Heron Point by Pete Dye

In 2007 Pete Dye tore the former Sea Marsh course down to the dirt and rebuilt it as Heron Point, a par-72 layout that carries his fingerprints on every hole—railroad-tie edges, sharp mounding, swales that shrug approach shots away from the flag. Set inland among pines and lagoons rather than on the water, it plays as a Lowcountry parkland test with water pressed tight against fairways and greens. Dye sets the risk-reward equation early and never lets up, moving the short grass toward and away from trouble to make you choose a side.

The result is the quiet workhorse of Sea Pines' three courses—less famous than Harbour Town, but a genuine ball-striker's examination that stretches past 7,000 yards from the Dye tees. The par 3s are the calling card, ranging from a stout 239-yarder to a delicate short hole guarded by water, so a player's iron game is tested at every length. It is the round to book when you want Dye's ideas without the tournament-week crowds.

7

The Bulkhead Par 3

Heron Point's par 3s are its calling card, and the 7th is the picture of Pete Dye's hand—a shallow green perched behind a timber bulkhead and a broad sweep of raked sand, framed by tall pines. There's no ground route in; the tee shot has to carry the whole way to a surface that shrugs anything long or short back into trouble. Miss it and the up-and-down is pure Dye theater.