By Toby Ingleton |
Anson Point, a new golf course designed by Coore & Crenshaw, has opened for play at the Palmetto Bluff community in Bluffton, South Carolina.
The private 18-hole, par-71 layout lies within a 500-acre Lowcountry landscape west of Hilton Head Island that is managed by the Palmetto Bluff Conservancy, a non-profit organisation established in 2003 to protect the land and wetlands throughout the community.
With just 80 acres used for fairways, greens and bunkers, Anson Point (named after British naval officer and explorer Admiral George Anson) weaves through four distinct ecosystems – upland pine terrain, maritime forest, live oak groves and salt marshes framed by sabal pines. The sandy site also features a long-abandoned quarry, first spotted by Bill Coore when evaluating the land with a previous ownership group.
Anson Point weaves through four distinct ecosystems (Photo: Palmetto Bluff)
Developer and operator South Street Partners assumed ownership of the property in 2021, and has worked closely with the Conservancy on an approach to development that allows the expansion of community amenities while prioritising conservation.
The new course has been designed to offer a sharp contrast to the community’s existing courses, the Jack Nicklaus-designed May River layout that opened in 2005 and the reversible nine-hole Crossroads course, designed by King-Collins in 2024.
“As we studied the site that would become Anson Point, we came to believe it had the potential to yield a golf course of strong individual character, one that would provide highly interesting golf while showcasing the natural beauty of the Carolina Lowcountry,” said Coore.
“Now upon completion, we think those goals have, or will be, attained. Although still in its early evolutionary stages, Anson Point is a golf course of which we are very proud. Hopefully, it will one day be considered a complement to the long, rich history of golf in the Carolinas. We are very grateful to the owners and members of Palmetto Bluff for allowing us to be a part of such a special place.”
The new course was designed by Ben Crenshaw (left) and Bill Coore to showcase the natural beauty of the Carolina Lowcountry
Ben Crenshaw said: “We were given a special piece of land to work with at Palmetto Bluff and feel that the Anson Point course nicely complements one of the most beautiful and historic communities in the South. We hope with this new course that we have created a memorable experience that golfers will find both enjoyable and challenging.”
Anson Point is located on the eastern end of Palmetto Bluff and will anchor the community’s third village, Anson. South Street gave Coore & Crenshaw free rein to make their decisions without a land planning model dictating the course’s evolution. The absence of a residential component enabled the team to design a pure golf experience, preserving vital wildlife corridors and native ecosystems.
The course sits lightly on the landscape and, with no residential component, provides a pure golf experience (Photo: Palmetto Bluff)
“Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have designed some of the most extraordinary golf courses around the world, so they were the obvious first choice for our new course at Palmetto Bluff,” said Chris Randolph, managing partner at South Street Partners. “Our visions were aligned from the start – to create a masterpiece that would not only be exciting to play but would also fit within its setting as though it could have been built a hundred years ago.”
Holes were designed to fit the land’s natural contour, with each bunker and green complex reflecting the site’s existing features. Coore & Crenshaw’s approach uses native grasses, sandy edges, and unmanicured buffers to blend golf into the landscape.
Holes at Anson Point were designed to fit the land’s natural contour (Photo: Palmetto Bluff)
Multiple tee boxes allow for flexible distances, and the routing encourages strategic play over brute force. Greens are slightly smaller than average, with natural slopes and slight undulations. Bunkering, using sand found on site, is “minimal but intentional”, with a goal of making players think carefully about their approach without overwhelming the course’s flow or beauty.