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4.3
384 Reviews (384)
5 Stars
187
4 Stars
149
3 Stars
36
2 Stars
7
1 Stars
5
Conditions
4.3
Value
4.4
Layout
4.4
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
4.2
Amenities
3.8
92.2%
Recommend this course
354 out of 384 reviews
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2 Stars
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Value
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Layout
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Friendliness
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Pace
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Amenities
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About

Holes 18
Type Private
Par 72
Length 6606 yards
Slope 140
Rating 72.7

Course Details

Year Built 1974
Fairways Celebration Bermuda Grass
Greens Mini-Verde Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Gary Player (1974) Ron Kirby (1974) Clyde Johnston (2010) Brad Bartell

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes
Pull-carts Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes
Dress code Proper attire is required.

Accolades

Reviews

4.3
384 Reviews (384)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 11
Course Challenges Include:
Water Hazards 32
Bunkers 31
Undulating Greens 17
This course/club is great for:
Locals 22
Seniors 22
Advanced Golfers 20
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 15
At a Resort 13
Near Local Attractions 12

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

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.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 78
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 500 Contributor
Previously Played

Bring your game!!

Dolphin Head is one the most challenging courses I play on HHI. The course has a great variety of holes, tough rough and demanding greens. Fairways are well kept and fair and the traps are well maintained.
If you want to use every club in your bag this course is for you.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 21
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
North Carolina Advisor
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Nice course for every golfer

Course is solid if unspectacular. Had recently punched greens, and they were pretty slow, but rolled well, not bumpy. Layout is on the easy side with more generous landing areas than many area courses, and not very lengthy. Good course for varied levels of player. I played the tips and it wasn't especially challenging, but I enjoyed the round. All 4 par 5s easily reachable, but two are water carry, risk/reward shots.

Played late afternoon, and got good attention from the staff, and the pace of play was stellar...3 hours 15 minutes for the wife and I...thanks to two foursomes letting us play through promptly.

Value is so-so, as there are better layouts that cost a little less, but may not be quite as well manicured, and there are courses with better conditions, but they generally cost more.

All in all, a solid place to play, that is playable for any level golfer.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Dolphin Head

This was my first trip to
Hilton Head. I never played on Bermuda grass before. It was very enjoyable experience . I would recommend this course to anyone

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

One of my favs

I really like this course. It is always in good shape, the greens are challenging, and the layout is fun and fair. It was cart path only and a little soggy for this round, but that didnt affect us much. Pace of play was great - after the first tee, we never had to wait. Cant wait to play here again and bring a friend.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Unseen hazards are abundant if your not straight

Range has nice artificial mat and max yardage of 225 so no warming up the driver. Course has came back nicely from seasonal airation. Give yourself some time to drive to course from front gate. 25 mph and it's back there! Alligators were of plenty and one par 3 had a eagle eye hole in one registry with camera for cash prizes. 1st time seeing that. Would live to play again now that I know where the bunkers and water are. Scorecard map keeps these hazards a secret.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 47
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

Much nicer than I remembered.

I played this course once last year and remembered how many alligators I saw on it. Did not see any this time but was shocked at how well maintained and scenic this course is. If it had not been for the rain that ended my round at hole 15 it would have been a great day. Greens were aeriated 2-3 weeks ago and other than being able to see where they were punched they still rolled nicely and were not to hard or to soft. I will defiantly be back for the golf not just the gators.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
First Time Playing

Course was nice, on course staff not so much.

First time playing this course, had heard great things about it. Many doglegs on this course which is challenging for first time around. Unfortunately no one in our foursome had played this course before. Conditions were good from tee to green. Greens a little slow from aeration not to long ago.
My 18 year old son and I were paired up with another father and grown son. Behind us were a few twosomes. We let one group go through on a par three as it seemed like the right thing to do. Later on the front nine a ranger asked us to speed it up a bit. We were not setting the course on fire by any means, but were making mostly pars and some bogeys. We were not hacking around nor dawdling around. We finished the front a few minutes over two hours. Not bad for first time on demanding course without local knowledge. The starter was quite unpleasant at the turn, and aggressively indicated that things had to get faster.
I like to play fast, but when pressured to the point of feeling the need to race from one shot to the next, enjoyment oif the round was greatly diminished. We finished the round just over four hours, again not bad for first time on the course.
So overall the course was in my opinion nice but not great. Customer service in the pro shop was very good, but on the course was poor. Don't send out a foursome in front of three twosomes and not expect them to be held up. Would not consider this course if a newer golfer is in the group.
This was the only poor experience we had on any of the courses we played this year on Hilton Head (4 rounds in 6 days). Probably will not look to this course when we come here next time.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Good course.

Great conditions: lush fairways, thick right, greens rolled true and smooth (seemed fully healed from recent aeration). Good value.

Staff friendly but pace of play could have been a bit better. Will play again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great course

Excellent check in and staff. Everything was in great condition. Plenty of tough holes but with many tee choices the course is fair for all golfers. Tee boxes, fairways & greens were all in good shape. Would recommend to anyone. Thank you

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Default User Avatar
Anonymous
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Pleasant experience

Greens were rough due to aeration but everything else was fantastic.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Pleasant first time!

Surprised with the price, but found out it was due to aerated greens. Greens were most of the way back to normal which made the price worth it. Challenging and enjoyed the lay out.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

What an upgrade!

I apologize but I normally don't trash a course but Dolphin Head was 100x better then the course we played the day before.(Rose Hill). Dolphin Head is the exact opposite ....no dog track here... Gorgeous fairways cut like a carpet, bunkers raked, greens rolling true, and the service nice and friendly. The layout was tremendous and offered 5-6 different tees to play from. I could play my typical white tees while my boys blasted by me from the tips. I understand they did slot of work to get the course back in playing shape after the hurricane so major KUDOS for that ! I definetly recommend this course. It's a must play and a great value for the money! Fooooore!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great golf course

We were a 2 some and every group ahead of us let us play through. Finished he round in under 3 hours.

Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

From tee to green (no complaints). Everyone was extremely friendly from the time I got out of my car to the first tee (first class service). Course was in great shape. Greens were true but not overly fast. However, the starter offer sound advice...keep ball below the hole. I should have listen! Punishing, if you were out of position (my fault). Overall, it was a wonderful golf experience. Course wasn't overly difficult, but it did challenge your skill set. I would certainly play there again!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Wet weather
Used cart

Hidden gem

Located on the far north end of the island, it takes a little time to get to Dolphin Head. But it is worth the drive. A very well kept, tree-lined course with great views. Tees, fairways, rough and greens were all in excellent shape when I played. The layout is a good mix of doglegs and straight holes, although wayward shots can get you in trouble on most holes. I mostly enjoyed the peacefulness. You aren't surrounded with houses and patios. You rarely hear anything but the sounds of nature. Skip the higher priced courses and drive out to this diamond in the rough.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 33
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Pleasantly surprised!

This is hidden gem that is tucked back into a private community. I was pleasantly surprised by this course, it was in amazing shape!

The driving range is short, only 220 max - luckily I had already played earlier that morning at another course, so I didn't need to warm up. I would have been bummed out if this was my first round of the day.

This was my first time playing, but it will not be my last! I look forward to returning.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Course layout

A lot of similar par 4's. This course could use some variation. Greens were in great shape.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
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Golf Packages

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FROM $137 (USD)
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC | Enjoy up to 7 nights’ accommodations at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort and up to 5 rounds of golf at your choice of Palmetto Dunes – Robert Trent Jones Course, Palmetto Dunes – Arthur Hills Course, Palmetto Dunes – George Fazio Course, and Hilton Head National Golf Club.

The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa Stay & Play Package

FROM $207 (USD)
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Oyster Reef Golf Course, Robber’s Row Course, Barony Course, and The Shipyard Golf Course.

Sea Pines Resort Stay & Play Package

FROM $217 (USD)
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC | Enjoy up to 7 nights’ accommodations at the Sea Pines Resort and up to 5 rounds of golf at your choice of Harbour Town Golf Links, Atlantic Dunes Golf Course, and Heron Point Course.

The Villas at Kiawah Island Stay & Play Package

FROM $177 (USD)
KIAWAH ISLAND, SC | Enjoy up to 7 nights’ accommodations in a 1 to 4-bedroom unit at The Villas of Kiawah Island and up to 5 rounds of golf on your choice of Kiawah Island - Cougar Point, Kiawah Island - Osprey Point, Kiawah Island - Oak Point, Kiawah Island - Turtle Point, and Kiawah Island - The Ocean Course.

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FROM $337 (USD)
KIAWAH ISLAND, SC | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at The Sanctuary Hotel and up to 4 rounds of golf on your choice of Kiawah Island - Cougar Point, Kiawah Island - Osprey Point, Kiawah Island - Oak Point, Kiawah Island - Turtle Point, and Kiawah Island - The Ocean Course.
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