On Location: Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort

You can kayak and canoe its 11-mile lagoon system, bike its shady paths and jog on its flat, hard-packed 3-mile beach, but Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head Island (South Carolina) is a golf resort at its core. A sizeable amount of its 2,000 acres is devoted to three championship golf courses.

A wonderland of moss draped oaks, palmetto trees, tall pines and Atlantic Ocean beaches, Palmetto Dunes is an adroitly designed, self-contained, amenity-rich resort that encourages you to quickly get into relax mode.

Golf is the dominant amenity at the resort, but golfers who are also fitness buffs and nature lovers will enjoy the varied recreation offerings.

GOLF

If you rank Palmetto Dunes' three courses by rounds played, the Robert Trent Jones Course would be number one.

"The Jones Course has the most demand," director of golf Clark Sinclair told me during breakfast at the resort's Big Jim's Restaurant one morning. "but, the Hills and George Fazio are excellent plays as well and they have their own distinct personalities. We take great pride in our course conditioning on all three courses and all offer an exceptional experience. Regardless of the course they choose to play, I don't think they'll be disappointed."

Robert Trent Jones Course--One of Hilton Head Island's most notable courses, this highly ranked gem was originally designed by Robert Trent Jones and later reshaped and restructured by Jones protege Roger Rulewich. The unique design features an amazing lagoon system that comes into play on 11 of the 18 holes. Get your camera out on the par five 10th hole, which has a spectacular backdrop of high dunes speckled with sea oats and the Atlantic Ocean.

Arthur Hills Course--Built on a series of rolling dunes with a fairly constant ocean breeze and water on 10 holes, this layout is challenging, yet playable and enjoyable for mid-handicappers who play the correct set of tees. It plays 6,122 yards from the middle white tees. One of the inspiring features of the overall golf experience is viewing the Historic Leamington Lighthouse, which is located on the course.

George Fazio Course--With its long par fours, this par-70 layout is considered by many as one of the toughest tests on Hilton Head Island and Bluffton. Superbly designed by George Fazio with assistance from his nephew Tom Fazio, this course has innovative bunkering and wonderfully placed water hazards.





ACCOMMODATIONS

One of Palmetto Dunes' great appeals to stay and play golfers are the wide variety of accommodations available. The exceptional rental program features everything from one-bedroom villas to six-bedroom homes.

I stayed in the Queens Grant Villas, which are near the entrance of the resort only a couple of blocks from the Robert Trent Jones clubhouse, General Store and tennis center. Some of the things I liked about my two-bedroom villa were the walk-in shower in the master bedroom, parking space only a few feet from the front door, an outdoor patio with a grill (where Mrs. Guru and I shared a nice chilled bottle of Vinho Verde Portuguese wine one evening after golf), a full-size refrigerator (perfect for storing my Shiner Bock beers) and a fully-equipped kitchen complete with a corkscrew. Other highlights include a community outdoor swimming pool and easy access to bike trails and the beach.

There are a variety of rental villa and home options available with these types of views: Courtyard, golf course, lagoon, marina, near ocean, ocean, oceanfront, pool and resort.

ACTIVITIES

While the golfer in the family is roaming the fairways, spouses and family members who don't play golf have access to a variety of things to do, such as:

Charter deep sea fishing
Inshore fishing
Sport crabbing
Dolphin tours
Nature cruises
Sailing cruises
Bike rentals (on-site)
Private nature tours
Beachfront dining at the Dunes House
Dining at Big Jim's at the Robert Trent Jones Clubhouse
Shopping and dining at Shelter Cove Harbour and Marina (free shuttle bus)
Kayaking and canoeing
Paddleboarding
Tennis
Golf academy

10 Little Things I Liked

1. The vaulted ceiling at my Queen's Grant villa.

2. Easy check-in and check-out at the Welcome Center.

3. The General Store near the Robert Trent Jones clubhouse that has just about everything you need.

4. The flat, hard-packed beach that makes it easy to ride a bike, jog or walk.

5. The spectacular, inspiring ocean view from the 10th green on the Robert Trent Jones Course.

6. Clark Sinclair, the affable and helpful director of golf.

7. The excellent tennis center.

8. The resort's location across the street from the Shelter Cove Harbour, a marina, dining and entertainment complex.

9. The beautiful shaded bike trails that weave throughout the property.

10. The Hilton Head Outfitters, the on-site shop where you can conveniently rent bikes, kayaks and canoes at reasonable prices.

LOCATION

Traveling north or south on I-95, take SC Exit 8 onto Highway 278 East. Proceed about 18 miles. After crossing the bridge onto Hilton Head Island, Palmetto Dunes is situated mid-island at mile marker 8. It is best reached by Highway 278 Business (William Hilton Parkway. At the intersection in front of Palmetto Dunes, use the left turn lanes into the resort. The Welcome Center is the first building on the right.

Nearby areas with excellent courses include Bluffton, situated between the Island and I-95 on Highway 278; Beaufort, 25 miles from the Island and Savannah, 31 miles from Hilton Head.

The Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport is about a one hour drive from Palmetto Dunes (50 miles) and the on-island Hilton Head Airport is six miles from the resort.

Address: 4 Queens Folly Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Toll Free: 800-827-3006
Local: 843-785-9100

STAY AND PLAY

You can customize a golf package by contacting Palmetto Dunes Resort at their website or by calling 866-380-1778. A golf travel company I highly recommend for Hilton Head Island golf packages is Golfpac Travel in Orlando.

On Location: Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas

When I need some serious down time to recover after a trying day on a resort golf course, there are three distinct activities that always seem to work wonders: 

1. Enjoy a frosty brew at the 19th hole. 

2. Luxuriate with a massage at the spa.

3. Get on an inner tube and float down a lazy river at the resort swim complex.

Fortunately, on my recent visit to the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa  in Austin, Texas, all three of the above are possible.


On separate occasions I enjoyed an ice cold Shiner Bock on draft at the resort clubhouse, relaxed with a Colorado River Stone Massage at the resort's Spa Django and cruised down the lazy river at the resort's Crooked River water park pool area.


My golf game was hit and miss at Lost Pines (mostly miss) but I definitely brought my "A" game after my round each day.

What to expect

Lost Pines bills itself as "The luxurious Texas wilderness escape."


Simply put, it delivers on its promise.


You get the immediate sense you're in for some serious luxury escapism when you drive the three mile entrance road to the hotel, which is dubbed "The Decompression Chamber." Framed by yellow, blue, violet and red wildflowers and dense foliage, the drive puts you in a relaxed state of mind before you ever check in.


The Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort & Spa is situated about 13 miles from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and some 20 miles from downtown Austin. While you're only thirty minutes from all of Austin's legendary nightlife and live music bars, you feel like your hundreds of miles away at the resort.


Situated on 405 acres of tree dotted and wildflower laced terrain along the banks of the Colorado River, the resort adjoins the 1,100-acre McKinney Roughs Nature Park.


The 492-room hotel has luxury amenities like a full-service spa, 18-hole championship golf course (Wolfdancer Golf Club), fine dining room, expansive water park pool complex and retail shops.


If you're looking for a "soft adventure luxury experience", you'll find everything you need at Lost Pines. Everything from archery, ziplining, kayaking and rock climbing to horseback riding, hiking, rafting and biking are on the recreation menu along with tennis and jogging.


Better still, after a long day of the activity of your choice, you return to a luxurious room with plush European style bedding, bathrobes, complimentary designer toiletries, an HD flat screen television and other amenities.


Here's my Top 10 random thoughts and observations of things I liked on  my visit:


1. Tony, the friendly and helpful starter who puts you in good mood before ever stick the first peg in the ground.
2. The brightly colored wild flowers that frame many of the tee boxes and fairways making it an enjoyable way to spend four or five hours no matter how you're playing.
3. The fire pits, where you can sit around and ponder your enviable surroundings.
4.  Great sunrises.
5. The amiable, unpretentious staff that delivers reliable Texas-friendly hospitality.
6. The phenomenal grilled pork chop I had at Firewheel Cafe that was sauteed in brown sugar and glazed with housemade BQ sauce.
7. The toe tapping Texas swing music emanating from the speakers on the clubhouse veranda and at the driving range. Let's face it, "Asleep at the Wheel" always puts you in a good mood.
8. The huge portions in the Major Neighbors Grill at the clubhouse. I think I must've eaten the largest club sandwich in the world after my round on my second day.
9. The Amaretto scented ice towels the golf course ambassador hands you to cool down.
10. The rocking chairs on the veranda clubhouse, which do wonders to help you de-stress and forget about the outside world. Once you sit in one, you won't want to leave.

Golf course review


Marketers prone to hyperbole typically boast their golf course has no two holes that are alike.

At Los Pines' Wolfdancer Golf Club it's actually true.


Designers Arthur Hills/Steve Forrest and Associates masterfully created 18 different tests of skill  on the 7,205 yard layout that offers three distinct terrains: undulating prairie land, a densely wooded ridgeline and a river valley peppered with native pecan trees.


For example, the par threes range from the 155 yard No. 12, the signature hole, to the 233 yard No. 4. I could play No. 12 eighteen times in a row and enjoy every minute of it. You hit a sand wedge or pitching wedge from an exaggerated elevated tee to a kidney shaped green framed by a huge tree and wildflowers on the left and a greenside bunker on the right. Watching my ball soar through the blue Texas sky to land about ten feet from the hole made the trip worthwhile.


My favorite hole based on design and playability, not the snowman on my scorecard, is number three, a mammoth par five that plays 603 yards from the black (championship) tees, 581 yards from the blues, 556 yards from the whites and 518 yards from the greens.  From an elevated tee, it seems like there are more bunkers than green grass in the landing area. Hills and his designers put lots of thought into where to strategically place the bunkers to make the hole thoroughly challenging.


When you're on the tee you can hardly count all the fairway bunkers. Interestingly, when you walk off the green and look back down the fairway, the bunkers have disappeared. Hills designed them that way.


From the black tees, Wolfdancer has a 137 slope rating. The blue tees measure 6,836 yards with a 130 slope rating and the white tees, ideal for most weekend golfers, measures 6,314 yards with a 128 slope rating.


There are no homes on the course and a few holes on the back nine weave past the resort's tennis courts and swimming pool, but the rest of the time you get a sense of isolation and seclusion amid  inspiring Texas wilderness.


Beyond the course, the practice area is exceptional. Situated away from the clubhouse in a somewhat secluded area, it has 10 target greens, short game area with two chipping greens and bunkers and practice putting green.

Spa overview


The 18,000 square-foot Django Spa is named after gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. It's full-service in every way with an extensive menu of massages, wraps, scrubs, facials and other treatments. I had the Colorado River Rock Massage, which is 90 minutes of pure relaxation pleasure. If you want to forget double bogeys and shanked five irons, this treatment will do the trick.


Dining overview


For a resort its size, Lost Pines has an impressive list of dining options.The line-up includes Stories, a gourmet room offering patio seating; Firewheel Cafe, a casual restaurant designed to please everybody from discerning diners to to kids who just want something good to eat and Old Buck's Place, a poolside grill and bar.  As a golfer, I obviously had my lunches at Major Neighbor's Grill at the clubhouse. The two items I ordered on successive days, the Cobb Salad and Club Sandwich, were excellent clubhouse fare.

Service overview


You'll get a generous helping of folksy Texas hospitality at Lost Pines, which has a well-trained staff. The golf course cart guys, starter and ambassadors, in particular, do a great job of making you feel welcome. As a first-time resort guest, I sometimes wander aimlessly searching for the range or the first tee. At Wolfdancer, the staff is always one step ahead of you making sure you always know where you're going and making you feel like a member for a day rather than a resort interloper. At the hotel, the service is a comfortable combination of excellent corporate training and Texas friendliness.


Local knowledge


--There are 54 golf courses within an hour's drive of the resort.


--Phenomenal barbecue is everywhere in the Austin area. I highly recommend Bennie's, a small family owned place with outdoor dining that's located about 5 minutes from Lost Pines. Try the combo platter with sausage and sliced beef. Yes, there really is a Bennie. And yes, it's real good. I still have the sauce stains on my golf shirt to prove it. In town, a couple of the many great barbecue places are Franklin Barbecue on East 11th Street and Rudy's on Research Boulevard.

--Check out the historical sights in the nearby town of Bastrop, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and bills itself as "The Most Historic Small Town in Texas."