses; Wexford features a private Arnold Palmer design; and Long Cove showcases a private Pete Dye course widely regarded as one of the island's finest residential layouts.

Bluffton Golf Communities: Where Luxury and Fairways Meet

Belfair Plantation

Belfair may be the Lowcountry's most celebrated golf community. Situated on 1,100 scenic acres along the Colleton River, and entered through a half-mile Avenue of Oaks lined with century-old live oaks, Belfair features two Tom Fazio courses — the West Course (1996), a links-style layout ranked on Golf Digest's Top-100 list, and the East Course (1999), a demanding parkland design.

Beyond the courses, Belfair's 29-acre Golf Learning Center and Practice Facility is ranked among the Top 50 practice ranges in the country, featuring a Scotty Cameron Putter Gallery, Titleist Advanced Fitting site, covered practice bays, and an indoor driving suite. Belfair was also the first golf community in history to host the PGA Professional Championship, which it did in 2019.

Home prices range from approximately $800,000 to $3M+, with a 2025 median listing near $1.15M. Every home sale in Belfair includes a golf membership.

Berkeley Hall Club

Two Pete Dye courses — the North (winding through lakes and pines) and the South (featuring dramatic mounding and buttressed greens) — anchor this private Bluffton community. Berkeley Hall's 30-acre Practice & Learning Center, full-service spa, fitness center, and active social programming have made it a magnet for buyers who want a complete lifestyle, not just a golf membership. Home prices typically range from $1M to $4M+, with a 2025 median near $1.9M.

Colleton River Club

One of the most prestigious private clubs in the entire Southeast, Colleton River features two separate championship 18-hole courses — one by Jack Nicklaus (1991), which earned Golf Digest's Best New Private Course upon opening, and one by Pete Dye (1996). The community also includes a 9-hole par-3 course, seven miles of scenic shoreline along the Colleton and Chechessee Rivers, and deep-water docks for boating enthusiasts. Homes are priced from $1.2M to $5M+, with premium waterfront properties exceeding that range.

Palmetto Bluff

Palmetto Bluff is in a category of its own. Spanning 20,000 acres along the May River — with 7,500+ acres permanently preserved — this extraordinary private community combines five-star resort living (via the Forbes 5-Star Montage Palmetto Bluff) with some of the finest golf in the Lowcountry.

The May River Golf Club is an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature design (2005) measuring 7,171 yards, winding through ancient oaks and wetlands with a uniquely varied back nine. Crossroads, a reversible nine-hole King-Collins course, opened in January 2024 on 54 acres of dramatic terrain, offering firm, fast conditions. The community's newest addition is Anson Point, an 18-hole Coore & Crenshaw design — bringing Palmetto Bluff's golf lineup to an extraordinary three-course collection from three legendary design teams.

In 2024, Palmetto Bluff recorded 180 real estate transactions totaling over $384 million in sales. Homes range from village cottages near $1M to riverfront estates at $10M+, with a median around $2.5M.

Hampton Hall Club

A private Pete Dye design (2004) set in a residential community, Hampton Hall is known for precision shot-making, wide fairways, and open landing zones with challenging long par-4s. It offers a more accessible price point for buyers seeking a quality private golf experience in Bluffton.

Oldfield Club

Situated along the Okatie River, Oldfield features an 18-hole Greg Norman design framed by coastal oaks and riverfront views. The community has an equestrian character and classic Lowcountry architecture that appeals to buyers seeking warmth and natural beauty over resort-scale amenities.

Callawassie Island

Three Tom Fazio nine-hole courses give Callawassie Island residents an intimate, island-community feel with excellent golf variety. It's one of the more peaceful and approachable communities in the Bluffton area, with pricing that tends to be more accessible than some of its neighbors.

Other Bluffton-Area Courses

Crescent Pointe Golf Club is a standout public option — an Arnold Palmer signature design (2000) featuring a famous island-green par-3 9th over marsh and a dramatic three-hole finish along the Colleton River. Old South Golf Links, designed by Clyde Johnston (1991), offers sweeping marsh and Intracoastal Waterway views on one of the most scenic public layouts in the region. Hilton Head National, a Gary Player design, remains a top-conditioned public course just off the bridge from Hilton Head Island. Eagle's Pointe by Davis Love III provides a gentle, strategic round with wide fairways and generous design. Rose Hill (public, Gene Hamm), Spring Island (private, Arnold Palmer), Riverton Pointe (private, Tom Fazio), and Hilton Head Lakes (public, Tom Fazio) round out a deep and diverse public and private lineup.

What Kind of Golf Life Are You Looking For?

The Hilton Head and Bluffton golf market has a community for every type of golfer and buyer.

If PGA Tour atmosphere and iconic resort golf are your priorities, Sea Pines and Palmetto Dunes belong at the top of your list. If you want two championship courses and deep golf infrastructure, look closely at Belfair, Colleton River, or Berkeley Hall. If resort living wrapped around exceptional private golf is the dream, Palmetto Bluff delivers something truly unique. And if you want quality golf without a private membership commitment, Hilton Head National, Crescent Pointe, Old South Golf Links, and Oyster Reef offer outstanding public access that would be considered exceptional anywhere else in the country.

From Tee Box to Front Porch

Many people arrive in the Hilton Head and Bluffton area for a golf vacation and leave with paint swatches and a real estate agent's card. It's a phenomenon locals know well. The golf is what gets you in the door. The lifestyle — the salt air, the neighbors on the screened porches, the afternoon rounds under live oak canopies, the sense that every day is lived at a slightly slower and more beautiful pace — is what makes you stay.

If you'd like to explore golf course homes and homesites in Sea Pines, Palmetto Bluff, Belfair, Colleton River, Berkeley Hall, or any of the Lowcountry's other outstanding communities, we're here to help you find the one that fits your game — and your life.

Browse Hilton Head Homes for Sale, Bluffton Homes for Sale, and Beaufort Homes for Sale today, and let's find you a backyard with a fairway view.