May River Golf Club At Palmetto Bluff

May River Golf Club in Bluffton, SC is my favorite course from this great trip to South Carolina Low Country golf experience. May River is a semi-private club allowing access to members and guests of the amazing Montage Palmetto Bluff. Designed by Jack Nicklaus this course has unending low country charm, outstanding routing, beautiful views and most importantly no one hole felt boring or as a means to get to the next hole. Full of challenges, the course runs alongside the May River which comes into play often, the rest of the course is routed through lagoons and marshes giving a player a true low county golf experience. May River is also not a push over resort course by any measure while almost not rough is present water comes into play on 11 of 18 holes and massive fairway bunkers, deep greenside bunkers and tree-lined fairways are everywhere else. The greens are generally domed with contours, making the overall course experience great for those with great short games and or solid irons. I would definitely try to make this a part of any Hilton Head/Bluffton golf trip, I considered it a can't miss.

Course is a semi-private 18 hole layout. Played it the last day before ‘In Season Rates” turn a $120 round to $220. Hard to lose a ball on this track, unless you dunk it in the water, which there is plenty of here. Fairways and greens were in impeccable shape. If drive is in the fairway you get 40-50 yards role in dry conditions. Greens were like glass first 9, softened a bit after the sun did its work. Bunkers litter this course all over - I must have ended up in the sand close to 50% of the holes. If you do not land your ball in middle of green, you risk it rolling off into green side valley or bunker. Caddies were excellent and friendly. It’s a very well maintained, very challenging course that I would absolutely play again. Excellent short game area that apparently inspired Tiger’s backyard practice facility. Driving Range looks into the sun in the AM and has some trees placed in odd spaces so hard to gauge how you are striking it. Clubhouse Staff was great. As we finished our round, the Membership was getting ready to start their Husband Wife tournament and the entire field was dressed for St. Patty’s day to the hilt. Very enjoyable round.

We had the pleasure of playing this beautiful course as the guest of a member for the second time today and Trust me it's even better the second time.We started on a driving range that is in better shape than the greens at many courses which is the first sign of the pristine course conditions on the entire course.The routing of this course make this course one of the best challenges I have found in the area. The majority of the holes require good choices and better execution or you will find yourself with some difficult up and downs on very fast, very true rolling greens. Play the correct tees or it will spoil your day.
Take the time to find this gem,it is worth the effort.
Kudos to Jack on a great design

This Jack Nicklaus Signature Course is part of the Palmetto Bluff Resort. The course is secluded, very scenic and was designed to be easily walkable. I teed off at 8.30 am with a caddie and played in 3 hours. The course was in immaculate shape and boasts a number of interesting holes. The back nine consists of 3 par 3s, 3 par 4s and 3 par 5s.

I played May River the day before we headed down to The Master's. Upon arriving, the club house is very unassuming. The staff that greeted us was very friendly and offered valet parking. Our four caddies met us on the driving range and offered suggestions for shots that we would need on the course. We found after starting play that the practice green replicated the actual green speeds exactly. Our caddies were very friendly and offered the correct advice at the right times. The course was in great condition. The fairways were lush and the lies were perfect. The greens have a lot of slight breaks that are hard to pick up but this is where the caddies were great. The course is challenging and you will hit every club in your bag. Don't skip eating here, the food is fantastic!