(HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.) – The Sea Pines Resort announces Love Golf Design, the course architecture firm founded and headed by PGA TOUR star Davis Love III and his brother Mark, will redesign its historic Ocean Course.
Based on Georgia’s St. Simons Island, Love Golf Design has done numerous course designs and renovations in the region including Retreat at Sea Island (Sea Island, Ga.), Laurel Island Golf Club (Kingsland, Ga.), and the Love Course at Barefoot Resort (Myrtle Beach, S.C.). Love is a five-time winner of the RBC Heritage held on lauded Harbour Town Golf Links.
The Ocean Course is steeped in Hilton Head golf history as the first course built on the famed island in 1962 by prolific architect George Cobb. Mark McCumber, a 10-time PGA TOUR winner, remodeled the original design in 1995. Love Golf Design will perform and oversee a total renovation of the entire layout. The course will close for play next Oct. and reopen in Sept., 2016.
“Sea Pines is one of my all-time favorite places to play so we’re excited to redesign the Ocean Course to be in line with the great golf offered by Harbour Town Golf Links and Heron Point,” says Love. “It’s an honor for us to work with one of the world’s premier golf destinations.”
The project follows completed enhancements by Pete Dye to his Heron Point design, which reopened for play on Sept. 22. Dye’s team softened the green surrounds and contours, enlarged several greens, and added ornamental landscape beds throughout the layout. The putting surfaces were transitioned to Tif-Eagle Bermuda grass.
Next May, after the 2015 RBC Heritage, Harbour Town Golf Links will close for the summer as its fairways will be changed to cutting-edge Celebration Bermuda grass. Harbour Town’s greens will additionally be reseeded with Tif-Eagle Bermuda, the same grass on the putting surfaces since 2001, and the irrigation system will be replaced.
“We’re thrilled to have a great champion like Davis Love III and his exceptional design team working on the Ocean Course,” says Cary Corbitt, Vice President of Sports and Operations. “Our continual goal at The Sea Pines Resort is to offer world-class golf.”
Earlier this year, the legendary Lowcountry destination opened its new Plantation Golf Club clubhouse and golf learning center serving Heron Point and the Ocean Course. The amenities of the 23,000-square-foot clubhouse include an expansive pro shop; Live Oak, Lowcountry-inspired cuisine; 2,000 square feet of event space; and spacious men’s and women’s locker rooms.
For more information on golf at The Sea Pines Resort: www.seapinesgolf.com, 866.561.8802.
About The Sea Pines Resort
Situated on the southernmost tip of Hilton Head Island, the legendary Lowcountry destination features five miles of unspoiled beaches, 21 clay tennis courts, 14 miles of bike and walking trails, horseback riding, Eco-Adventures, water sports, and the 605-acre Sea Pines Forest Preserve filled with wildflowers, wetlands and more than 130 species of birds. As the first Eco-planned destination in the U.S., The Sea Pines Resort has become the blueprint for numerous beach developments around the country.
One of the crown jewels in the world of golf, The Sea Pines Resort is home to Pete Dye’s classic Harbour Town Golf Links (home of the PGA TOUR’s RBC Heritage) Heron Point by Pete Dye, and the Ocean Course. Its new Plantation Golf Club and world-class golf learning center are recent additions to its superlative golf amenities.
Guests may choose from an array of accommodations, including 300 villas, 100 rental homes and the luxurious 60-room Inn at Harbour Town, a Forbes Four-Star boutique hotel and Preferred Hotel Group member. The resort’s best-in-class collection of golf courses, amenities, meeting facilities and accommodations makes Sea Pines one of the most sought-after leisure and group destinations in America.
