Long Cove Club
Hilton Head Island, SC • Private
Rob Kaufman / Kaufman Photography
Joann Dost
Overview
Long Cove was originally routed by Frank Duane and his then-partner Arnold Palmer in the early 1970s. Then Pete Dye was offered the job, but turned it down in order to concentrate on construction of No. 52 TPC Sawgrass. Once TPC was finished, Dye was persuaded to build Long Cove. Having previously done No. 142 Harbour Town just down the road, Dye wanted to do something different, so he installed knobs and mounds and framing berms, shaped some remarkably large greens and built two holes skirting the Colleton River. His construction crew contained half a dozen youngsters who would ultimately became golf architects, including construction supervisor Bobby Weed, Tom Doak, David Savic, Ron Farris, Scott Pool and Pete’s younger son, P.B. In 2018, Weed, author of No. 107 Olde Farm, was picked to restore Pete’s original design, which had grown shaggy around the edges. Now golfers can again run the ball onto 16 of the 18 greens.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
100 Greatest: Ranked 1983 through 2010.
Highest ranking: 19th, 1985-'86.
Second 100 Greatest:
2023-'24 ranking: 188th.
Previous ranking: 173rd.
Best in State: Ranked first, 1985-'95, 1999. Ranked inside the top five, 1983-2009. Ranked inside the top 10, 2011-'24.
2023-'24 ranking (and previous): 8th.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Challenging course that while beautiful, makes you think about the shot your need to hit and forces you to execute in order to score. As with Many Pete Dye courses, many of the target look much smaller than they actually are, however ensuring you can shape the ball both ways will ensure you can play this course successfully"
Read More2024
Review
“Classic Pete Dye layout on Hilton Head that is in great condition and offers more variety than its neighbor Harbour Town. The course is quite challenging off the tee with water hazards lurking on many holes, but is overall fairly playable with numerous teeboxes for higher handicaps. I really like the variety here, as the course features different "compartments" such as the 13 and 14th along the low-country marshland and unique stretch from 5-8 with interesting land movement you wouldn't expect for the area. There are also holes that feel like Harbour Town such as 4, 11, and 15 with tall trees featuring prominently and narrow corridors. The shot options are strong at Long Cove, and this is perhaps best demonstrated with the short par 4 5th, which is readily reachable for longer hitters but offers numerous options and a blind approach for those who lay-up. This is one of the best courses in the Southeast and is well-worth a play."
Read More2023
Review
“Outstanding Pete Dye masterpiece in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. If given the opportunity to play, don't pass it up."
Read More2023
Review
“Good condition with a little of everything in design. Need thoughtful shots to score."
Read More2023
Review
“Fantastic layout variety and shots required to play Long Cove effectively. Beautiful views of the low country on the back nine and a very well-manicured course."
Read More2022
Review
“The Lowcountry setting of Long Cove is extremely peaceful and serene. Playing the course in the early morning light, the river/waterway that makes its way through the first few holes on each side provides a backdrop that doesn't really come into play but enhances the beauty of the course. Shrubbery, low hanging moss trees, and magnificent oaks and magnolias enhance the sleepy South Carolina feel of the golf course. Even the homes on the course add to the ambience of the community this club is a part of, but they are set so far back from the golf course that they're an enhancement, not a detractment. The course makes nice use of the marsh on the back 9 to give you that feeling you are close to the ocean, but not really in it. "
Read More2022
Review
“To put it in plain terms, on a late February day you couldn't have asked for much more from a golf course. Everything was impeccably manicured. Fairways had roll out, but didn't seem to be burnt out. The bermuda rough, while dormant, was playable and you can see how it could be a bear in the summer time. Greens were firm, yet receptive to well struck shots. Bunkers were perfectly maintained, a nice amount of sand, and didn't seem to result in unnecessary plugged lies. Greens were absolutely pure. NO blemishes whatsoever, and putts rolled like they were on glass."
Read More2022
Review
“I feel like Long Cove was a missed opportunity. The course felt less like one cohesive routing emblematic of an era, and more like a scatterbrained look at a multitude of different Pete Dye eras. The routing seemed a bit all over the place, and only a few holes felt like true "lowcountry golf." The start of the course felt like a natural evolution of The Golf Club and a pre-cursor to TPC Sawgrass - on the 3rd tee box I felt as if I may be on the brink of something special. Those feelings returned on #10 and #12, and #15 - #17. #3 and #9 felt like holes out of an Alabama RTJ trail or Dye's Heron Point on Hilton Head Island. #4 and #11 could have been dropped off from down the island at Harbour Town, with trees pinching in the fairway 100 yards out and strategic golf taking over. #5 seemed like Pete Dye at his worst, #6 - #8 and #18 were reminiscent of big, manufactured land movements the older Dye brought into designs like Mystic Rock at Nemacolin. The marsh holes had a different look and feel for #13 and #14, and felt like they could have been up in Charleston at Secession. I wish there was a bit more synergy into the course's feel. I don't mind when a course's character changes, like when the last two holes at Harbour Town take you out to the ocean. But when you dip in and out of a different type of design every hole, it seems less like a full album and more like a few one-hit wonders."
Read More2022
Review
“Unlike the local works of Harbour Town and Kiawah Island Ocean, Long Cove has a softer, less severe (than the Ocean) and a more expansive, free flowing feel (than Harbour Town). Also, unlike both of these course Long Cove employs larger, sectional green complexes with multiple options to work the ball toward various hole positions. Long Cove is a softer, gentler Pete Dye where one can certainly score well if your club selection and execution are better than average."
Read More2021
Review
“Great attention to detail, fun to play with equal chances for scoring while still offering challenging holes throughout. The variety of hazards is outstanding and the complex green surfaces are beautifully integrated with their surrounds. To me, it is the best course in Hilton Head and one of Pete's best. The bunker work has restored the original look and feel to the design and should bring it back closer to contending for our future 100 Greatest rankings."
Read More2021
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