The Sea Pines Resort’s New Atlantic Dunes to open in October
The Sea Pines Resort’s new Atlantic Dunes, designed by Davis Love III, will open in October.
The layout is a complete reconstruction and recreation of the resort’s historic Ocean Course, the first built on Hilton Head. Love Golf Design, the firm founded by Davis and his brother Mark, 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 and lead architect Scot Sherman have fashioned entirely rebuilt holes to accommodate modern shot values and frame scenic corridors. Atlantic Dunes features a pronounced seaside ambiance and Lowcountry feel accented by coquina shells and seaside grasses. The project’s goal was to incorporate elements of the surrounding beachfront along with the area’s bounty of native pines and oaks lining the fairways.
The course will benefit both visually and strategically from restoration of natural sand dunes as well as the creation of new dunes blending seamlessly into the design. Tens of thousands of indigenous plants have been installed in these areas to complete the seaside feel. Atlantic Dunes playing surface is a blend of cutting-edge grasses matching the superior strains at the resort’s acclaimed Harbour Town Golf Links and Heron Point by Pete Dye.
As a five-time winner of the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing played on Harbour Town, Love and his firm were the ideal choice to lead the effort to modernize the inaugural course on the island. “Sea Pines is one of my all-time favorite places to play and visit so we’re excited the redesign will be in line with the great golf offered by Harbour Town and Heron Point,” says Love.
“We’re thrilled to have a great champion like Davis Love III and his exceptional design team create our new Atlantic Dunes course,” says Cary Corbitt, vice president of sports and operations. “Once it opens in October, few resorts anywhere in the world will offer 54 holes this good.”
Photo courtesy of The Sea Pines Resort / Rob Tipton