Golden Bear Golf Club at Indigo Run Hilton Head

Golden Bear Golf Club is a Jack Nicklaus design built in 1993 inside Indigo Run, weaving through the plantation’s upscale residential community and Lowcountry forest. Tight fairways, live oaks, and lagoons put a premium on accuracy over length, with a short, dogleg-left par-4 5th as the course’s signature hole and a risk/reward par-5 18th closing the round over water. For the island’s other seventeen courses, see the full Hilton Head golf courses directory.

A Nicklaus Design Inside Indigo Run

Golden Bear Golf Club takes its name from Jack Nicklaus’ own nickname, and the course reflects his classic parkland style — well-placed water and bunkers that reward accuracy and course management over raw length. It plays through Indigo Run, a residential plantation on the island’s north end, with tight, tree-lined fairways and four par 3s across the round.

The signature 5th hole is a relatively short dogleg-left par 4 with a stunning elevated view of the green, while the par-5 18th closes the round with a dogleg left over water — one of the best finishing holes on Hilton Head, forcing a real layup decision before the approach.

Golden Bear Golf Club, Hilton Head Island, SC

Golden Bear Golf Club is on Golden Bear Way inside Indigo Run, on the north end of Hilton Head Island. The course is a public, daily-fee facility despite sitting inside a private residential community — tee times are open to any visitor, not just Indigo Run residents.