Imagine purchasing an oceanfront lot on Hilton Head Island for only $5,000. Times have changed since Charles Fraser transformed a 5,200-acre oceanfront tract, on what was once a forgotten barrier island, into Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head’s first private plantation community. From the beginning, Sea Pines was unlike any resort in the world and unlike any residential community – a completely original creation that has inspired countless imitators despite many skeptics. In 1956, the land use and building covenants for the new development were considered among the most restrictive in the nation.
Today, Hilton Head is considered one of the world’s premier resort destinations, and Sea Pines is legendary. Within Sea Pines, visitors and residents of all ages and varied interests can find rest, relaxation, recreation, entertainment, and shopping between moss-draped oaks, tropical palms, emerald green fairways, outstanding beaches, and dramatic tidal marshes, all perfectly punctuating the natural beauty of the Lowcountry landscape.
The community is perhaps most famous for its three championship golf courses, including the Harbour Town Golf Links, home of The Heritage of Golf, the PGA Tour’s nationally televised annual tournament. Over 135,000 spectators are in attendance when the big names in golf come to compete for the exclusive (sometimes elusive) prize money. For local businesses, the economic impact generated by the tournament is unmistakable. Since the Heritage Foundation was formed in 1987, Hilton Head and its surrounding communities have reaped the benefits of more than nine million dollars in charitable giving. The course itself has received dozens of prestigious awards and is consistently ranked among the top 100 courses in the nation. The Sea Marsh Course, touted as “part nature trail, part picture postcard, all golf,” and the Ocean Course , Hilton Head’s first golf course, also help to promote Hilton Head’s golf-mecca image.
Golfers with ambitions of developing a world-class swing, chip or putt, will appreciate The Golf Academy of Hilton Head Island at Sea Pines, under the direction of “Carolina’s Teacher of the Year” Skip Malek. The academy offers an effective means for players to improve their games with a wide variety of options, ranging from half-day to three- and four-day golf schools. One of the unique aspects of the golf academy is the Personalized Improvement Manual, which each student takes home along with an extensive computerized video analysis. Students put their learning to the test on all three courses.
But Sea Pines’ acclaimed reputation doesn’t end with golf. It is also associated with the world-recognized Harbour Town Marina and its landmark red-and-white-striped lighthouse, built in 1969 to aid boats traveling on the Calibogue Sound. The marina hosts awe-inspiring yachts as large as 115 feet. Against the backdrop of panoramic sunsets over Calibogue, crowds of families hustle in and out of charming shops and restaurants to gather under the lights at the Liberty Oak to hear singer and storyteller Greg Russell play his guitar and tell tales.
Meeting planners create temporary congregations of business people who also gather in the area, making good use of two of the four Sea Pines conference centers. Fortunately for those who come to Sea Pines via business, the conference services staff is well rehearsed in arranging spectacular entertainment and dining from themed parties with live music and comedians to specialty catering, welcome baskets and celebrity appearances. And there’s more.
Snuggled in amongst unspoiled natural beauty, Sea Pines has a lush 605-acre forest preserve, 15 miles of leisure trails, access to five miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches, dozens of tennis courts, two marina villages and numerous swimming pools. Villas, resorts, conference centers, restaurants, and elegant private homes are situated on quiet meandering roads.
Sea Pines is also the location of the South Beach Racquet Club, Sea Pines Racquet Club, Lawton Stables equestrian center, and South Beach Marina Village. Plenty of families find the hard-packed sands beside the gentle surf relaxing as they read novels in the sun, fly a kite, ride a bike, or search for shells in the shallow tidal pools. Indeed, people enjoy Sea Pines much as its founder envisioned they would.
Broker-in-charge at Sea Pine Real Estate Company, Paul T. Franks, Sr., attributes the community’s success to its fearless commitment to innovate. “Sea Pines has roots that reach deep into the Lowcountry, and thanks to those deep roots, our branches have spread throughout the region,” Franks noted, speaking of the steady growth of the Sea Pines Real Estate Company. Over the decades, this company has overseen billions of dollars in transactions, representing thousands of buyers and sellers, that encompass properties both in and outside the well-known plantation.
By the way, did you hear? Harbour Town is presently available for purchase! Due to complex circumstances, the asking price has not been published. But like the elite marina/village itself, the new owner(s) can look forward to a certain amount of notoriety, like it or not. After all, we’re talking about historical Sea Pines.
