Best golf courses near Tybee Island, GA

Built some 35 years after nearby Harbour Town Golf Links, May River is an interesting contrast in Jack Nicklaus's portfolio. It's an equally low-profile layout with a number of bump-and-run approach shots but with several Pine Valley-like waste areas and with larger, bolder greens. The classic routing has the front nine turning clockwise through forest while the back nine circles counter-clockwise. Both touch repeatedly on the wetlands of namesake May River.

In the late 1960s, Jack Nicklaus landed the design contract for Harbour Town, then turned it over to his new partner, Pete Dye, who was determined to distinguish his work from that of rival Robert Trent Jones. Soon after Harbour Town opened in late November 1969 (with a victory by Arnold Palmer in the Heritage Classic), the course debuted on America’s 100 Greatest as one of the Top 10. It was a total departure for golf at the time. No mounds, no elevated tees, no elevated greens—just low-profile and abrupt change. Tiny greens hung atop railroad ties directly over water hazards. Trees blocked direct shots. Harbour Town gave Pete Dye national attention and put Jack Nicklaus, who made more than 100 inspection trips in collaborating with Dye, in the design business. Pete’s wife, Alice, also contributed, instructing workers on the size and shape of the unique 13th green, a sinister one edged by cypress planks.

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.

Overhauled by David Love III, Atlantic Dunes is the reconstruction of The Sea Pines Resort’s Ocean Course, Hilton Head’s first golf course. This lowcountry track features water on almost every hole, beautiful Spanish moss-draped oaks, and lurking gators, if you look close enough. The seaside feel of the course is accentuated by the native grasses and coquina shells scattered throughout.

Haig Point's Signature course is one of the best courses in South Carolina. Read our experts reviews and discover how you can book a tee time

With the goal of making the course more playable for an average golfer, Pete Dye modified this Hilton Head course by adding several tee boxes and enlarging a handful of the greens. However, Heron Point still maintains a tough test with its risk-reward holes, Dye-signature mounding and water-guarded greens. Additionally, the Sea Pines resort course conserves and protects its natural landscape, which led to its certification as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.

When the Arthur Hills course at Palmetto Dunes Resort opened in the mid-1980s, there was no rough. Instead, the holes were protected by the natural mounding and contouring of the landing areas. They have since added rough, but with less than 20 bunkers in play on the entire course, the prominent mounding remains the distinctive feature. Live oaks frame many of the landing areas, which are occasionally quite narrow and semi-blind from the tees. The course is one of three layouts at this Hilton Head Island resort.

Built on an island that sits between Savannah and the South Carolina border, Bob Cupp and Sam Snead weaved their design at the Club at Savannah Harbor in between marshlands, native vegetation and tidal wetlands of the Back River. The layout, which boasts a number of short par 4s but tips out over 7,200 yards, hosted the PGA Tour Champions' Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf Championship for about 10 years.

A par-70 layout with a slope and rating of 74/145 from the back tees, the George Fazio course at Palmetto Dunes Resort is a tough test. That said, it is a slicer-friendly track, with much of the out-of-bounds and serious trouble off the tee coming on the left side, away from a typical slicer’s miss. Unlike the sibling Arthur Hills layout at the Hilton Head Island resort, which has very few fairway bunkers, there are many large bunkers in play off the tee on the Fazio, though with shallow lips, they aren’t too penal. Still, encroaching trees, angled water hazards and a variety of tricky green shapes make the Fazio arguably the most challenging of the three courses at Palmetto Dunes Resort.

Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in the 1960s, the Jones course was the first of the three to open at Palmetto Dunes Resort. The original layout is also the most forgiving of the three from tee to green, with wide fairways and large greens that have gentle slopes. Though most holes play inland, winding through lagoons and palmetto trees, the par-5 10th plays directly toward the Atlantic Ocean, with the green set against the beach. Before your round, make sure to check out the Toptracer driving range, which tracks your ball flight and gives you some key metrics.

Golden Bear Golf Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus’ design firm and is located in the heart of Hilton Head Island. Trees closely line many fairways with overhanging limbs cutting off certain lines, requiring players to set up proper angles to have clear shots into the greens. The course is part of the Indigo Run community, but given the holes are lined with dense stands of oaks, pines and cypress trees, many of the homes are set well back from the fairways. You can find solid value at Golden Bear later in the afternoon, when rates often dip under $70.