King-Collins Golf Course Design has been appointed to create a new reversible nine-hole course at Palmetto Bluff, a private residential community directly west of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.

The Jack Nicklaus May River course at Palmetto Bluff was built in 2005, and new owners South Street Partners are eager to add more golf options to meet surging demand among residents and visitors. King-Collins will deliver its nine while an 18-hole course by Coore & Crenshaw continues to progress through planning.

The King-Collins course will be approximately 3,100 yards and feature two par threes, five par fours and two par fives. It will be built on flat land alongside Palmetto Bluff’s inland waterway (see rough grading plan above).

“We had a blank slate on about 50 acres,” said Rob Collins, principal designer at King-Collins. “We’re doing something different with this space. We have room for nine holes, so thought, why don’t we do nine reversible holes? This will allow us to deliver something outsize on a small site!”

Tad King, managing director of construction at King-Collins, said: “The site is completely flat, but we can build cool dune formations and really get the ground moving. Normally in the Lowcountry you can only cut two or three feet before you hit groundwater but this site is a bit higher so we can cut fifteen feet if we need to.”

The duo hopes to be able to start clearing the site in January 2023 with a view to completing the course within the year.