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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
Best course played in last 7 days
This course was the best condition of all courses we played of the 6 other courses this past 10 days. The conditions were in good shape and the layout is fair but the greens are not level so you have to try to play below the hole! We would recommend this course for sure.
Great condition
The course was in great condition. Fairways plush and the greens were very fast.
Just OK
Meh. It was on OK round. It was busy, and it was slow tourist golf. My fault for expecting anything different at this time of year. I used my golfnow bonus points to make it an inexpensive outing for me. The course was in good condition.
Good course
I played early in the morning as the 3rd group off. Pace of play was fantastic. I made it around in 3 hrs. The course was in good shape. The course has short par 4s and long par 3s. A lot of the par 4s have dog legs.
Great track, in great shape
Absolutely beautiful setting, and in really good shape. Would definitely play again. Not super difficult or super long, but still some challenging holes. Worth every penny.
Beautiful course
I loved this course. Despite not playing very well, I had two birdies--but only one par. The course was in great shape. The last hole is especially challenging. It's a long par 5 dogleg with water you either have to hit over or hit a great second or third shot to bypass the water. Saw an alligator too!
Great golf at Dolphin Head
Enjoyed my round sooo much
Course was beautiful and in great shape
Was 76 degrees which was just perfect
Hit the ball beautifully all day long but score didn’t reflect it in that being from Kentucky I was never able to figure out how to handle chips from the Bermuda rough only getting up and down twice
Greens were really nice but very very quick
Approach shots held remarkably well with many backing up with wedge approaches
Got great deal on Golf now app
If you get s chance , definitely play this course!!
Dolphin head day
Course conditions were good, especially the greens but the tee boxes had very long grass and tees sat very low unless you had extra long tees . Pace was very slow because a foursome ahead of us were hitting lots of errant shots and no one from the course tried to move them along. No GPS nor towels are provided. My recommendation to a friend would be qualified, not strong.
Tmf
Great course, greens, fairways, tee boxes all well maintsined and in very playable condition. Best value on HHI.
A Gem
This is a course that is not talked about much. This is a great layout. I played from the blue tees. Challenging but fair. I've played Harbor Town and this course was just as pristine as Harbor Town. The greens where fast enough but not crazy, and undulating. Fairways perfect to hit from. If you stray to the rough you pay the price. People in the shop and the bar were very friendly and helpful.
Nice Course
This is a nice golf course. It's fairly short. The greens were good, a bit slow for my taste, but had lots of slope on them. I suspect if they sped them up, there would be a lot of three putts. Good variety of holes.
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