Courtesy of Wild Dunes Resort (2)
Wild Dunes Resort in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, is almost finished with the transformation of its Tom Fazio-designed Harbor Course. The $9.5 million investment in strategic golf course design enhancements and sustainable infrastructure will wrap up in October after about eight months.
The Harbor Course has been a centerpiece of the Wild Dunes 36-hole golfing experience for more than four decades. The Fazio Design team, Heritage Links Golf Course Construction and the Wild Dunes Resort Golf Course agronomy team collaborated to rebuild and expand all 18 greens to improve the playability, variety and unique challenge of each golf hole. Several of the course’s bunkers have been reshaped and moved to accommodate modern driving distances and playing areas have been expanded on multiple holes to enhance shot values and strategy.
All of Harbor Course’s tee boxes have been rebuilt, leveled and, in some cases, expanded while the irrigation system has been replaced to help optimize turf conditions and water usage. Holes nearest the intercoastal waterway, which runs alongside the course, were raised several feet to curb flood risk and multiple golf cart bridges have also been restored.
“We’re thrilled about the enhancements to the Harbor Course, which have elevated the overall experience for our players,” director of golf Jeff Minton said. “When the Harbor Course reopens in late October, golfers can look forward to newly designed putting surfaces that will challenge their skills, smoother upgraded golf cart paths and strategically placed bunkers thoughtfully integrated into the existing hole designs. When you factor in the 2015 renovation of our Links Course” — Fazio’s first solo golf course design and still his only seaside design — “Wild Dunes Resort is now a must-play 36-hole coastal golf destination.”
Wild Dunes leadership, golf and hospitality staffs will host a grand reopening event at the Harbor Course on November 13, with tee times resuming for the renovated par-70 layout on October 26.
“We cannot wait for golfers to experience the improved character of the Harbor Course with the expanded and redesigned putting surfaces and a golf course that fits the land beautifully while presenting a playable, approachable design that can test golfers of every skill level in fun and intriguing ways,” Fazio design associate Bryan Bowers said. “Wild Dunes is meaningful because it represents the early era of Tom Fazio’s design career and stands the test of time with an enduring and quintessential Lowcountry golf experience.”
