Pete Dye returned to Sea Pines nearly four decades after Harbour Town and built a course that plays like a conversation between two eras.
Pete Dye first built at Sea Pines in 1969. When he returned nearly four decades later, the assignment was different. George Cobb's Sea Marsh course, a pleasant but unremarkable layout from the resort's early years, needed replacing. Dye delivered a complete redesign that reopened in 2007 as Heron Point, a course that carries his signature design fingerprints while accommodating a broader range of players than Harbour Town typically does.
The accommodation comes through the tee options. Six sets of tees stretch from 5,500 to 7,035 yards, a spread that allows the same course to test a scratch golfer from the back and welcome a casual resort player from the forward positions. From the tournament tees, the rating climbs to 75.2 with a slope of 141. From the middle tees, the numbers moderate meaningfully. This flexibility is one of Heron Point's practical advantages, particularly for groups with mixed handicaps.
Dye's design instincts are present throughout: railroad ties reinforcing bunker edges, greens with pronounced contours that create distinct pin positions from round to round, and visual intimidation that exceeds the actual difficulty when the correct tee is selected. The routing moves through a mix of mature trees and open Lowcountry wetland, and several holes offer sight lines across the marshland that give the course a sense of space unusual for a layout within a residential plantation.
Where Harbour Town demands precision on every swing, Heron Point offers more room to breathe off the tee while protecting par with its green complexes. The strategic challenge shifts toward the approach and the short game. Greens here tilt, pitch, and funnel in ways that reward specific entry points and punish careless angle management. It is a Dye course in every respect, but it carries a more accessible quality than his most severe work.
Green fees of $169 to $265 position Heron Point between Harbour Town and Atlantic Dunes in the Sea Pines pricing structure. Dynamic pricing applies. The same $9 gate fee for non-residents applies. Booking is direct through Sea Pines Resort, with guest priority.
For visiting golfers, Heron Point represents the middle ground in the Sea Pines trio: more demanding than Atlantic Dunes, more forgiving than Harbour Town, and carrying a design provenance that connects it to one of the most important names in American golf architecture. A two-course day pairing Heron Point in the morning with Atlantic Dunes in the afternoon is one of the better ways to spend a day at Sea Pines without the Harbour Town premium.
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.
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 thinking player's course at Palmetto Dunes, where lagoons wind through ten holes and accuracy matters more than distance.
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.