Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course

Getting To Know: Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course

An Insightful Interview With Clark Sinclair, Director of Golf

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Clark Sinclair who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
The Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course has been rated by readers of Golfweek Magazine among the best courses in the Southeast. Its signature hole, the dramatic par-five 10th, offers sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean and is widely considered one of the most spectacular holes in the United States. One of only two oceanfront holes on Hilton Head Island, the course's legendary 10th delights golfers of every skill level. The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, an Audubon International program, has designated the course a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" for its commitment to providing a sanctuary for wildlife.

An extensive renovation of the Jones Oceanfront Course involved reshaping and restructuring tees, greens and bunkers. Workers also elevated and reshaped the fairways, and improved natural drainage with the addition of part of the unique, 11-mile lagoon system that weaves its way through and around all three golf courses. Adding a set of junior or "short course" tees to the Jones Oceanfront Course's layout enabled the resort to launch the Palmetto Dunes Junior Golf Academy and underscored Greenwood's commitment to the next generation of golfers.

When renovation work was completed, the South Carolina Board of Directors of the National Golf Course Owners Association named the Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course the 2003 South Carolina Golf Course of the Year. The Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course plays 7,005 yards from the gold tees.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
The Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course is one of three championship golf courses at Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort. All three golf courses at Palmetto Dunes - each one distinctively different and uniquely appealing - have been rated an outstanding four stars or more by Fodor's Golf Digest Places to Play. Since the 1970s, Palmetto Dunes has been a prime example of what a longstanding commitment to quality and customer satisfaction can accomplish. Golf has always served as the heart and soul of the Palmetto Dunes experience.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Ocean breezes along the Jones course as it winds its way next to the Atlantic Ocean tends to make rounds a little more difficult. With wider fairways, beware of lurking water hazards.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, an Audubon International program, has designated the course a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" for its commitment to providing a sanctuary for wildlife.

South Carolina "2003 Course of the Year", ranked 4 stars by Fodor's Golf Digest

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Its signature hole, the dramatic par-five 10th, offers sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean and is widely considered one of the most spectacular holes in the United States and one of only two oceanfront holes on Hilton Head Island.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
#10 is a beautiful hole and will really leave you breathless as your approach the green overlooking the Atlantic. You play in to the breeze on this hole.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
After your round, Big Jim's at the Jones clubhouse serves up delicious BBQ, Burgers and Pizza. The BBQ sandwich and sweet potato fries will satisfy any appetite. Wash it all down with a round of our seasonal beers on tap.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7000
Slope: 137
Rating: 74.7

More Information
Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course
7 Trent Jones Lane
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, 29928
843-686-9137
www.palmettodunes.com

Revised: 06/11/2013 - Article Viewed 31,798 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.