Update on my trip to Hilton Head

[jeffreydan32]

First let me say Hilton Head is a very nice place and very laid back. My wife and I stayed for 6 days and had a great time. The food was wonderful!

 

First day of the tournament for D flight was held at Dolphin Head Golf Course. Pretty nice course but a little tight with lots of trees and houses. I had heard crazy stories from some of the guys on my tour about getting paired up with some not so fun guys through the years. I was a little nervous about that but soon as I met my playing partners I could tell they were good dudes.

 

Our first hole was a 190 yard par 3. Of course, yours truly, has to go first. Man I was so nervous that I could see the shaft of my club shaking. Without many details(the hole was awful for me) I tripled the first hole. Next hole was a par 5 and I made par so that helped calm my nerves some. The next hole was a short dog leg right par 4 with water next to the tee box. I'm walking up to tee my ball and one of the guys says look at that gator! He was just chilling in the water but what if he was hungry? I just knew dude was going to come up in my back swing and chew my foot off. I went on to double that hole.

 

I went on to shoot 101 on the first day. My cart partner shot 105, another guy 105 and the leader after day one, who was in our group, shot an 86. I got to the hotel and looked up the leader board. I was in 75th out of 122 players so I wasn't to upset. I had two goals - have fun no matter what and make the top 50.

 

I was watching the weather pretty close because it looked like Saturday would get rained out. I was pretty bummed about the idea of not getting to play a full 3 days. I get up Saturday morning and its raining but not to bad. I thought I was prepared for the rain because I had bought a 29.99 rain suit from Amazon. It was still in the package so before I left the hotel I thought it would be a good idea to open it up and make sure everything was good. I had ordered XL and the jacket looked like 4xl but I had my trusty work jacket pullover for a back up so no big deal. The pants, I kid you not, were at best a men's small. I mean these dudes were never getting over my golf pants. So I had the bright idea of cutting the elastic waist band a little to loosen em up. As soon as I put my leg in the cut I made tore all the way down to my foot. Kind of getting of to a bad start if you know what I mean.

 

I have my wife drive me over to the course to drop me off. She says just buy some rain gear in the pro shop. We were playing at Robert Trent Jones in Palmetto Dunes so I figured a rain suit there would be 500.00. I went inside and asked if they had any rain pants around. They had one pair of Adidas 2x for 90.00. They were huge so I passed, I would later regret that. Its still a light rain but everyone is talking and saying there is a tropical storm coming and no way we can finish. I meet my playing partners and once again its a cool group of guys. Get to the first tee and the wind is blowing at about 25 mph. We could barely hold our balance on the tee box.

 

I get off the box and leave myself a gap wedge to the green. I come up short, chip up and one putt to make par. Next hole is a par 3 over water and the wind is getting it. I try and hold off the wind but it goes right and ends up in some deep rough. I would go on to triple that hole. After that I went on to make 3 pars and two bogeys. We started on hole 11 and when we got to 17 I was soaking wet from head to toe. I would have to take my hat off when I hit because the water was running out of the bill on to the ground by my ball. My shoes had started filling up with water and I was starting to get pretty cold but for some reason I was hitting it very good. I hadn't missed a fairway and besides the bone headed play on the par 3 I had made some really nice approach shots.

 

Get to 18 and its raining so hard you can't hardly see. We all try and tee off but it was horrible. When we can see the green its under water and finally they tell us to come in. They say don't leave because it may blow over. About an hour later they tell us they are calling it and come back to that same course Sunday and it will be a two day tournament. I call my wife to come get me and when I get in the car she's so happy about my play. At this time I had never looked at the scoreboard for Saturday. She handed me her phone and said look, I had moved up to 20th place. She was all excited and we were laughing and high fiving and then I had to tell her that the score wouldn't count and I had to start back over in 75th place on Sunday. Who cares though, I was soaking wet and still having fun!

 

Come back Sunday and my driver was good buy my iron play was pretty bad. I would go on to shoot a smooth 100 but I did finish on a good note. Our last hole, a par 5, looked out over the ocean and it was beautiful. I parred(sp) that hole to finish the tournament. There was like 8 of us tied with the same score total so I'm not sure how they determined your finishing place but I finished 64th. Overall I wasn't to upset how I played with all the issues I have with nerves. It was very fun and I hope to qualify for it again next year.

 

Yesterday was the first time I have played since being back. I shot 47 on the front and 42 on the back. I started the back out with 5 pars in a row then made a bogey, triple, double and par to finish. I had so many what if's yesterday.........hope ya'll have a great week!

[jholz]

I had a great time playing Heron Point several years ago. Liked the golf, but can't say I cared much for the "Hilton Head Experience". It's pretty obvious that they know they have you trapped on an island, and they act accordingly.

[Oh Hi Carl]

Have had many fun family vacations on HHI. (Lots of people from Ohio,and I've never figured out why.) Would like to play Dolphin Head some time.

[GolfChannel]

I frequent Hilton Head a lot. My uncle is part of the ownership group for the SERG restaurant’s so we pretty much go up there for every major holiday and golf, fish, and eat ourselves to death.

 

There are only a few courses I haven’t got on yet and that’s mainly because they are private. Still trying to get a round in on the Confederate.

[jonsnow]

> @"Sonja Henie" said:

> Have had many fun family vacations on HHI. (Lots of people from Ohio,and I've never figured out why.) Would like to play Dolphin Head some time.

 

And Michigan. I go there at least once a year. Seems like at least half the people I meet are from Ohio or Michigan. Lots of them have second homes there or have retired & now live there full time. But it's always those two states...

[GolfChannel]

South Carolina, just north of Savannah. I spend everything Thanksgiving there.

[jimb6golf]

Had a pretty nice trip there a few years ago and played 2 of the Palmetto Dunes course which were really nice. Would like to go back though and play Harbor Town, Heron Point and Atlantic though. They are truly wonderful looking courses and the facilities are terrific as well. Nice area with nice beaches, restaurants, etc. Funny seeing the aligators on the courses too. I enjoyed it.

[BB28403]

It’s alright. Highly South Carolinian. Resorts are ehhh, food is ehhhh. Harbourtown was fun at the PGA event. Locals are well... locals.

i recommend the fresh market in lieu of hotel food. Lol

[david.c.w]

For those ever considering HHI for a family trip (golf or not), I would say it is tough with young children. My wife grew up going there for a yearly summer vacation so she has extremely fond memories. I would say the island is nearly fully developed so most of the lodging is interior and requrires a drive or at the bare minimum a golf cart to get to the beach. My wife's memories are of her and her friend sunning and biking 30 years ago. My memories are trying to carry chairs/coolers/umbrellas/toys/snacks 500 yards in the SC August heat with a 5 and 2 year old in tow.

Would like to go back now that they are 16 and 13 and have more autonomy.

 

BTW, great write up!

[GolfChannel]

I've been going for over 7 years now and I've never actually even been to the beach. There is a lot to do with younger children along the marshland. I highly recommend Skull Creek Boathouse if you want great food, drink, and a place for you to keep the kids occupied while you enjoy them.