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Island West Golf Club
Rating Snapshot
About
Designed by Clyde Johnston and popular PGA Tour star Fuzzy Zoeller, the Island West Golf Club is a course built around natural marshland and follows the landscape presenting a rolling, tree-lined course.
As one would imagine a course with Zoeller's fingerprints, Island West in Bluffton was built to be a fun, entertaining play, and has succeeded in its mission. Playing to 6,803 with a 129 slope rating from the tips, it's a solid test for the skillful yet playable for the not-so skillful.
Water comes in to play on 10 holes here, so the bold will have many risk-reward opportunities. Accuracy off the tee is a must on many of the tree-lined holes, yet other holes feature wide fairways. Island West is exactly the type of course you'd imagine Zoeller being a part of, but Johnston's expertise also shines through.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 72 | 6803 yards | 73.3 | 140 |
| White | 72 | 6208 yards | 70.1 | 127 |
| Silver | 72 | 5454 yards | 67.2 | 108 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4856 yards | 69.5 | 123 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 72.9/144 | 491 | 156 | 402 | 527 | 371 | 404 | 392 | 187 | 423 | 3353 | 378 | 354 | 174 | 400 | 527 | 395 | 613 | 193 | 416 | 3450 | 6803 |
| White M: 69.7/132 W: 76.0/140 | 477 | 132 | 372 | 498 | 329 | 348 | 368 | 158 | 372 | 3054 | 341 | 334 | 155 | 380 | 506 | 374 | 518 | 166 | 380 | 3154 | 6208 |
| White/Silver M: 68.5/125 W: 74.3/136 | 477 | 132 | 372 | 442 | 329 | 348 | 368 | 158 | 356 | 2982 | 341 | 334 | 155 | 315 | 496 | 275 | 460 | 166 | 316 | 2858 | 5840 |
| Silver M: 67.7/117 W: 72.8/134 | 455 | 102 | 288 | 442 | 323 | 330 | 279 | 140 | 356 | 2715 | 326 | 302 | 130 | 315 | 496 | 275 | 460 | 119 | 316 | 2739 | 5454 |
| Red M: 64.6/105 W: 69.6/116 | 410 | 96 | 288 | 442 | 259 | 253 | 242 | 128 | 268 | 2386 | 258 | 266 | 125 | 304 | 421 | 244 | 432 | 114 | 306 | 2470 | 4856 |
| Handicap | 13 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 6 | |||
| Par | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 5 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 6 |
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We liked it
Played today and course was damp (cart path only) but we had gotten a lot of rain the night before, staff was great no complaints at all.
Only complaint if any was greens were a little dry with a few brown patches (was worried prior because of reviews but a lot of people complain about green conditions in March and April and NO grass is perfect in those months!)
Overall loved the course, fairways were beautiful, side rough still playable and somewhat easy to hit out of. Played a course down the road last weekend and the tall bent grass along the fairways was awful, 6” high and you lost balls easily and when you did find them it was next to impossible to play, not the case at islands west. Good challenging course we will be back. Son and law I both agreed best we’ve played this year
Good course
First time
I anticipated playing the course, but found the greens were in horrible condition and in poor condition. Staff was friendly but I don't think the course gets much play.
Day of golf
Staff was super friendly and helpful. The course is tight with a lot of hazards splitting the fairways ,especially on the front 9. Course was well maintained, with the exception of the greens. They were being areated, and we knew that in advance. The greens were bumpy and tough to read....but overall we enjoyed it.....we will go back
Greens recovering from last two years
Staff very friendly and told the truth about conditions of the course which I found refreshing. Greens coming back but some bumpy and sparse but most ran true but were slow. Cart paths need work and had to dodge large holes and bumps on about nine holes.. fairways in good shape but some weeds and grassy tufts in some areas. Some tee areas in rough shape, could use larger tee areas so they could move hitting areas to help recovery. Senior tees mostly just slight moves from white or red tees. Price point seems fair given the higher cost of golf in this area.
I played several more-than-double-the-cost on island courses this week and Island West was in better condition than most. My only complaint is with the sand traps; hard and many with puddles. Other than that, I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone from the the pro shop to course maintenance workers were all very friendly and welcoming.
The course is spread out and very enjoyable to play.
The weather was perfect and the course was fun to play.
Pleasant surprise
Having played at island west over the last 25 years, I can honestly say that I have never seen this course in such excellent shape from tee to green.
Thank you for the positive review. We have come a long way with our course conditions and appreciate it your patronage of Island West.
Great course for the money
Great course for the money in very good condition. Very quiet course, probably because it is much further off the island. Does not always have staff attending to your clubs, but that's Ok with us. Saw a lot of gators!!
Thank you for the positive review. Look forward to seeing you again!
Course needs some tender loving care
Enjoyed the course layout and pace of play but overall course condition is fair. Tee boxes are in poor condition and not much grass in the fairways. Green conditions were very uneven but not as bad as the condition of the cart paths. A 4-wheel drive may have been a better option to get around the course..
Yes, the cart paths are in dire need of repair in some areas. Brown Golf Management does have plans to address this issue in the near future. Thank you for the feedback.
Good value for the money
This was a very enjoyable round of golf. Course was in pretty good condition for this early in the season. Pace of play was great.
Thank you for playing Island West. We are glad you enjoyed your experience and hope to see you back soon.
Safety
One criticism. The backshop tries to ride the back of the cart from the exit at hole 18 to the parking lot. This is dangerous and not recommended by the cart manufacturers. When I tell them they are not to ride on the back, they insist on saying that it is OK or that they do it all the time. A friend of mine died at our course doing the same thing and now everyone abides by the rules. This must stop.
I’ve played the course several times and happy to say the course is showing improvement. The greens have improved quite a bit over the last several months. The fairways were in excellent shape as well.
Hilton Head 2018
Some of the greens were infested with what looked like weeds. Fairways were a bit thin in places as well. Overall, the course was in average condition.
Nice course
This is a good course in great shape and fun to play. Staff are friendly. Highly recommendable
Not bad, not bad at all...
In the nearly two years since I last played this course I have heard nothing but severely negative comments regarding the condition...in particular the condition of the greens.
We were surprised and somewhat impressed at the overall condition of the entire course and in particular the greens. The last time we played here there was more green "paint" on the greens than grass.
The course has come back a great deal. This is a nice piece of golf real estate and it is on its way back but still has some distance to go.
I'll conclude but saying "it's worth a try."
Nice day for golf
Made reservations late the night before we played. Had not played here for quite some time because of bad conditions, but the course is in very nice shape now. I look forward to more play here in the future.
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We are very happy you enjoyed your experience at Island West! The greens were on the dry side last week due to an irrigation leak that forced us to shut the pumps down for a couple of days. All up and running now. Thank you for playing with us and the review!