Golf in Summerville

Designed by golf legend Arnold Palmer, Crescent Pointe Golf Club’s 18-hole, 6,773-yard course takes golfers on a journey through the shadows of skyscraping pines and oaks amid the unfurled petals of blooming magnolias. Generous fairways provide ample runways for flush drives and golf-obsessed extra terrestrials, and the course compensates with dramatically sloped, elevated greens with enough subtle breaks to give any smooth-putting golflete a case of the yips. The par 71 presents birdie opportunities at all three of its par 5's, though each one will challenge club-flailing composure with forced-carry water hazards. Expansive beach bunkers threaten to ensnare wayward balls on several holes, where conservative players would be wise to simply wedge the ball back into the fairway and pay a one-stroke fealty to their despotic sand-trap rakes. To prepare for rounds, divoteers can straighten out unsightly slices and snap-hooks at the club’s driving range or sign up for a lesson with PGA professional Stephen Neville.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course designed by golf legend Arnold Palmer

• Length of 6,773 yards from the farthest tees

• Three tee options available

• Link to scorecard

The 18-hole course at Lady’s Island Country Club meanders through the forested terrain of its namesake isle, presenting a round filled with dense tree lines, contoured greens, and oversized sand traps. Opened in 1970, the Timothy Freeland–designed layout leads golfers over wide fairways lined with stately trees, demanding precise tee shots or enough golf balls to feed a grove of hungry trees. The expansive boundaries create beautifully sculpted fairways cleaved into the natural landscape, creating a track of uniquely designed holes with no two fairways running directly alongside one another.

Laid out by golf course architect Tommy Fazio, The Golf Club at Hilton Head Lakes effortlessly weaves through the natural fabric of the land's lakes and wetlands. More than 7,300 yards, the course challenges golfers of all ilk to navigate around curvilinear greens, chip past strategically placed bunkers, and avoid raccoons playing freeze tag. Copious fairways and five sets of tees also call for mindful decision-making, planning, and ingenuity. The club rounds out its golfing experience with a 36-acre training facility boasting target greens, bunkers, and practice greens, as well as a golf shop and café.

Since 1982, Perry Green has been putting his PGA membership to good use, hosting private and group golf lessons, camps, and clinics for all ages. His innate golfing expertise, which netted him the 2005 Illinois PGA Senior Masters Championship, is bolstered by a video-analysis system that allows him to examine every aspect of his students' form and point out faults in the arc of their swing or the creases in their chinos.

Cleaved through thickets of towering oaks along the Rose Hill Plantation, Rose Hill Golf Club's 18-hole course presents 6,961 yards of challenging fairways and greens. Populated by Spanish moss-swaddled trees, multiple ponds, and vibrant wildlife, the course's low country scenery and considerable difficulty—the Temptation tees boast a 74.1 course rating—form a layout worthy of grandiose nicknames. Each of the course's five tee options boasts an evocative name that suggests the tees' unique challenges; the tips are referred to as "Temptation," a nod to the Siren-like lure of playing a difficult course from its most harrowing tee placement, while the second-toughest tees' moniker is "Silver Moon," referring to the fact that those tees only appear at night.

To prepare for their round, golfers can warm up swings at the all-grass driving range or two practice holes, or let their nine-irons load up on muscle-building protein with a hot dog from the on-site grill.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole course
• Length of 6,961 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 74.1 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 139 from the farthest tees
• Five tee options

Groves of oaks and georgia pines reflect off the glassy surface of strategically placed water hazards at Southbridge Golf Club’s 18-hole course, the grassy brainchild of renowned course architect Rees Jones. Soaring above the 6,922-yard layout, wayward golf balls may carom off of the dense population of timbers, nestle into the pillowy sands of deep bunkers, or sink into the abyss of ponds, streams, and lava pits that come into play on nearly every hole. Large greens await at the end of each hole, eager to befuddle golfers with breaking putts and a fast, well-maintained surface. An onsite driving range nurtures golfers relationships with their clubs, and a menu of fresh meat, seafood, and salad at the genteel diner of Vickery’s at Southbridge curbs hunger that may sap strength from drives or preempt post-round putter-jousting competitions.

Course at a Glance:

• Designed by Rees Jones

• 18-hole, par 72 course

• Length of 6,992 yards from the farthest tees

• Course rating of 74.1 from the farthest tees

• Slope rating of 134 from the farthest tees

• Four tee options