Congaree Golf Club | Congaree Golf Course

Congaree Golf Club is an exclusive private 18-hole golf course and philanthropic golf club located 30 miles from Hilton Head in Ridgeland, South Carolina.

The course first opened for play in 2017. The course was designed by Tom Fazio.

Rather than memberships, Congaree has “Ambassadors.”  Becoming an ambassador is by referral only. There is no initiation fee at this golf and philanthropic focused club. However, members make a financial contribution to the charitable Congaree Foundation. Ambassadors share a commitment to help others. 

The exclusively private club occupies what was once an 18th-century rice plantation. The course is routed through oaks up to 300 years old. 

Rather than tee markers, the course has discs with yardage on one side of the teeing ground that gives the yardage of the hole. Players pick whichever yardage they feel like playing. There are also no cart paths, this is a walking course. 

The brawny course is relatively flat but there are still some deep bunkers and vast waste areas.

The course is described as a strategic low country masterpiece, with a combination of risk-reward par-4s, and picturesque par-3 holes. The 170-yard 5th hole, for example, features a green that’s devilishly pitched toward the pond in front. The course's three par-5 holes present good scoring opportunities, although the sloped green at the sixth hole will make a player work for a birdie.

#8 will probably emerge to be the signature hole from numerous other contenders. Congaree is a par-71 layout that can stretch to 7,685 yards. The finishing stretch of four straight par-4s from 15-18 is a terrific mix, ending with a testing approach over water and sand to a narrow 18th green behind the clubhouse.