Long Cove Club reopens Pete Dye-designed course

Photo provided by Long Cove Club

Long Cove Club on Hilton Head Island celebrated the grand reopening of its Pete Dye golf course.

It closed on April 30, 2018 for a restoration project that included regrassing fairways with Celebration Bermuda; regrassing greens with Tif Eagle Ultra Dwarf Bermuda; restoring bunkers to their original size, shape and location; upgrading drainage systems; and replacing all cart paths and multiple bulkheads.

The goal of the restoration project was to return the golf course to Pete Dye’s original design intent.

With the establishment of Celebration Bermudagrass, all fairways now have a pure, uniform surface of golf-specific turfgrass. The result is improvement in both the playability and aesthetics of the fairways. The restoration of bunkers has reestablished the flat-bottomed, grass-faced bunkers for which Pete Dye is known. The variety of bunker sizes and shapes—another Dye hallmark—has also been reestablished.

Pete Dye’s restoration project was supervised by Bobby Weed Golf Design. Bobby Weed was the project manager for Pete Dye during the original construction of Long Cove Club, and was the first course superintendent from 1981-1983.

MacCurrach Golf Construction was the construction company on the project. MacCurrach was selected based on their extensive experience with Pete Dye golf courses. MacCurrach has done numerous similar projects, including the recent restoration project at Harbour Town Golf Links as well as the TPC at Sawgrass.

Long Cove Club is currently ranked No. 19 in Golfweek’s Top 100 Residential Golf Courses in the U.S., No. 79 in Golfweek’s America’s Best Top 100 Modern Golf Courses and No. 148 in Golf Digest’s “The Second 100 Greatest” Top 100 Greatest Golf Courses in the U.S.

Founded in 1981, the par 71 Long Cove course is more than 7,000 yards and is located on Hilton Head Island, S.C.