A new 23,000-sq. ft. clubhouse and golf learning center are nearly complete, and a new 25,000-sq. ft., $12 million beach club will open later in 2014. And a new $20 million clubhouse for Harbour Town Golf Links is in the plans for 2015.
Sea Pines Resort of Hilton Head Isle, S.C., host of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing at its famed Harbour Town Golf Links, will be stepping up its game in 2014 with new beach and golf amenities, the Island Packet of Bluffton, S.C. reported.
Workers are nearing completion of a 23,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse and golf learning center at the resort’s Ocean Course and Pete Dye-designed Heron Point course, the Island Packet reported. Crews demolished the old clubhouse in November 2012 to make way for a new Plantation Golf Club, set to open in February.
“Everything is going together nicely,” said Cary Corbitt, the resort’s Vice President of Sports and Operations.
Also set to open in 2014 is a new Sea Pines Beach Club. Work began this fall on a 25,000-sq,-ft.-plus building next to Marriott’s Monarch at Sea Pines, the Island Packet reported.
The new $12 million club, which will replace the current oceanside club that was built more than 40 years ago, will feature an indoor restaurant and bar; an open-air beach bar; second-floor space for private receptions and parties; retail and office space; and expanded restrooms, showers and changing rooms.
Construction should be completed by the end of May, in time for summer, Corbitt told the Island Packet.
Next up will be a new $20 million-plus clubhouse at Harbour Town Golf Links, the Island Packet reported. Demolition on the current clubhouse is set to begin in April after the 2014 Heritage tournament, with a new one completed by the 2015 tournament, Corbitt said.
In all, The RiverStone Group has spent nearly $50 million upgrading the resort’s amenities since purchasing it in 2005, Corbitt noted. Sea Pines officials say the improvements are part of an islandwide resurgence designed to ensure the RBC Heritage tournament stays and that the island remains a hot spot for tourists, the Island Packet reported.
The resort also recently announced that Tim Cooke is its new Director of Golf Instruction, the Island Packet noted.
Cooke, whose instructional articles have been featured in Golf Illustrated and has made guest appearances on the Golf Channel’s “The Turn,” held a similar position at Hilton Head Island’s Long Cove Club. He was named one of Golf Digest‘s “Best Young Teachers” from 2010 to 2013, and one of the top teachers in South Carolina for 2013-14.
He will be joined at Sea Pines Resort by his brother and fellow Golf Prep Junior Golf Academy instructor and co-founder, Simon Cooke.
“They’re an exciting addition to our team, as we strive to make our new learning center a leading teaching destination to match our world-class golf courses,” Corbitt told the Island Packet.
Beginning in January, all academy instruction will move to the resort’s new golf learning center, Corbitt said. The elite junior golf academy will also undergo a name change and now be known as the Elite Junior Golf Academy at The Sea Pines Resort.
The learning center will feature two indoor hitting bays, equipped with digital cameras and software to help players analyze their swings, as well as a putting lab. The center will also offer custom club fitting, in addition to individual golf lessons, schools and clinics, Corbitt noted.
Addressing objections expressed by some island residents about the resort’s parking plan in light of all the improvements, Corbitt said increased traffic will be handled in a number of ways, including possibly offering valet parking, providing overflow parking at the nearby Plantation Golf Club, increasing the number of bicycle parking spots, offering shuttle service for guests, and off-site employee parking.
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