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Dolphin Head Golf Course
Rating Snapshot
About
The Dolphin Head Golf Club, originally designed by Gary Player and Ron Kirby and built in 1974, was the first golf course developed at Hilton Head Plantation.
A trademark of Dolphin Head is the slight elevation of the greens from the approach-shot area and the numerous mounds, which accentuate the greens.
Under the direction of renowned golf course architect Clyde Johnston, Dolphin Head Golf Club's greens were rebuilt in 1993. Most recently, all bunkers were completely rebuilt, and four new fairway bunkers were added in strategic locations. A major tree-thinning program has been under way in the last few years to allow more sunshine to reach tees and greens.
The front nine starts and finishes with par 5s, and No. 18 is also a par 5.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 6606 yards | 72.7 | 140 |
| Blue | 72 | 6421 yards | 72.0 | 137 |
| White | 72 | 6174 yards | 70.8 | 130 |
| Gold | 72 | 5513 yards | 68.0 | 123 |
| Gold (W) | 72 | 5513 yards | 73.5 | 126 |
| Red | 72 | 5360 yards | 66.8 | 117 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 5360 yards | 71.8 | 122 |
| Green | 72 | 4760 yards | 64.3 | 112 |
| Green (W) | 72 | 4760 yards | 64.8 | 113 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 72.9/135 | 513 | 344 | 359 | 173 | 364 | 432 | 204 | 395 | 515 | 3299 | 371 | 382 | 211 | 523 | 341 | 444 | 360 | 181 | 494 | 3307 | 6606 |
| Blue M: 72.1/133 | 500 | 338 | 350 | 167 | 359 | 411 | 194 | 385 | 507 | 3211 | 353 | 373 | 200 | 513 | 336 | 423 | 351 | 172 | 489 | 3210 | 6421 |
| White M: 71.0/130 | 465 | 332 | 328 | 154 | 349 | 401 | 176 | 375 | 486 | 3066 | 343 | 365 | 190 | 504 | 331 | 399 | 341 | 160 | 470 | 3103 | 6169 |
| Member M: 68.7/122 | 465 | 332 | 328 | 135 | 276 | 348 | 147 | 345 | 486 | 2862 | 288 | 334 | 153 | 504 | 331 | 325 | 341 | 143 | 470 | 2889 | 5751 |
| Gold M: 67.1/119 W: 73.0/129 | 436 | 325 | 315 | 135 | 276 | 348 | 147 | 345 | 457 | 2784 | 288 | 334 | 153 | 463 | 276 | 325 | 315 | 143 | 428 | 2725 | 5509 |
| Red M: 66.3/118 W: 71.9/127 | 435 | 297 | 295 | 117 | 273 | 342 | 143 | 339 | 453 | 2694 | 285 | 332 | 145 | 460 | 272 | 320 | 300 | 131 | 421 | 2666 | 5360 |
| Green M: 65.0/116 W: 68.6/119 | 385 | 267 | 280 | 117 | 260 | 280 | 125 | 286 | 380 | 2380 | 280 | 285 | 145 | 385 | 250 | 280 | 290 | 110 | 355 | 2380 | 4760 |
| Handicap | 11 | 9 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 4 | |||
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 5 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 4 |
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Reviews
Reviewer Photos
HHI 7/17
Great course. Try to play every time we are on HHI
Fun and a nice pairing for a single player
Nice neighborhood resort style course. Fun to play but not an everyday type of course. It is built for members to enjoy and feel good about how they play. Very generous course which made it relaxing and enjoyable.
Typical Brown management course
This course appeared to be beautiful back in its day; however as have all the Brown Managment it has gone wayward. Course was in decent condition however not worth the price. The good news is there are 3 other courses on the plantation to play which are all in great shape.
Dolphin Head
We have played this course many times as we visit HHI several times a year. This was particularly slow as there was a fivesome in front of us, no ranger and they would not let us through. Poor golf etiquette from those fellas but the course should have someone roving to prevent this from happening. Otherwise, a fun course to play. Thanks!
Private club conditions at public course price...
Honestly, I wrote a scathing review of this place last year, not because of the conditions, layout, or value, but because of the overly-strict adherence to pace of play guidelines...we were rushed around the course, frankly.
Thankfully, those rules have been relaxed, making this my most enjoyable round of the week (I played a different course every day during my week-long vacation on HHI). Course is in perfect shape. I am a single-handicapper, and even playing from the white tees, challenges abounded! Nice mix of doglegs on the par 4s. Risk/reward opportunities on the par 5s. Challenging (not ridiculously long or short) par 3s. Overall, a top shelf course. I love all of the HH Plantation courses (Oyster Reef, Bear Creek, and Dolphin Head). When I retire, I'll be lobbying with the missus to retire there!
Good golf in HHI
Played over the week of the 4th. Course was in good shape but the greens were a bit behind in healing from recent aeration. Tees, surrounds and fairways were very very good. Golf staff 5 stars. My only rub is with the F&B. No menu items except for a hot dog. They offered a sandwich buffet that was picked thru pretty good by the time I got there at Noon. Waitress was a tad unfriendly about it all.
I'd go back for golf. Eat elsewhere.
Very nice round at Dolphin Head!
Very nice round at Dolphin Head! Course in excellent condition, challenging and interesting. Good layout and facilities, very nice staff. Great value and strongly recommend.
JFK
Very good conditions (tee boxes,fairways; greens) nice layout. Reception cordial and helpful. Starter works with you to pair up singles if you like and allows couples to play alone if not overly crowded. My only complaint was with GolfNow who sent me a confirmation of tee time for 11:54 and sent the course my name for a tee time of 10:38. I was listed as a "no show by starter, but then worked me in with 2 other singles for an excellent round.
Fine golf course
Dolphin Head is a well maintained golf course which makes for a quality experoence.
The trees, fairways and greens are all in great shape.
If in the HHI area, I strongly suggest playing this course.
Beautiful course,, difficult greens
We had a terrific round, but the difficulty came on the green. That's what the starter promised and he was so wright.
Dolphin head golf
Very nice course. Mostly wide fairways. Staff helpful and friendly. Six tee boxes so lots of choices and challenges.
Nice course and well priced
Nice Gary Player layout with a mix of water and wide fairways. Very playable. Only complaint was the slowness of the greens, but that is typical for a publicish reset course. Would play again.
Good Experience at Dolphin Head
Rain had soften the course the day we played. Starter was very cordial and helpful. Finished the round in 3 1/2 hours. Would play again.
Beautiful facility
This course was strictly private until a few months ago. It was in excellent condition. The greens were fast and flawless. The fairways were lush and well maintained. The price was moderate and very fair for such a nice fine facility. I hope to be able to play this course again.
Good condition but nothing "special "
Staff was rather difficult to find on this course- no one to take our bags when we arrived and when we stopped at the turn to purchase a drink, there was no one around!
We played at 8:00am on a weekday and the course was wide open. THAT was great. Relaxed round with no holdup. Re: design, a couple of the par 3's seemed to be an afterthought. Nothing special in design but certainly provides a good round of golf.
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