3. May River Golf Course
Bluffton
Located west of Hilton Head Island and part of the gated Montage Palmetto Bluff community, May River is a big Jack Nicklaus design that plays through forested terrain with several holes along the river and coastal wetlands. Public-access play is granted to guests of the resort.
In excellent condition with smooth Champions Bermuda greens, the entire facility (No. 136 on Golfweek’s Best list of modern courses) wows with a relaxed atmosphere and uncrowded course. The 7,171-yard track opened in 2004 and received modifications from Nicklaus – especially to bunkering – in recent years. The course plays to a par of 72, but the back nine offers three par 3s, three par 4s and three par 5s, breaking from the typical routing of two par 3s with two par 5s.
The fairways are generally wide, sometimes nearing 50 yards at their widest. But Nicklaus incorporated centerline fairway bunkers into many of the landing areas, forcing players to choose a line toward the fairway edges. The greens frequently feature heaving contours with nearby run-offs, and with deep greenside bunkering the putting surfaces are best approached from select sides of those centerline bunkers.
Two holes stand out, not for their length but for their marshland environment and strategic challenge.
No. 7 is a 336-yard, dogleg-left par 4 that plays over and along the marsh with a landing-area bunker that forces most players to seek safety to the right off the tee. From there it’s a wedge or short iron to a peninsula green perched above water and sand. A flag on the left presents one of the smallest targets any player will ever want to take on. The hole’s short length brings to mind a great scoring opportunity, but double bogey or worse waits on every shot for overly aggressive play.
No. 14 is a 190-yard par 3 that plays along the river, with bunkers left and right of the green. A front pin is relatively straightforward, but a back-right flag requires a precise shot to hold the surface. It’s a Nicklaus style of shot if ever there was one, with the best way to get the ball close being a towering fade. Even so, the golf shots can easily take a backseat here, as the marsh opens up to the right with one of the prettiest river views of my entire trip.
Rater’s comments: Beautiful surroundings and fantastic conditioning. Challenging course which has a variety of holes. It’s a course one can play every day and marvel at the sights and the quality of golf. – Sanjay Shah, Fayetteville, N.C.