Heritage Collection · public
Port Royal · Palmetto Hall · Shipyard
The island’s public-play trio under the Heritage Collection.
(843) 681-1750 · Port Royal clubhouse, 10 Clubhouse Drive Directions
South Carolina · Lowcountry · Golf guide
Hilton Head golf
The trip that works here is golf, bikes, and beach: a morning tee time, pathway miles under live oaks, then hard-packed sand. Below: public courses, the Sea Pines courses, and how gates and tee times work.
- Best angle Fall peak play; winter rates often soften
- Access rule A gate pass, a tee time, and an RBC Heritage ticket are three separate things.
- Pair with After the round, ride the pathways to a Town beach park.
Tee time, pathways, then the beach
Access
Hilton Head looks open from the bridge and then becomes a map of plantations, Beach Clubs, and tee sheets. Three separate things:
- Gate fee — gets you into a plantation (for example Sea Pines). As of Mar 1, 2026, the Sea Pines gate is $10/day. It covers the gate only. Tee times and Beach Club privileges are booked separately.
- Tee time — booked with the course or resort golf desk. Public-friendly stacks are below; some clubs are members-only.
- Heritage ticket — tournament week access to the PGA Tour stop. Separate from leisure golf and from plantation day visits.
Also gone or closed to casual visitors: Planter’s Row (gone 2013); Country Club of Hilton Head and The Golf Club at Indigo Run are members-only.
Public play stack
Start here for public tee times. These numbers ring the golf desks; call ahead to confirm.
Golf, bikes, and beach
Palmetto Dunes — RTJ / Hills / Fazio
Three courses inside the resort: play, bike the paths, then the beach. A strong pick for families and couples who want more than eighteen holes.
(866) 380-1778 · (888) 909-9566 · 7 Trent Jones Lane Directions
Public Nicklaus
Golden Bear at Indigo Run
Public Nicklaus layout at Indigo Run.
(843) 689-2200 · 72 Golden Bear Way Directions
Bluffton · nearby
Old South Golf Links
In Bluffton, a short drive off-island. Good when island tee sheets are full.
Bluffton · nearby
Hilton Head National
Also in Bluffton: another public course on the mainland.
Sea Pines postcard courses
Harbour Town, Atlantic Dunes, and Heron Point are the Sea Pines set people mean when they say “Hilton Head golf” in a photo. Plan them as bucket-list rounds. For value, look to the public courses above or to shoulder season.
Harbour Town · Atlantic Dunes · Heron Point
- Inside Sea Pines — expect the plantation gate ($10/day as of Mar 1, 2026) in addition to whatever your tee time or resort package includes
- Leisure golf desk: (843) 842-8484 · Harbour Town Golf Links, 11 Lighthouse Lane Directions
- Harbour Town is the round people travel for.
Shoulder & winter angles
Fall is peak golf weather on the island. Winter is when rates often soften.
Fall · Peak golf
Comfortable play, busy sheets, and the season when “golf trip” feels most natural. Book earlier than your July self expects.
Winter · Softer rates
Quieter sand, bikeable days, and greens fees that often ease. Pack a layer; don’t write off beach time between rounds.
Shop the combo
A morning tee time, the pathways, then a Town park. Shoulder and winter dates before you assume July prices.
Heritage week note
The RBC Heritage turns Harbour Town into a tournament campus. Matt Fitzpatrick won the 2026 week (April 13–19) in a playoff over Scottie Scheffler. Next edition: April 12–18, 2027. For the longer story — Palmer in 1969, the unfinished lighthouse, gates and parking — read How the Heritage took the island.
Tournament entry needs a ticket; a Sea Pines gate pass is separate. There is no general spectator parking in Sea Pines — shuttles run from Honey Horn and Coligny. Harbour Town is closed to public play that week. If you’re coming for leisure golf, pick another week (or the public stack above).