There are a lot of choices on Hilton Head Island itself, but we decided on the Sea Pines Resort as we both really wanted to check out Harbour Town Golf Links. Sea Pines also offers a ton of other amenities like a ton of beach access, bike trails, restaurants, tennis courts, fitness center, pools and it’s just plain beautiful. We were both really happy with our decision to stay at Sea Pines.

Harbour Town Golf Links – Scorecard

Play in the footsteps of legends. Reserve a round on The Sea Pines Resort’s world-famous Harbour Town Golf Links. Home to the Verizon Heritage Tournament, this distinguished PGA Tour golf course places a premium on finesse, imagination, and shot-making rather than strength. Put your game to the ultimate test — against a collection of par-threes ranking among the world’s finest and a par-four 18th hole considered one of the most feared in all of golf, particularly when the wind is blowing off Calibogue Sound. The crowning achievement of famed designer Pete Dye, this celebrated PGA golf course is a true test of the game of golf.

Absolutely brilliant course design. That is the first thing that comes to mind when I think back on our time on Harbour Town Golf Links. I really could play that course a million times and not get bored. I must have played the course in the various Tiger Woods video games..and playing the course in ‘real-life’ was a pretty neat experience. I found myself remembering a lot of the course from the video game…bunker placement, iconic shapes, doglegs, etc. One thing that was vastly different was the fact that the real course really makes you feel a little claustrophobic. Those huge Carolina Pines draped with Spanish Moss really crowd the fairways and make the tee shots seem extremely tight.

The greens were difficult to read and being a North East player, trying to read Bermuda grain was a challenge as well. Thankfully we had the service of a forecaddie, Doug, who was extremely helpful at reading the greens as well as finding those occasional (occasional right…) errant tee shots. Any non-members of Harbour Town are required to take a forecaddie. It will end up costing you at minimum suggested tip of $25 a person…but that is just a bare minimum. Given how much those guys work, they deserve a lot more than that!

I certainly did not have the round of my life, but I did par #14, the iconic little par 3 nestled in the Carolina Pines. The pin was tucked back and to the right, so the water was certainly in play. Hit a nice little iron to the middle of the green and two putted my way out of there! Same went with #17, the par 3 that heads out to the Calibogue Sound. Most of the course is a little inland and protected by the large trees. This was the first part of the course where I actually noticed some wind off the Sound. Couple that wind with the huge bunker looming in front of the green, and this hole was pretty intimidating. The pin was tucked back and left, just past the bunker on a real tight area of the green. I just managed to get on the front/middle of the green and it released up toward the hole a bit. Just missed the birdie putt and left with another par. #18 was a different story…dead into the wind and played VERY long! I still had about 200 out on my second shot…which I proceeded to hook into the marsh. Whoops! Double was not such a wonderful way to end my round on Harbour Town!

All in all it was a great experience on a remarkable golf course. If you have the chance to get out to Hilton Head do not pass up the opportunity to hit up Harbour Town. As a nice little perk the greens fee includes a little ‘goodie bag’ that includes some tees, a Harbour Town ball mark, a little divot tool and a yardage book you can use on the course and take home. So make sure you check that out before you go buying any of that stuff in the Pro Shop!

Heron Point by Pete Dye – Scorecard – Online Yardage Book

After a multimillion-dollar reconstruction project, The Sea Pines Resort is pleased to introduce Heron Point by Pete Dye. Designed by legendary course architect Pete Dye, Heron Point is nothing short of a modern work of art, the centerpiece of any Hilton Head Island golf vacation. Fairways have been reshaped into dramatic angles and shifting elevations — while surfaces are a mixture of sand, mulch, limestone, and different grasses offering a kaleidoscope of appealing color changes. As the second Hilton Head Island golf course at The Sea Pines Resort designed by Dye, Heron Point lives up to its prestigious reputation with challenging new features.

We were scheduled to play Heron Point on our first full day in Hilton Head. Unfortunately on Thursday, Thursday night and a good part of Friday morning it absolutely poured. There was a huge amount of water dumped from the heavens and when we woke up Friday morning we figured our 9am tee time would be canceled. Turns out it was, but they called us back around 11 and let us know that the course was open. Given that we were leaving on Sunday and needed to get 3 rounds in, we really had no choice but to head out and get a round in.

We arrived at the course, with nasty looking clouds in the sky and puddles all over the place, but were determined to get our round in. I was a little worried about the condition of the course…if this happened at home, no way I would be able to play. Checked in with the starter and we were off to the first tee very quickly. I am standing on the first tee, and there is a large pond behind you (if you are a righty), I take a look over and notice an HUGE alligator swimming around. Ok…little disturbing, but as it would turn out, he wasn’t the last gator we saw. Tee box was in pretty good shape, did not seem too saturated with water. Hit my tee shot, little left of the fairway, head on down there…and wow…the fairway is pretty decent. The drainage on this course is absolutely amazing. If you are headed to Hilton Head, and it is rainy, keep this in mind when you choose a course to play.

On the 6th hole, a lengthy par 5, my wife hit her second shot into a bunker that bordered another decent sized pond. We started driving up toward the ball, and noticed the single that was playing in front of us walking from his cart toward the bunker with a camera in hand. Hunh? We take a look over and low and behold a huge alligator is lying in the grass between the bunker and the pond not 10 yards from my wife’s golf ball. Needless to say we gave her a free drop!

Much like Harbour Town the course is full of tall, mature Carolina Pines draped in Spanish Moss. That’s actually a big theme in Sea Pines in general. One thing that was different was I felt like a lot of the obstacles put on this course were just put there with little thought. There were tons of moguls littering all sorts of areas. Bunkers seemed to be added at random. I don’t know, I mean it was a difficult course, but I felt like if I had played the course a couple times I would be able to put up some decent scores. In that regard, it was quite different than Harbour Town.

Would I play the course again? I might drop this one and check out some of the other courses on the island next time around. However, it is certainly worth a check if you are staying at Sea Pines, and especially if you get some discounted tee times or the round is included in a package with your stay.

Ocean Course – Scorecard – Yardage Book

As the first course built on Hilton Head Island, the Ocean Course at The Sea Pines Resort embraces the true coastal golf experience. Exquisitely rebuilt in 1995 by Mark McCumber, this breathtaking Hilton Head SC golf course poses delightful challenges to novices and veterans alike. Put your game to the test against a classic design, featuring strategically placed lagoons and bunkers. As a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary course, this esteemed Hilton Head Island SC golf course is a fabulous experience for both scratch golfers and high handicappers.

On our last day in Hilton Head, we started the day with an early tee time at the Ocean Course. Turns out, as we expected, this was the easiest of the courses on our schedule. Probably would have been to play this course first, however, based on the package we picked at Sea Pines we needed to play the Ocean Course on a Sunday.

One thing you will notice about the ‘Ocean’ Course is that you really can only see water from one hole. And on that hole, really only from the tee box. It’s the hole pictured above, a nice, lengthy par three that played even longer as you were hitting into prevailing winds off the water. Otherwise, you are looking at relatively flat fairways, a good amount of water and a fair number of bunkers. Certainly nothing like the huge number of bunkers at Heron Point. If you can play this course first on your trip to Hilton Head it should serve as a nice warm up/introduction to Hilton Head style golf course. Overall it was in good shape, offered a nice challenge and we had a great time.

Getting There

If you are looking to fly to Hilton Head you have a few options. We chose to fly into Savannah, Georgia (SAV), rented a car and then drove to the Sea Pines Resort. The drive took about 45 minutes, not bad, and you will definitely want to have a car to get around and explore the rest of the island anyway. The other option, should you live near a Delta or US Airways hub is the regional airport on Hilton Head Island itself. We ended up going to that airport to exchange the rental car at one point, and wow, it is quite possibly the nicest, most laid back airport I have ever seen. Granted, I have not been to a ton of airports that small! One other option we had considered was flying into Charleston, SC (CHS) and then driving down the coast to Hilton Head. However, that is a 2 and a half hour drive and really did not fit into our schedule very well.

Where to Stay

With luxuries befitting the finest boutique hotels of Europe, with a distinctive Scottish heritage, The Inn at Harbour Town offers a unique variety of first-class accommodations within The Sea Pines Resort. Experience the intimate atmosphere of this AAA Four-Diamond Hilton Head hotel within the resort’s 5,000-acre estate. As a delightful alternative to the private villas and vacation homes that make up the resort’s extensive accommodations, The Inn at Harbour Town welcomes you to enjoy the finest amenities. Highly coveted in-room features are matched only by our personal butler service — ensuring you the devoted attention you truly deserve. The experience continues with views of the world-class Sea Pines Racquet Club or legendary Harbour Town Golf Links. As an elite benchmark for the surrounding Hilton Head Island hotels, The Inn at Harbour Town beckons you to its landmark setting.

As part of our Sea Pines golf package we chose to stay at The Inn at Harbour Town. Given that it was my wife’s birthday we decided it would be best to be somewhere we could be a little pampered and have direct access to breakfast options. If you want to save a little cash, you can choose to take a package that includes accommodations in one of the Villas at Sea Pines. The Villas can be a great option for a larger group looking for a multi-bedroom place to stay as well.

If you do choose to stay at The Inn at Harbour Town, first thing you may notice is that all the employees are wearing kilts and seem to have British accents. We decided to ask one of the women working there about this. Turns out they all are on internships there from various schools in the UK. Makes sense. It was an interesting touch. Most important, we were always made to feel as if we were the top priority of the people working at the Inn. We utilized the concierge service on several occasions to do anything from make dinner reservations to ask about bike rentals to booking a sunset dolphin cruise. (Side note here, if you have time, take one of the sunset cruises that leave from Harbour Town, simple amazing…here is a snapshot of a sunset we saw on the trip.)

Conclusion

That wraps up our little trip down to Hilton Head Island. We really had a blast for such a short trip. The major tourist season on Hilton Head Island is the summer time, and we were told the island calms down a little in the spring and fall. If you are okay with humidity and some heat, it is a great time to visit especially if you love the beach. Otherwise if you are looking for a little cooler weather, but still want to golf, check out Hilton Head Island in the spring or fall.

If you have any questions about Hilton Head, drop a comment here I will do my best to help answer it!

Anyway, onto the eye-opening experience. I had a horrible time getting off the tee. I hit a couple terrible slices off the tee on the first few holes (which I almost never do). The errant tee shots ended up in the thick, heavy, wet rough. Making the next shot near impossible. Not off to a good start. My confidence in my swing began to deteriorate rapidly. My swing thoughts quickly became…how am I going to screw this up…instead of visualizing the shot. I managed a birdie on the front nine on a short par 3, but for the most part, it was a miserable experience for both myself and my playing partner. Things began to clear up on the back 9, as I accepted the fact that it wasn’t going to be a glorious round, score wise.

It really is amazing how things can quickly spiral out of control if you do not put things into perspective. I really need to work on understanding that every shot won’t be perfect. That I must trust my swing and have complete confidence in my ability to hit shots I visualize. I started reading Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game and have already began to see (or as Homer would say, had an epiphatree) how destructive my thoughts on the course can be. My short term focus will be to clear my bind before my shots using sensory perception, while creating an image of the shot I am about to hit. Then have the confidence in my swing to be able to send the ball along that desired path to its intended target. I suspect I will continue to struggle with the negative thoughts at time, but at least I can see a road to clarity!

Reviews Coming Soon

• Nickent 4DX T-Spec Driver
• Nickent 4DX Fairway Woods
• Zen Golf
• Strike N’ Swipe (as seen on Fore Inventors Only)

While everything seemed to be going right the 3 previous ’rounds’, everything seemed to go wrong at Echo Lake. The first couple holes seemed promising actually. Scored a par on the 1st hole, had hit the fairway and GIR. Second hole, fairway…GIR…then…ooops…3 putt. So some doubt creeps into your mind. I’ve been putting on relatively slow municipal greens most of the year, now I have to putt on relatively fast, hilly, lots of break Donald Ross greens…hmmm..can I do this? 35 putts on the day points to no. But a lot of that was probably just mental. This leaked out to the rest of my game, and I hit a lot of poor shots most of the day. It was unfortunate. But hey, it was a beautiful day out, and whenever you get a chance to play golf on a Friday, it’s hard to complain.

We had an early (6:24am) tee time on Sunday at Spooky Brook and I thought I’d get myself back on pace. The day started off quite rushed, late getting out the door in the morning, no breakfast/coffee…get to the course and the starter is telling you you’re on deck. This all leads to a double on the first hole. I find that I have a hard time recovering from situations like that. I hit a few bad shots, the swing doesn’t feel right that day, and I start getting down on myself. I think I must have told myself ‘go home, there’s no point’ at least 10 times on the front nine. My short game came to the rescue quite often, and I managed to save a lot of bogeys, so, not all was lost…really. I never bothered to count up the front nine, as I figured it was a complete bomb. But, but the end of the day, I had par’d the last 4 holes, and hit some pretty nice shots again. The final score turned out to be an 82, which is pretty decent for me. But after having shot a 76 here the week before, you’re always wanting to improve and go lower. Frustrating game, I tell ya!

The people at the Subconscious Training Corporation sent me a copy of Golf Mind, which is geared toward helping out with the mental side of golf. I’ll definitely be checking that out shortly…perhaps it can help with my tendency to get down on myself when things turn south.

So, onto the score, I shot a 76 (par 71) – 36 (+1) on the front 9, and 40 (+4) on the back. I wasn’t hitting my driver all that well, actually completely abandoned it on the back nine. But, for the most part, I was hitting decent iron shots. Where I really excelled, however, was in the short game and putting. 25 putts, with this new GEL Diamond putter I have been reviewing, went down as my best putting day of all time. I’m really starting to love this putter, the alignment aid on the back is outstanding and the anti-skid insert does wonders on long putts. I actually sunk a 25 foot birdie putt at one point, great stuff. As I mentioned, the short game was spot on as well, numerous great chips and pitches inside 100 yards and a couple nice sand shots put me in position to drain moderate length putts all day. Here, another club I reviewed recently, the Eidolon V-Sole 56 Degree wedge really stepped up. I have such confidence with it at this point that I feel as if I can get close or sink any shot inside 100 yards.

Now, if only I could square away the driver situation…On the back nine, I mostly played the 2 iron or Nickent Hybrid, which lead to 6/7 fairways hit, and for the most part, in good position to hit the green in regulation. So yeah, hitting hybrids all day, ending up 175-150 to the green is ok, but it would be nice to hit 6/7 fairways with the driver and be 100-150 all day

In the bag for this round:

Driver: TM r7 425
Hybrid: Nickent 4DX #3
Irons: Callaway Big Bertha 2 Iron
Irons: Adams Idea A1 Pro 5-PW
Wedge: Cleveland CG-11 52
Wedge: Eidolon V-Sole 56
Putter: GEL Diamond Putter
Ball: Top-Flite D2 – Distance

Tags: break+80

Played the back nine at Quail Brook last night with a buddy of mine. Was pretty relaxed, played a couple balls at times so the score was pretty irrelevant. I stuck with playing the Nickent 4DX IW #2 off the tee off the par 4 and 5 tees. Worked out great on the last two holes. The 17th, a long (440 yard) dogleg right par 4, I hit a solid shot, slight fade, 240 yards. Was beautiful. Little low draw 4 iron into the green. Great hole. I hit another nice tee shot with the #2 on the 18th as well. I’m really starting to love this club.

Read the complete review here.

Tags: nickent, salt+lake+city, utah, quail+brook

Click On Image for Larger View

You can drag the map around and it will automatically update the view to display all the near by courses. You can filter by public/private/resort/semi-private and military courses. It will even tell you the distance to the courses from the center of the map. So drag the map on over to your home town, and have a look see. Clicking on the course will popup some details, then you can drill down further to have a look at the scorecard for the course, prices, telephone numbers, etc. Perhaps soon they’ll even let you book a tee time!

Great job guys, you are putting together an amazing golf resource!

I knew I was playing alright, having carded a couple birdies and a bunch of pars. But I really wasn’t giving any thought to my total score at any point in the round. I didn’t even bother to total up the front nine at the turn.

So how does it feel to break 80? Pretty awesome, what a milestone. The great thing is, I definitely ‘left’ a lot of shots out there, so there is plenty of room for improvement for sure. I had an awful shot out of some deep rough on the 17th hole, that ultimately led to a bogey. A handful of lip-out putts. A terrible recovery attempt on 14 (though ultimately made a great chip and a very long one-putt to save par) after a poor tee-shot put me under a tree. It was quite windy as well, so accuracy was tough..and well…attempts at knockdown shots on a couple par threes were not so wonderful.

So what went right? For the most part, I was driving the ball well. My driving accuracy stat may not show that, but on almost every hole I was either in the fairway or in the first cut. Again, for the most part my approach shots were decent as well. GIR % may not have been anything to write home about, but I was generally in a spot where I had a decent shot at chipping close. The Mizuno MP-33s are starting to payoff

This brings me to the most important part of the day: my short game was pretty on. Most of my chips left me with a reasonable shot at a one putt. The Wedge Guy had posted a tip a while back about the short game, and I feel as if that has helped me a lot lately. The slight pause has been working great for me. Between the good chipping, pitching and solid putting (31 total putts, no 3 putts) the short game was definitely on.

So…new goal for 2007…break 80 often!

Beautiful weather we had here in New Jersey this past weekend, it appears as if Spring has finally arrived. With some warmer weather late in the week, the higher lying areas have had a chance to dry out a little, so I managed to sneak out for a few hours and fit in 9 holes over at Flanders Valley.

I’ve played the Red, Blue and White courses in the past, but never have been sent to the Gold. Wow. Most of Flanders Valley is..well..in a Valley, so it’s pretty flat. The Gold course, on the other hand, makes you experience life as a mountain goat…ok, well maybe not quite that bad. It is, however, quite hilly. The added mountain hiking certainly adds to the difficulty of playing golf, especially when you’re hauling another 30+ lb on your back. Along with the struggles of huffing and puffing climbing these large hills, comes the very strange lies you often find yourself having.

After some early struggles (fat..thin..fat..thin) I pulled things together over the last few holes. A sand shot in for birdie on 16 made the afternoon. The end result was a 42, which I’ll take any day on a new course.

As much as I complain about the hills, it was actually quite nice. If you have a tee-time for 18 at Flanders, and get put onto the Red/Golf track, you’ll be in for a surprise after walking the relatively flat Red course. But the views are quite amazing and the 213 yard par 3 15th hole, with it’s dramatic 50+ yard drop is quite a pretty hole. I’ll have to get back on this set of 9 sometime later in the spring when the trees have some more green.

The Golf Club of Jupiter course, on the other hand, was a much easier ride. If I hadn’t gave away a few shots to water and errant tee shots, I really should have broke 80. We got back very early Sunday morning (1am), but I still managed to get out and get 9 holes in around noon time on Sunday at the season opening of Flanders Valley. Shot a 43, despite a serious case of the shanks, so was a good time. I wish the traffic on Route 206 wasn’t so awful, or I’d go play there more often, great course.

Anyway, back to the completely irrelevant title of this post, why can’t I find any chocolate golf balls filled with nougat goodness? Or perhaps a Lindor truffle golf ball?

Tags: West+Palm, Florida, Flanders+Valley

Planning a golf trip to the west coast anytime soon? If you are looking for assistance in securing greens fees and tee times, putting together a reasonably priced golf package or even coordinating a corporate outing, Showtime Golf may prove to be a useful resource to you. Showtime Golf offers these services at over 75 courses in the following locations:

• Las Vegas
• Palm Springs
• Phoenix
• San Diego

Their free tee time service will provide you with the following little extras you may not get by simply calling the pro shop:

• Greens Fee
• Cart Fee
• Range Balls
• Yardage Book
• 20% off coupon in the Pro Shop

That all seems very cool, I’m always up for freebies. Heck I think half my suitcase was full of SWAG on the trip home from Nashville. Another neat service provided by this site, club rental and transportation coordination. I love to play with my own clubs, but sometimes it just isn’t practical to haul them along. Looking over the pricing at a few locations, they will hook you up with some Taylor Made clubs for $50, which is pretty typical.

Tee Times
Lucky for us, when my wife and I went on our honeymoon we stayed at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, amazing hotel incidentally. We had secured our tee times through the reservation desk at The Lodge. They apparently hold a number of tee times daily for guests of the hotel. If I remember right, we paid about $150 each for the greens fee and $40 for cart, so about $340 total (in December of 2006). Unfortunately, unless you’re staying at The Lodge, getting a tee time at Torrey Pines is not so simple. On a weekend, apparently walk ons are waiting in line at 2am.

When we were planning the honeymoon, I had looked at various tee time services in the area, nothing looked very promising. It was difficult to get a guaranteed tee time, and if you did, the prices were insane. At the time, I hadn’t heard of Showtime Golf. It looks as if the process is quite simple. With two or more players you can book a tee time up to 90 days in advance! Sure, the fees are slightly higher than the posted greens fee on the course, but unless you’re willing to pay $350 a night to stay at The Lodge or sit on the phone for half an hour dialing into their automated tee time service 7 days in advance, good luck getting that base greens fee price.

Tournaments
I haven’t found myself having to do this yet, however, if you were ever in the position of having to organize a tournament or corporate outing, Showtime Golf has some very detailed information about the process, including this article: 19 Tips to a Smooth Golf Event. Perhaps we could use this information to help plan a North East golf blogger tournament this summer?

Room for Improvement
There is a wealth of information at this site, I just feel the organization of it is a little difficult. Initially I found the navigation a little confusing and awkward. The site changes a considerable amount of content based on the region you are looking at, ie. if you click on San Diego, the content under the tabs change, as different services are offered in different locations. This was a little confusing. Perhaps if the navigation area were cleaned up a little and it was more clear that you were perusing the information for San Diego, it wouldn’t be so confusing. I’m guessing if the home bar (up top), the tab bar (that indicates where you are) and the dropdown navigation bar had a more unified look and feel, the site would be easier to navigate initially.

That being said, it isn’t a huge deal, I certainly was able to find a ton of information.

You have a lot of options out there for finding tee times, planning corporate outings or putting together that dream golf vacation. Showtime Golf does a nice job of bringing that information together. Next time you’re planning a trip to San Diego, Arizona, Las Vegas or Palm Springs be sure to check them out. Vegas anyone?

Would you like your product or service reviewed? The Deep Rough is always willing to provide a fair and honest assessment of your golf related product or service. This Showtime Golf review was paid for via reviewme.com.