Rounds at Heron Point, the Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront course, Golden Bear and Old South and a rental home on Hilton Head Island are the plan. A 10% lodging tax, golf bag fees, a rental car from Savannah and Harbour Town's premium green fee if you add it push the total up.
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Compare hotels near the courses → Compare Hilton Head golf packages (stay and play) on Golfbreaks →Pick each course you'll play (one round per golfer) and we'll price it for your group. Prices are per golfer for 18 holes, with the season and time of day you choose. Your picks set “Green fees per golfer (whole trip)” in your budget.
4⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡5/5 Golfing Volts
19 courses around Hilton Head & Bluffton that take public tee times, by city, with peak green fees. Private member clubs are left out.
Home of the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage, with tiny greens and the lighthouse 18th; it reopened in November 2025 after a restoration, is cart-path only and needs a forecaddie.
golfdigest.com thegolfnewsnet.comSea Pines' rebuilt ocean-side course, sandy and natural-looking with marsh and dune views, and a gentler test than Harbour Town.
golfdigest.com golfdigest.comSea Pines' inland Pete Dye course, with tree-lined, well-defined holes and rolling, mounded greens; the easiest of the three Sea Pines tee times to get.
golfdigest.com seapines.comThe tightest and most rolling of the Palmetto Dunes courses, winding through dunes, oaks and lagoons; 9-hole rates after 2 pm.
golfdigest.com 1golf.euThe most open Palmetto Dunes course, with lagoons on most holes and the par-5 10th, one of only two oceanfront holes on the island.
golfdigest.com 1golf.euA long, old-school par 70 with only two par 5s, often called the toughest of the three Palmetto Dunes courses.
golfdigest.com 1golf.euA hard, geometric Bob Cupp design with angular bunkers and sharp-edged greens, one of the island's stiffest tests from the back.
golfpass.com greenfeetracker.comA Nicklaus-firm course in the middle of the island with wide fairways and lagoons, and a good-value pick, especially late in the day.
golfdigest.com golfpass.comThe friendlier of Palmetto Hall's two courses, a renovated Arthur Hills layout with lagoons and oaks in the island's north end.
scgolf.com greenfeetracker.comA Rees Jones course in Hilton Head Plantation whose par-3 6th plays toward Port Royal Sound.
golfdigest.com greenfeetracker.comA Pete Dye-reworked course through Civil War-era ground, with markers on the holes telling the history.
where2golf.com greenfeetracker.comA classic George Cobb layout with small, well-guarded greens, a shorter and quieter round than the island's big names.
where2golf.com greenfeetracker.comThree nines (Clipper, Galleon, Brigantine) with lots of water and live oaks, a short shuttle from the beach hotels in Shipyard.
golfpass.com greenfeetracker.comA Jack Nicklaus course along the May River at Montage Palmetto Bluff, played with a caddie or forecaddie; only members and resort guests can book.
montage.com hiltonheadisland.orgA Lowcountry layout with big oaks and marsh views along the Intracoastal, roomy off the tee but demanding on approaches.
golfdigest.com greenfeetracker.comA course with no homes on it, just off the island on US-278, and one of the best values near Hilton Head.
golfdigest.com greenfeetracker.comAn Arnold Palmer design with wide fairways and raised, rolling greens, and some marsh views just west of the Hilton Head bridge.
teetimesusa.com golfpass.comA value-priced Bluffton course with marsh and live-oak views.
golfpass.comA wooded Davis Love III layout with water in play, recently renamed from Eagle's Pointe, with cart included and low prices.
golfpass.com teetimegolfpass.comThe sample is 4 travelers for 4 nights. Your plan ($8,168) covers the main costs most people budget for, the ones you enter on the left. Costs people forget ($2,785, about 34% more for this trip) are the fees, taxes, tips and extras listed in the calculator. Prices were last checked on October 17, 2026.
Share of the $10,953 real cost. Nights and travelers multiply most of these costs, so changing either one moves the total the most.
14 of this trip's numbers link to a published price or rate. The rest are our estimates, and each one says what it is based on. You can also read how we calculate every trip.
| Cost | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Green fees per golfer (whole trip) | $720 per traveler | Four peak-spring rounds with cart: Heron Point $285 (our estimate; Golf Monthly range $175–$340, Sea Pines off-season specials $195–$200), Robert Trent Jones $185 (our estimate; $159 listed undated by 1golf.eu, spring runs higher), Golden Bear $135 (full price paid per a GolfPass reviewer) and Old South $115 ($105 weekday on Green Fee Tracker, $130 on Golf Digest; same figure as our Savannah page). Total $720. Judgment call. Source |
| Rental home per night (whole group) | $475 a night | AirROI (12 months to Oct 2026): Hilton Head entire homes average $462 a night for 3 bedrooms and $755 for 4; island-wide spring ADR $444–$483. $475 for a 3-bedroom home or villa in spring. Judgment call. Source |
| Airfare per person | $447 per traveler | US DOT (BTS) average domestic itinerary fare for Savannah/Hilton Head (SAV), Q2 2026: $446.50 (checked in our Savannah research this week). Hilton Head Island Airport (HHH) has fewer flights and usually higher fares. Source |
| Food per person, per day | $80 per traveler, per day | GSA FY2027 meals and incidentals (M&IE) rate for Hilton Head (Beaufort County): $80 a day. Source |
| Cost | Default | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Checked bag fees | $90 per traveler | Major US airlines charge about $35 to $50 for a first checked bag each way, so about $90 round trip. Source |
| Golf bag fees | $110 per traveler | American, Delta, United and Southwest treat a golf bag as a standard checked bag; a second bag is $55 each way. Source |
| Shipping your clubs Off by default | $108 per traveler | Ground shipping for a golf bag starts around $54 each way. Source |
| Lodging taxes | 10% of the rental home (whole group) | Town of Hilton Head: 1% local accommodations tax + 2% beach preservation fee = 3%. South Carolina adds 5% sales tax + 2% state accommodations tax on rooms (Airbnb tax page, https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2328). Total 10%. Beaufort County's 1% transportation sales tax, approved Nov 3, 2026, starts May 1, 2027 and would make it 11% (https://www.wtoc.com/2026/11/04/beaufort-co-penny-sales-tax-passes-by-slim-margin-fund-780m-road-safety-projects/). Source |
| Rental car | $85 a day | KAYAK at SAV (Nov 2026): SUVs average about $85 a day over 12 months (January priciest at about $106, August cheapest at about $73). SAV is about 40 miles from Hilton Head. Judgment call. Source |
| Sea Pines gate pass Off by default | $20 for the trip | Sea Pines gate fee is $10 per car (Salty Dog Cafe visitor page). Guests staying inside Sea Pines get two free passes, and Sea Pines Resort restaurants refund the pass with a $30 check (Sea Pines FAQ, https://www.seapines.com/faqs). Two visits = $20. Source |
| Harbour Town forecaddie tip Off by default | $50 per traveler | Sea Pines: Harbour Town requires one forecaddie per tee time for guest rounds; the service is included in the rate, the recommended $50-per-person gratuity is not (also on the caddie services page, https://cdn.seapines.com/golf/golf-information/caddie-services). Source |
| Rental clubs Off by default | $260 per traveler | Palmetto Dunes golf FAQ: 18-hole club rental $65 (9 holes $35). Four rounds = $260. Source |
| Drinks on the course | $80 per traveler | Our estimate of about $20 a round for beverage-cart drinks and snacks. Judgment call. Our estimate |
| Golf balls | $55 per traveler | A dozen Titleist Pro V1 balls lists at $55. Source |
| Tips for bag drop and cart staff | $20 per traveler | A few dollars at bag drop and the turn; we use $5 a round. Judgment call. Source |
| Side bets and prizes | $50 per traveler | Our estimate for skins, team bets and a small trophy. Our estimate |
| Lessons and extras you picked Off by default | $0 for the trip | Set by the extras you pick in the tee-time planner. Our estimate |
| Travel insurance | 6% of your plan | Squaremouth says a comprehensive plan averages about 6% of the trip cost, usually 4% to 10%. Source |
| Pre-trip shopping | $60 for the trip | Our estimate for travel-size toiletries, sunscreen and small things bought before a trip. Our estimate |
| Pet boarding or sitter | $50 a day, if you check Pets | Dogster puts regular kennel boarding at about $35 to $85 a night. Overnight sitters at home cost more. Source |
For 4 golfers spending 4 nights in peak spring season, with four rounds each, a rental home, flights and food, plan on about $8,170. Once you add golf bag fees, lodging taxes, rental car, drinks on the course, balls, tips and side bets, it's closer to $10,950, or about $2,740 each. Use the tee-time planner above to price the courses you want.
Yes. Harbour Town at Sea Pines is open to the public, but it has no fixed rate: prices change by date and demand. Recent samples ran about $380 to $415 in summer and about $650 in September, and spring is at least as busy. A forecaddie is included and required; Sea Pines suggests a $50 tip per player. It is cart-path only, and dates around the RBC Heritage in April are blacked out. Source
Hilton Head Island Airport (HHH) is on the island but has few flights. Most golfers fly into Savannah/Hilton Head (SAV), about 40 miles away, where the US DOT average fare was about $447 in spring 2026. The Cross Island Parkway toll ended in 2021, so the drive to Sea Pines is free. Source
About 10%: South Carolina's 5% sales tax and 2% accommodations tax, plus the town's 1% accommodations tax and 2% beach preservation fee. Beaufort County voters approved a 1% sales tax for roads in November 2026, which starts on May 1, 2027. Source
Yes, unless you are staying inside. The gate fee is $10 per car. Guests of The Inn & Club or a Sea Pines rental get two free passes, and Sea Pines Resort restaurants refund the pass with a check over $30, before alcohol. Source