Wild Dunes Resort

Wild Dunes Harbor Course, while less popular than its more celebrated sister, the Links Course, should have been an enjoyable experience. Unfortunately, it was not.

It started with the parking. All I can say is, "Unbelievable." It took a good 20 minutes to find a place to park. We just kept driving and driving until finally a random woman noticed we were searching, and she pointed out a spot, ran over to it, and held it for us until we could navigate the never-ending maze of narrow/one-way streets. Just ridiculous.

Next was the clubhouse staff, which acted like neither my wife nor I mattered. The only thing that could take their attention away from their own conversation was my credit card. At a resort course, I expect better. The cart staff and starter were nice enough, but that first face when you walk in the door needs to be more than somebody who simply takes your money.

Finally, the course. In a word, it was weird. The tiniest greens I've ever seen. One of them on the short par-4 10th was probably smaller than my living room. Another on the par-3 11th was no more than 6 or 7 paces wide ... I missed the green left and had a 12-foot putt from the fringe to a flag that was centered (see the photo). And the course was so soft. It hadn't rained all that much, yet all my drives left huge pitch marks and stayed within 18 inches of where they landed. The course is very narrow, which isn't a bad thing except that the longest holes played into the prevailing wind. And finally, the mile-long drive between the 4th and 5th holes. We almost got lost. Add all this to no driving range and the world's smallest putting green, and it doesn't feel all that resort-like.

All in all, I was glad when the round was over. Honestly, I just can't recommend this course. There are so many better choices in the Charleston area.

It's was my first time playing the course.

I'm an average golfer and my overall thought on the course is you are paying for the destination more so than the course.

While the course was in great shape, you are only on the ocean for 3 holes., I would have been extreme unsatisfied if I had paid full price of $181 for a morning tee time. Instead I paid $95 for twilight (Easter week).

Much more reasonable in my humble opinion.

The pace of play was just fine. No one crawling up on you.

Beer pricing was a bit high ($60.00 for a 12 pack before tip) but they do give you 2 waters in a cooler.

There were plenty of gators to see as well.

Parking is a joke. Allow plenty of time.

Course is narrow but a Fazio Fair. Interesting.

We enjoyedi

The course was in good shape. Greens were a little inconsistent was paired with a member which helped with course layout.

The course was in great shape and the layout is beautiful. Tees, fairways, & greens were all in excellent condition.

Cart girl came through a few times per side.

The last few holes are along the ocean and it's a stunning view.

The only downside was that the range is limited to 225 yards so our first driver/wood swings of the day were on the course, which is not ideal. Luckily, #1 is a par-5 so you can make up for an errant tee shot.

Overall, we had a great time on a challenging, but fun course! I'd definitely play here again.

Fun layout. Very scenic. There is one green to tee ride of about a half mile. Ample fairways. Many holes are very challenging on the approach. Sand bunkers are mediocre. Lots of gravel and course sand. We played after a heavy rain and the course was soaked but had drained well. Unless you can carry the ball over 230-240, move up. The 4 pars are very long from the white tees. There is plenty of challenge from Gold. Review by two seniors.

Course tip from staff was "hit it straight" ... and they were right. Great layout and condition of course. Some holes along Inter-coastal Waterway. Challenging but fair. Tight is the best description as offline shots have good chance to find a hazard (water, marsh). Some greens are really small (shorter Par 3's especially). Friendly staff. Was high of low 50's with 10+ MPH winds so not many playing, thus we got around in 3.5 hrs. No driving range (can go to sister course (Links) to hit balls). I'd play again cause who doesn't like to test their ability to hit good shots!

The 6,359-yard, par-70 Harbor Course--a 1985-vintage unofficial collaboration between Tom Fazio and the late, great Mike Strantz-- has numerous holes with views of the Intracoastal Waterway, including the stretch from holes 9-11, which are right on the water. In fact, water or marshland come into play on every hole of the Harbor Course, and as such, can be either a straight-hitter's paradise or a wayward golfer's nightmare.

If you're a visitor from the Midwest who's used to playing more open tracks, the Harbor Course might seem quite penal for crooked hitters, with lots of hazards and OB on almost every hole, either on the tee, at the green, or, more often, from tee to green. (And some in the rough – once my ball ended up a couple feet in front of the business end of a medium-sized alligator.)

The Harbor Course is tighter than its sister-course, The Links,, but it's still a worthwhile experience, as long as you have enough golf balls in your bag. There's a nice mix of long (>460 yards) and short (<350 yards) par 4s. The long holes have fairly well-defined bail-out areas. (Aside from the 382-yard 6th, where the tee shot is semi-blind over a marsh.)

Greens on The Harbor Course are scheduled to be expanded by Fazio's Firm, but as of yet are still tiny – difficult to hit and quick as lightning. The stretch of holes, 9-11 along the Intracoastal, is really lovely and very fun and will probably be the holes you remember most. Course knowledge is critical here, as there are cross-hazards, hidden water, and tricky winds.

The Harbor Course at Wild Dunes Resort is a quintessential low-country test:: fast, firm greens, lush palm trees full of exotic birds, and plenty of water hazards full of gators (do NOT stick your hand into the ponds to retrieve balls!). Rates run from $95-$185 (with cart), depending on time of day/week and whether or not you're staying at the resort. The low end of this range is very reasonable; the high end is a bit of a stretch.

The Links Course underwent a substantial renovation by Tom Fazio's firm a few years ago, and it is, from what I gathered when I played the Wild Dunes Club Car Pro-Am, the more popular course among the locals. The most obvious improvements on The Links are vastly expanded greens and rebuilt white-sand bunkers. These new greens, feature increased undulations and wider variety of pin positions, and the surrounding turf is a newer variety of Bermuda grass, which is not nearly as "grabby" or "sticky" as you'll find on The Harbor Course.

Aside from the cramped 351-yard 10th hole – where a combination of overly-rumpled fairway, odd bunkering, and semi-blind landing areas make club choice on the tee basically impossible – there's not a bad hole on The Links Course. The round culminates at the 412-yard 17th and the new 185-yard 18th, though, with the waves crashing on the beach and the prevailing ocean winds turning club selection into a crap shoot.

The Links Course has some unexpected elevation changes, both from tee to green and fairway to green, on a few holes. The approach to the elevated green on the par-4 11th is shielded by mounding, and the tee box of the par-3 12th is perched a few dozen feet above the level of the green, making club selection tricky. As for the greens on both tracks, we tended to over-read putts on the Harbor Course all day, and under-read putts on The Links.

The Links Course at Wild Dunes is the local favorite for a reason: It's got plenty of challenge with enough forgiveness to ensure that even if you're having an off day, you'll still have fun. Greens are bigger, turf is more forgiving, and there's somewhat less water (still plenty of chances to see alligators, though).

Being winter the course was in amazing shape. Fairways were lush and greens rolled very well. Some parts were a little wet from all the rain over the last month. It was nice the carts were 90 degree and not cart path only.

Played the course for the first time and enjoyed every hole of it especially the last three.

They are right at the ocean and make out of a good round a perfect one.

Will play this course again

Good value. Played the Harbor course for $70. I would play it again for sure. I was expecting a lot better service from the staff since this is in Isle of the Palms but overall it was a fun time.

Very challenging. Amazing views and course was in perfect shape. Highly recommend playing here. First time booking.

Course was beautiful staff was great highly requimend

Overall a good golf experience - I would recommend it to a friend. However, I played the Wild Dunes Links Course the following day and, if playing at Wild Dunes, would play the Links over the Harbor course hands-down (even though it is has a some higher fee).

The Harbor Course has a nightmare parking situation (it shares a small lot with the big hotel, tennis center and the beach) and if you don't know that in advance you better show up real early for your tee time. Also, there is no driving range.

As for the course, it is busy and has heavy traffic - like a reasonably priced, public course. Regardless, the course is in pretty good condition. The greens still evidenced aeration within the past month and showed heavy use, but overall rolled true and clean.

The layout is unique and is the first course I recall playing whose turn wasn't near the clubhouse or any other amenities (a halfway house). Given this, it would have been nice to have a beverage cart at some point (which we did not see at all).

To a man, the staff was friendly and helpful and made us feel welcome.

The pace of play was too slow for us - with a fair amount of waiting - however, we were a twosome and there were a lot of foursomes and we finished in about 4 hours, so the pace wasn't slow, just slower than we would have liked.

Bottom Line: A busy course but in as good of shape as you could expect for a heavily used public course. Layout was interesting with numerous pretty and unique holes. The downside is the lack of parking and no range. Overall, a good value (although I recommend the LInks Course just 2 miles down the road).

If you are going to golf at Isle of Palms, this is definitely the place to go. Although it is slightly more expensive than Wild Dunes' Harbor Course, it is in better condition and has a wider range of holes with different feels.

Although I found a few holes to be somewhat plain and nothing to write home about (i.e., 1, 14, 15), there are so many others that are somewhat unique (i.e., 10, 12) and scenic (i.e., 16, 17, 18) that on-balance it was a great golf experience and a good break from my regular tracks.

The course was overall in excellent condition (other than a few tee boxes that were a little rough), the greens were firm and rolled true and the fairways were in good shape.

To a person, the staff that we interacted with was friendly, helpful and courteous - like they were truly pleased to have you at the course.

Also, unlike the Harbor Course, this course was not crowded and we were able to play at our own pace (a twosome, were able to finish in around 3.5 hours).

Further, unlike the Harbor Course, there is a driving range and ample parking.

Bottom Line: A great golf experience. Course is beautiful, varied, in great condition and not over-crowded. It will definitely be my first choice for Isle of Palms golf in the future.

Nice course. Got to play with a couple of locals. Helped. Play was a little slow. I't play it again. Stay right of the 150 marker on 17.

For a reasonably short course, it's pretty challenging. Greens rolled out pure at a quick pace but not unreasonable. Fairways were lush and rough was nicely cut and not too punishing. Grounds under repair areas were few and well marked. Staff was friendly and true to the Southern charm you would expect. Definitely recommend and will play this course again!