George Fazio Golf Course at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort
About
The George Fazio Course is one of three 18-hole golf courses at the Palmetto Dunes Resort, all named after their designer. The public course is considered one of the most difficult championship courses in the area and it is routinely ranked as one of the top 100 courses in America. Palmetto Dunes' Fazio Course is 6,873 yards at its longest tees and it is one of the only par-70 courses in the island of Hilton Head. The course is characterized by long par 4s. Precision is required due to the amount of bunkers and water hazards that come into play. The well-maintained course has Bermuda grass on its fairways and greens.
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gold | 70 | 6873 yards | 74.7 | 144 |
Blue | 70 | 6534 yards | 73.0 | 139 |
White | 70 | 6239 yards | 70.8 | 130 |
White (W) | 70 | 6239 yards | 76.1 | 135 |
Green | 70 | 5478 yards | 67.6 | 117 |
Green (W) | 70 | 5478 yards | 71.6 | 121 |
Red | 70 | 5104 yards | 65.5 | 114 |
Red (W) | 70 | 5104 yards | 69.2 | 120 |
Black | 70 | 3384 yards |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gold M: 74.2/145 | 432 | 562 | 412 | 205 | 389 | 180 | 414 | 431 | 421 | 3446 | 513 | 394 | 387 | 386 | 185 | 445 | 425 | 230 | 462 | 3427 | 6873 |
Blue M: 72.5/142 | 393 | 522 | 412 | 195 | 372 | 167 | 374 | 422 | 409 | 3266 | 513 | 376 | 364 | 366 | 164 | 414 | 416 | 210 | 445 | 3268 | 6534 |
White M: 71.0/136 W: 77.2/142 | 385 | 487 | 396 | 190 | 364 | 156 | 359 | 421 | 385 | 3143 | 485 | 364 | 319 | 354 | 150 | 410 | 403 | 187 | 424 | 3096 | 6239 |
Green M: 67.8/124 W: 73.0/134 | 365 | 453 | 351 | 164 | 289 | 130 | 332 | 346 | 356 | 2786 | 446 | 304 | 300 | 272 | 141 | 377 | 351 | 126 | 375 | 2692 | 5478 |
Red M: 65.6/118 W: 70.8/131 | 355 | 412 | 282 | 137 | 295 | 100 | 320 | 342 | 321 | 2564 | 438 | 278 | 275 | 263 | 123 | 342 | 349 | 122 | 350 | 2540 | 5104 |
Black W: 64.2/116 | 181 | 268 | 192 | 137 | 185 | 100 | 203 | 90 | 195 | 1551 | 316 | 191 | 217 | 167 | 123 | 175 | 230 | 122 | 292 | 1833 | 3384 |
Handicap | 5 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 18 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 4 | |||
Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
Handicap (W) | 3 | 13 | 11 | 15 | 5 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 4 |
Course Details
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Reviewer Photos
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Palmetto Dunes - Fazio, hole 7 Photo submitted by TimGavrichGP on 11/30/2022
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Palmetto Dunes - Fazio, hole 17 Photo submitted by TimGavrichGP on 11/30/2022
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Hole 2 Photo submitted by thegull85 on 07/29/2020
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Hole 7 Photo submitted by thegull85 on 07/29/2020
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Hole 11 Photo submitted by thegull85 on 07/29/2020
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Hole 17 Photo submitted by thegull85 on 07/29/2020
This course has
Friendly staff, affordable greens fees , lots of texture to this course with elevation changes and forced carries. condition was excellent. Highly recommend
'That 70s Golf Course' - a fun throwback
I appreciate when golf courses embrace their history and heritage. That is quite rare among courses built from 1960 onward, but in the case of Palmetto Dunes' Fazio course, opened in 1974, I got the sense that any recent enhancements to the course did a nice job of respecting its vintage, which is admirable. The runway tees, wavy-gravy amoeba-shaped greens and broad bunkering all work together nicely, and there's some good variety to the holes.
I particularly liked 7 and 17, both of which cross one of the canals that wind throughout Palmetto Dunes and are a haven for boaters and kayakers. The long par-3 17th is one of the toughest holes on the island. Finally, I wasn't sure what to expect from the course's Zoysia greens, but they were flawless and fun to putt.
Solid Course - Great Experience - Worth It!
Truly a beautiful course & in great shape for the hot South Carolina summer. Overall great layout & challenging course. Definitely an enjoyable experience and will most certainly be a course on the list for the next trip out east. Our group had a wonderful time as a result of the course conditions, pace of play & superior staff on duty. You can't go wrong picking this course. Would recommend this track to anyone traveling to South Carolina. To sum up our experience in three words @ Palmetto Dunes - Fazio, Beautiful, Difficult, Masterpiece.
Cannot wait to play this course again on our next trip to South Carolina.
The Armbrust Family
Not worth the money
Let me preface this review that it’s my opinion that most of the golf courses around HH are mostly monotonous (narrow w old tall trees shaping the holes, etc) - with that said, there’s nothing special about this place. For the price we paid (400$ for a family of 4, two pre-teens/2 adults twilight time) it was a total rip off.
Thin sand traps (hit a lob wedge, not a high bounce sand wedge), cart paths that haven’t been repaved since the 70s, saw the cart lady once in 18 holes, and clearly the locals (who probably is paid 1/2 of what we paid) were annoyed w our presence (despite finishing in 4hrs).
Those visiting the island, avoid this track.
Nice layout/conditions underwhelming
We decided to checkout the Fazio Course in Palmetto Dunes, as our rental backed up to the 2nd tee box. Benefit was my young son was able to come say hi before we tees of on #2. Overall, we really enjoyed the layout and was certainly a challenging course. However, the course conditions were underwhelming for a $113 rate. Clumps of grass clippings all over the course in the rough. Greens were SLOW since they leave the type of grass longer in the summer heat. I would imagine that the course plays much tougher when the greens are mowed to a proper height.
Additionally, didn’t see a ranger once to keep pace of play. Had 2 groups of 4 in front of us, playing a scramble, that were so beyond drunk, it Took FOREVER. Front 9 was about 2:15 to get around. Back took well over 3 hours. First group had an entire hole open in front of them, then the second group was nearly 2 holes behind them! Understand we are mostly all on vacation, but it should never take this long.
Surprised to see this course had higher course/slope ratings than the RTJ track, which I though played much tougher.
Great round
What a place to play. Great people all around so friendly and helpful. Course in great shape. Played 18 holes in 2.5 hours as a twosome. So fun. Saw cart girl 3-4 times each side. So Fun!!!!!
Good golf
Played here after playing the Hills course, enjoyed the Hills course more than the Fazio a couple of good holes on the back nine stand out numbers 16 and 17. The greens were very good as was the condition of the course.
Great lay out
The Fazio course played tough with elevated greens and pins tucked in tight behind bunkers. The greens rolled great so once you got in the putting surface you could get up and down with ease. The course doesn’t have a driving range so you can go to Robert Trent to warm up or hit the birdie balls they have to warm up! The staff at the course are very helpful and nice. Will definitely be back to this course!
Fazio front 9
Just got time to play the front nine at Fazio as I had my family on vacation in Palmetto Dunes. Staff and course conditions were great. Certainly enjoyed the layout and will play again the next time I am down.
Favorite Course
I am a resident at Hhi and I have played many courses here. It is the best of the three Palmetto Dune courses.
Amazing staff and so great for families!
What a great team! For several years I have brought my three sons to play 9 holes (~7x now) and the staff there are so kind and welcoming. They even have a cart with two rows and four bag holders! They have kid’s tees on every hole, they offer special pricing for children, and they treat the kids like adults which makes the kids feel so special. This year, a quick rainstorm came in on our 4th hole, and when we got back in, they refunded 100% of the money without me even asking for it. What great customer service and how refreshing to see a course thinking about the long-term relationship and not just our one-day visit! I recommend them highly!
Nice layout but could have been in better condition
Fazio did a nice job with this piece of land, the layout will keep you interested no matter your handicap. I was surprised by how wide most of the fairways were though as I was told what a tough course this is. Don’t get me wrong it is tough with a lot of forced carries, out of bounds and water hazards throughout. But from the tee box there weren’t too many holes where you were shaking in your boots. As for the conditions, a few of the tee boxes were a little chewed up and the greens were extremely slow. I understand they had punched them a week or two before, so that may be why they were slow. I might be in the minority here but I enjoyed playing the Jones course more than this one. Also, like at a different course we played earlier this week, the staff was good and bad. The gentleman in the pro shop was fantastic and very helpful as was the starter but two employees sitting in carts in the parking lot didn’t want anything to do with us and were not helpful at all when we were asking them about going to the Jones course to hit range balls. It was like we were putting them out by asking them this one simple question. Anyway, I would recommend this course to anyone looking for a round of golf on Hilton Head Island but if I had my choice I would play the Jones course first
Excellent course
This is another excellent course amongst the collection at Palmetto Dunes. The layout is very friendly to the medium to high handicap golfer (wide fairways and greens, not too much water about) but also poses enough challenges to the low handicapper to keep them interested. In that respect, it differs from the Hills course which I found to be the most challenging of the three we played this week.
I have a small preference for the RTJ course as it seemed a little more aesthetically pleasing but the Fazio layout stands up well overall. The big downer for me is the lack of a range to warm up on. I find it very difficult to play well without hitting at least a few range balls and unfortunately there aren't any good options at the Fazio course - there is a small area where you are allowed to hit soft balls with a wedge and maybe there is the option to pop over to the RTJ range which isn't too far away? I don't know about that one.
The staff were reasonably friendly but weren't as welcoming as the RTJ course a couple of days earlier.
Personally
Lesson from George Spinella
Scheduled a lesson with Club Pro George Spinella. To say I was impressed and pleased with my experience would be an understatement. George evaluated my needs and made extra effort to address those needs. He is very thorough and puts things in such a way anyone could understand. I will be a much better player after incorporating his instruction into my game. I totally recommend George to help with your game.
Play somewhere else
My son and I played today. The rate was a little higher than others for an afternoon round. I expected more from a resort course. First thing you notice is the cart paths are in awful shape, torn up in many spots. The grass in fringe areas was very spotty. Landscaping was subpar. The layout was decent, very resort-like. They put these plastic liners in the cups rather than using spray paint. They were frequently above ground so we had to fix the holes several times. Once it was completely out of the cup. GPS system on the carts was very nice and accurate, but big brother decided that a few fairways were off limits so the cart would stop and angrily beep at you. Do yourself a fa or and play Dolphin Head or Oyster Reef. Great courses and nicer experience.
A great second option at Palmetto Dunes
What a great second option at Palmetto Dunes. Obviously the RTJ course is the best simply because of the oceanfront views, however I think that the course layout and course conditions are better at the George Fazio course. There is water on the course and tight fairways. There is no way to ''grip it and rip it''. The approach shots are very hard especially with the winds with the nearby ocean. Even though that you can not see the ocean you can definetly smell the salt in the air. The clubhouse for all the coureses is buetifuel and the practice facility is one to none. The food in the clubhouse was also pretty good and the staff was freindly. Overall I loved the whole expierence.
Great layout but greens in very poor state
I love this course. I play here almost every year. Fantastic layout but the conditions were at best average. I live in Pittsburgh and for $80, you can play very nice courses in great conditions. Fairways and tee boxes were great, bunkers lacked a little bit of sand so you had to adjust but the greens were sandy, the grass was so long that my putter was moving when I was resting it down and so slow that it was impossible to make anything longer than 10-15 feet without getting lucky. Good luck if you have to put more than 25 feet. Disappointing and it is a shame for this kind of course. I played the 3 courses at Palmetto Dunes this week because they are great layouts, and it is the same story at all their courses. I guess they aerated the greens a month ago but they did not recovered yet. Was the same thing 2 years ago at the same period at the Pines Resort except at the Harbor town course. If you want to play nicely conditioned courses, don't mind to drive 30mn, play outside the island. Still fun though, good pace of play, nice staff and hot, hot , hot.
fun layout with horrible conditions
I showed up and the staff was very friendly and got me going. I started off with a 5 star expierence that quickly dropped to a 1. The tee boxes and fairways were in really good shape but the bunkers and greens were a whole other story. I hit my ball in the bunker on whole number two and to my suprise about 1/8 of an inch below the sand was rock hard sand. Once I got on the green I had about a 20 footer coming back on the green. The greens here were the same length as the fescue rough at st. Andrews. I had to chip every ball outside ten feet because the greens were so long. They were perfect condition just insanely slow. Also why are there huge bushes blocking view of the canals. Bring your driver for the long putts. Bring plenty of water because I never saw the cart girl and there was one water fountain.
Not Worth the Price - Underwhelmed
Played the course on May 8 and found the conditions very disappointing given the premium price they charge even at online prices. Greens were spotty. The layout was average - not what I had expected. Course amenities were average. I don't see how they can position the course among the island's premium courses. We found a couple of other courses at half the price with better greens and layout. It will definitely be the last time we play here.
Enjoyed the course
First time in Hilton Head and thought this was a great course to play as my first.