Robert Trent Jones Course ranked among America’s “Most Improved Golf Courses” (2024)

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In the Golfers' Choice 2021ranking of America’s “Top 25 Most Improved Golf Courses,” the Robert TrentJones Golf Course at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort was rated No. 14.

“2020 has energized morepeople to get outside and try new activities such as golf, and that heightenedinterest has carried into 2021 which has been great for our courses at PalmettoDunes,” said Palmetto Dunes Director of Golf Clark Sinclair.

Relied on by recreationalgolfers for its 1-million-plus, user-generated golf course reviews and experttravel content, Golf Advisor recently completed its integration to GolfPass,the sport’s most comprehensive digital destination and membership program. TheGolfers’ Choice lists — recognizing top courses in 10 categories as determinedby golfers who shared their reviews throughout the previous year — are revealedeach January and are Golf Advisor’s most popular lists.

About the Robert Trent JonesCourse at Palmetto Dunes, the raters wrote: “Tee to green in great shape,including bunkers. Friendly staff, great selection in the clubhouse.”

“We all love a comeback story,especially in a dizzying 2020,” wrote GolfPass. “As businesses everywhereadjusted to a new normal and COVID-19 restrictions, some golf course operatorswere able to not just stay open but thrive. The following 25 courses earnedhigher ratings in 2020 than they did in 2019. By reading your course reviews,we can see clues as to what was the spark that caused the turnaround. In somecases, the improvement is thanks to new ownership or management. Other times,new greens or a clubhouse is to thank. Sometimes it's as simple as betterweather helping a course thrive. Regardless, we love seeing signs ofpositivity.

For more than 50 years,Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort has stood as one of the premier golfingdestinations in the southeast. All three golf courses at Palmetto Dunes — eachone distinctively different and uniquely appealing — have been named the “SouthCarolina Golf Course of the Year.”

The oldest and mostplayer-friendly of the trio is the Robert Trent Jones Course, which winds itsway through an 11-mile network of navigable lagoons and along the island's mainthoroughfare, U.S. 278. Its signature hole —the par-five10th, which was named a South Carolina Dream Hole —offers sweeping viewsof the Atlantic Ocean and is widely considered one of the most spectacularholes in the United States. One of only two oceanfront holes on Hilton HeadIsland, the course’s dramatic 10th delights golfers of every skill level.

An extensive renovation of the JonesOceanfront Course involved reshaping and restructuring tees, greens andbunkers. Workers also elevated and reshaped the fairways, and improved naturaldrainage with the addition of the unique, 11-mile lagoon system that weaves itsway through and around all three golf courses.

Adding a set of junior or “short course” teesto the Jones Oceanfront Course’s layout enabled the resort to launch thePalmetto Dunes Junior Golf Academy and underscored Greenwood’s commitment tothe next generation of golfers. The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program forGolf Courses, an Audubon International program, has also designated the coursea “Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary” for its commitment to providing asanctuary for wildlife.

“2020 was a remarkable yearfor the game and that was reflected in the more than 265,000 reviews wereceived, a 72 percent increase year over year,” said Brandon Tucker, seniormanaging editor for GolfPass. “The golf courses that were able to navigate thepandemic and still provide a safe and exemplary experience were rewarded bygrateful golfers who found a refuge at their facility and thanked them fortheir efforts.”

Unlike golf course rankingspublished by industry insiders who have access to golf courses the public maynever have the opportunity to play, Golf Advisor’s Golfers’ Choice lists aretotally consumer driven – by recreational golfers, for recreational golfers.Ages, handicaps and budgets of golfers using the website run the gamut, so the1-million-plus reviews Golf Advisor has accumulated showcase the golf coursecharacteristics that are the most important to avid golfers across the country.

“The average star rating fromour community was at all-time highs,” Tucker said. “And perhaps due to travelrestrictions and guidelines, local-oriented courses within and near metro areasappeared to score particularly well in this year’s lists.”

More than 4,200 golf courses received theminimum 10 reviews in 2020 to qualify for consideration. All Golfers’ Choicelists are based on more than 265,000 user-generated reviews received throughoutthe year.