E
VEN THE LONG-TIMERS HERE WONDER HOW 2022
WILL BE CELEBRATED.
Sixty years of Hilton Head Island golf is fast approaching,
and if not for the Island’s sheer amount of change in that time,
the diamond anniversary party planning would already be
underway. But how do you honor everything that South
Carolina’s “Shoe” has become, and how it has helped
shape a state’s golf scene previously established in
Charleston or Myrtle Beach long before the first bridge
connecting the island to the mainland was built?
It’s simple. See how much higher the bar can be set.
“You’ve got to look at reinvesting,” said Cary Corbitt,
the Vice President of Sports & Operations at The Sea Pines
Resort and also the President of the Lowcountry Golf Course Own-
ers Association. “I think some of them have. As long as you keep
your product good and fresh, that’s what players want.”
Getting them to Hilton Head Island is easier now than it has ever
been. The Island’s airport has a recently extended runway and has
increased its number of direct flights to compete with Savannah/
Hilton Head International Airport about 43 miles to the south. That
is key for golfers from Ohio, Georgia and Virginia (via Dulles), the
top three out-of-state markets for Hilton Head Island visitors. For
Virginians, the drive down I-95 is also a relatively easy travel path.
And once you get there, you’ll see a constant quest for
improvement in a place some already believe to be a
finished product.
Despite its reputation of prestige, there are nine
figures worth of vague blueprints of capital improve-
SC
ments at several of the big resorts (led by The Sea
Pines Resort). New rooms, new entertainment
options, new restaurants—they’re all evolving as the
area attempts to put its best foot forward to attract the
next generation.
On Hilton Head Island, the beach will always be No. 1. But with
16 public golf courses, 250-plus eateries, and a vast entertainment
realm checking off the next parts of the priority list, this can be a
trip that appeals to everyone. Over the span of four days in Sep-
tember, members of the LGCOA gave us a first-hand tour of the
island. We swung the clubs, saw some of the renovations, learned
about the history of the island—and we dined like never before.
Hole 18 at Harbour Town Golf Links
plays parallel the scenic Sound,
with the Harbour Town Lighthouse
and Marina as the backdrop.
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