The bag drop crew and halfway house earn one of the two stars, and the immaculate condition earns the other. Other than that – acutely disappointing because of the overall hauteur.
This was a special round for my father's 70th birthday. We've played together all over the world for more than 30 years, but here staff members were condescending as if we were nouveau-riche weekenders (we're not rich, just hardworking career military officers) who just took up the game and don't understand golf etiquette or custom.
The starter, John, was gruff and pushy. We'd driven from Charleston and arrived later than expected but still 30 minutes ahead of our tee time. When we checked in at the starter's hut, still 20 minutes ahead of our tee time, John checked our tickets and then urgently wrung his thumb toward the first tee (some 100 yards away from us) and declared, "Well they're waiting on you at the tee" as if we were holding up the day's business. No, they weren't. We knew our tee time, and we do not show up late to anything, let alone golf outings. Instead of feeling glad to be there and excited to enjoy our special round, we felt as though we were an inconvenience to order.
On to our round. Setting the scene, this was Tuesday and not particularly busy for a Hilton Head resort course. My father is a 15 handicap and I typically play to about the same, though I don't carry an official one. We were in foursome with my brother and another single.
We weren't playing our best as my father wasn't feeling particularly well, and it was our first time on this challenging course. About five holes in the marshal drove by, and the other single in the group informed me we had been "chastised" for our pace of play. I was incredulous. No one was waiting on us, let alone within a hole of us. Had a group approached us, we would've done the courteous thing and invited them to play through.
Again, on the back nine, the marshal drove by, this time addressing my father and me with a smarmy, rude tone: "If you guys could play a little ready golf, that would be ... awesome." I responded that we always play ready golf and thanked him, returning his same tone. Again, I was incredulous. Again, no one was waiting on us. Again, we were made to feel like we hadn't played the game for three decades at venues including Pinehurst No. 2, Kiawah Island, Pebble Beach, Royal Troon, the Old Course, Dubai (and the list goes on), always upholding the utmost etiquette standards. (Quite frankly, Atlantic Dunes is just one more overpriced resort course, not necessarily on the highest order of world golf landmarks.)
When we finished, we checked the time: Our round was 4 hours and 15 minutes, exactly as it should be, and fast by resort course standards. Once again, we were perplexed by the staff's prickly nature and manufactured urgency. While we understand, respect, and embrace etiquette and pace of play, we also did not come to a golf course to run a sprint.
I'm aware this review will fall on deaf ears because plenty of people will come pay $200 a round, we are not going to endanger business, and the management clearly doesn't value hospitality and guest satisfaction as long as they keep the train running on time. However, I would still strongly recommend players choose a different place to play. If you're like me, you'll think twice before ever wasting the long drive through island traffic to go to...
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