May River Golf Club

350 Mount Pelia Rd,

Bluffton, South Carolina SC 29910

  • Office

    +1 (866) 706 6565
  • Pro shop

    +1 (843) 706 6580
  • Fax

    +1 (843) 706 6550
  • Golf pro

    Greg Wrobel (PGA, Lead Instructor).

About the course

  • The Course:

    18 holes. Tree-lined & open parkland. Gently undulating terrain - easy to walk.

  • Surroundings:

    Woodland and river wetlands.

  • Designer:

    Jack Nicklaus

Back
tees
Club
tees
Front
tees
Yards
7171
6065
5168
Par
72
72
72
SSS or slope
75.6
70.7
70.3

Location

Latitude:

32.210125

Longitude:

-80.885374

How to get there:

8 miles W of Hilton Head Island

Approx 20 miles north of Savannah, leave I-95 at exit 8 and follow Hwy 278 direction Hilton Head Island. After approx 8 miles turn right onto SC 170 (Okatie Hwy). After approx 4 miles at first stop sign turn left onto SC 46 (May River Road). After approx 2 miles the entrance to Palmetto Bluff will be on your right. Proceed to Welcome Gate.

May River Golf Club

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.

Est. 2004

Set within the 20,000 acre river-island of Palmetto Bluff, May River Golf Club is home to a highly-rated 18-hole Jack Nicklaus design. Weaving through the May River forest, the layout features several holes that sidle alongside or have you putting out on the banks of the river.

Wide inviting fairways are strategically bunkered and on many occasions feature expansive natural waste areas. Your nerves will be tested on the approach shots; the Bermuda-grassed greens are well guarded by white-sand bunkers and feature gentle undulating slopes to thoroughly challenge your putting skills.

The back-nine features an equal number of par-3s, 4s and 5s, as the layout glides through the wonderfully natural environment. The pick of the holes, like the par-5 10th and par-3 14th, open out onto May River. Golfers are encouraged to walk the course with a caddie, to best appreciate the majesty of the century-old live oaks and the inherent beauty of the South Carolina lowcountry landscape.

Stay&Play on Palmetto Bluff: luxury nearby accommodation available, see Where2Stay section below.

List of courses: Hilton Head, SC

Visitors

Who can play and when?

Visitors welcome on weekdays and weekends.

Must book in advance.

Green fees

Resort guest fee, 18-holes, peak rate in high season (Apr thru' June; Sept thru' Dec): $315; includes walking caddie or cart with forecaddie.

Credit cards accepted. Contact club for full details, discounts, Stay&Play packages, etc. [Last updated: 2018].

Other information

Walking caddie or cart + forecaddie are compulsory for visitors.

Practice facilities

Excellent

Did you know?

May River Golf Club is located on a 20,000-acre tract of land known as Palmetto Bluff. The Bluff extends from the headwaters of the May River near the town of Bluffton; to the east lie Bull and Daufuskie Islands across the Cooper River; ancient freshwater rice fields of the New River lie along its western edge. The land mass defined by these three historic rivers is thus a natural island, and that is surely one of the reasons it remains so pristine today. In addition to being home to the May River Golf Club and Palmetto Bluff Inn & Spa, the area of Palmetto Bluff is home to a thriving residential community with waterfront and golf course homesites.

Published ranking

South Carolina: 11th best course in S.C. (Golf Digest, 2023/24).
USA: 51st best public course in the USA (Golf Digest, 2023).

Where2Stay

  • Montage, Palmetto Bluff Inn & Cottages

    477 Mount Pelia Road, Bluffton, SC 29910

    +1 (843) 706 6500

    Visit website

    Montage Palmetto Bluff is nestled along the May River in the Lowcountry of South Carolina between Hilton Head Island and Savannah. Set within an award winning 20,000 acre community, the resort encompasses an extensive nature preserve, walking trails, a vibrant village, marina, restaurants, and a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course. Accommodations include guest rooms and suites in The Inn, spacious cottages and village homes that all pay homage to the region’s rich heritage.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      May River (0.4 mi)

    • Golf within 5 miles:

      No

    • Golf within 20 miles:

      Old South; Hilton Head National; Crescent Pointe; Eagle's Point; Old Carolina.

  • Fairfield Inn - Bluffton

    105 Okatie Center Blvd N, Bluffton, SC 29910

    +1 (843) 705 2300

    Visit website

    The Fairfield Inn Hilton Head Bluffton is centrally located between Beaufort, Parris Island, historic Savannah and Hilton Head Island (which is 8 miles further on along Hwy 278). DIRECTIONS : From I-95 take exit 8 and head east on Hwy 278, direction Hilton Head Island. After approx 8 miles, turn left onto Hwy 170. At Stop sign, turn left. Hotel is on your left in Okatie Center.

    • Golf at this hotel:

      No

    • Golf within 5 miles:

      Eagle's Point; Old Carolina.

    • Golf within 20 miles:

      May River; Crescent Pointe; Hilton Head Natl.; Old South; Country Club of Hilton Head; Oyster Reef; Palmetto Hall (2 courses); Golden Bear at Indigo Run; Palmetto Dunes (3 courses); Port Royal (3 courses); Sea Pines (2 courses); Harbour Town.

Find a course

Or

Tournaments

The Masters: The 88th Masters Tournament at Augusta National sees LIV golfer Jon Rahm defend his title against the world’s best. Pressing hard will be world No.1 and 2022 champion Scottie Scheffler and world No.2 Rory McIlroy (April 11-14).

Chevron Championship: the women’s major championship season gets underway for the second year at its new Carlton Woods home outside Houston, Texas. World No.2 Lilia Vu defends (April 18-21).

Who's Who

Nelly Korda: records a perfect start to 2024 with five wins out of her last five starts on the LPGA Tour. Winning the Chevron Championship also brought the second major championship win of her career.

Scottie Scheffler: narrowly missed out on matching Nelly Korda's five wins in five starts, when he placed second at the Houston Open. Either side of that, he won The Arnold Palmer, The Players, and then The Masters and The Heritage.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

Popular videos

You can subscribe to the Where2Golf channel on YT if you like to see more video content. You'll find a "Subscribe" button on any of our YouTube videos. Or if you want a quick and direct access subscribe here. Once done, any new published videos will show up in your Subscriptions feed.

Hamburger GC - Falkenstein, Germany

WINSTONgolf - Links course

Littlestone Golf Club (Kent, UK)