Belfair Golf Club West

Private Golf Course in Bluffton, SC

Architect	Year Built	Par	Yardage	Slope
Tom Fazio	1999	72	7080	139
Golf Season	USGA Rating	Grass Type	Greens Type	Driving Range
Year round	74	Bermuda	Bermuda	Yes

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Belfair Golf Club West - Reviews

This is one of my favorite places to play bar none. The practice facility is world class! The West and East course are both different, with the West winning more acclaim. The views are better on the West, but both courses are certainly some of Tom Fazio's best. As Fazio has said "I'd put these two courses up againt any other club in the Country" .. or something to that extent.

Belfair has two Tom Fazio courses including Belfair East, which opened in early 1999. It is a splendid complement to the older West Course and both offer vintage Fazio features including expertly crafted holes of undulating fairways, accessible greens of subtle contours, and elevation changes in a magnificent marsh- and pineland setting. The finishing holes of Belfair's East and West courses overlook the marshes of the Colleton River.

The older West Course, featuring Bermuda greens, is typical Fazio--generous landing areas; large, undulating greens; and ingeniously placed bunkers in a ceaselessly interesting mix of tree-lined holes. Yet, as good as it is, the West Course, which opens this spring, may be even better. My reaction after touring it was "It is dramatic." It has more elevation changes and the greens will be planted with Crenshaw bent, offering members a contrasting playing condition. Our tour group, which included two new homeowners from Ohio, concluded that the West Course seemed designed with a major tournament in mind, though it will be enjoyed by players of all skill levels.

What we do have in abundance is marshland, ancient stands of gnarled oaks, lush love grasses and lurking lagoons. To my mind, no course exemplifies the seductive beauty of this area better than the original west course at Belfair Plantation. The subtle beauty of Belfair begins with the ever-present scalloped, landscaped bunkering. Virtually every hole is framed by these flowing, soft-shouldered beauties, many containing shrubs, small trees and clumps of love grass. Fazio keeps things interesting at every turn and offers a beautiful balance of golf holes; some delicate and some daunting. My single quibble, so often the case here in the land of cart ball, is that the significant commute between the 12th and 13th, not to mention the return trip to the par 3 16th, make walking practically impossible. A shame, really. A course this lovely and serene is a pleasure under any circumstances, but can best be appreciated while ambling.

*Sources of reviews are a combination of Golf Hilton Head Island staff, Golf Digest's Places to Play, Golf Publisher Syndications and information from the course and its members and players.