Hilton Head National Golf Club

Hilton Head National Golf Course sits just over the bridge in Bluffton, a few minutes from the island but a world apart in setting — no homes line any fairway or green on either nine. Opened in 1989, it’s one of the few courses anywhere with two completely different designers on one 18: Bobby Weed’s front nine plays wide and forgiving, while Gary Player’s back nine tightens up for a tougher finish. For the island’s other eighteen courses, see the full Hilton Head golf courses directory.

Two Nines, Two Designers

Bobby Weed’s front nine favors bigger greens and more forgiving approach angles, built to keep a round moving and reward good positioning over raw length. Gary Player’s back nine is the sterner test, closing with narrower lines and more demanding second shots — the same split most players notice by the turn, even before knowing two different architects were behind it.

The signature 6th hole is the front nine’s defining moment: a lagoon runs the entire right side of the green, forcing a real risk/reward decision on the approach. The back nine answers with the 12th, a dogleg left squeezed between water and trees off the tee and a long-iron approach into a small, narrow green — widely regarded as the hardest hole on the course. Hole 4 carries the course’s biggest green, a two-tiered putting surface 43 yards deep, and holes 9 and 18 finish by sharing one huge double green, with 18’s own approach playing into an elevated, marsh-bordered “table-top” target.

The course’s TifEagle Ultra greens are consistently praised for how smoothly they roll, and the layout has picked up real outside recognition over the years — a USA Today Golf Atlas “Top Fifty Course” and a Coastal Carolina Golf Map “Top Twenty Layout.”

Hilton Head National Golf Club, Bluffton, SC

Hilton Head National Golf Course is on Hilton Head National Drive in Bluffton, SC, just over the bridge from Hilton Head Island — a straightforward drive for anyone staying on the island who wants a change of scenery without a long trip. The club is owned and operated by Thistle Hill Properties.