New color on display at Sea Pines’ Ocean Course: Green

After a brown winter, patches of greenery can now be seen on the renovated Ocean Course.

Crews have spent the past 2  1/2 weeks at Sea Pines installing sod surrounding greens and bunkers around the front nine, giving new definition to the transformation being done to Hilton Head Island’s original golf landscape.

Within a month, sprigging will begin on the front nine’s fairways and greens. The back nine remains in varied earlier phases, with drainage and irrigation still being installed in some places and a couple of greens awaiting their final shape.

“Every phase of the project is going on right now except the sprigging,” said Scot Sherman, lead architect for Love Golf Design. “We’re still doing a little shaping, we’re still installing greens, still putting in drainage and irrigation, and now we’re laying sod.”

Tree specialists also have been busy importing trees to the property, including the weekend introduction of four 30-foot oaks to the new-look 10th and 11th holes.

Those holes have been completely reconfigured from George Cobb’s original routing, turning No. 10 into a par-3 that leads to a par-4 11th. Previously, the 10th had been an awkward dogleg par-4 and the 11th a par-3.

“We took out a lot of trees in rerouting the hole,” Sherman said, pointing out several smaller oaks already planted along the left of No. 11. “Some of that replacement is required by mitigation, but some of what we’re doing is just being a good neighbor.”

Three of the big oaks were placed behind the new 10th green, with the other behind No. 11.

Another prominent change can be seen at the first hole, where 75 new palms along the left side create a palm-lined corridor for the opening tee shot. A similar number of trees have guarded the right side for decades.

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 8:12 PM with the headline "New color on display at Sea Pines’ Ocean Course: Green."