Belfair Plantation

The East Course at Belfair Plantation in Bluffton, South Carolina, is a Tom Fazio design that opened in the late 1990s as part of this private residential community in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Fazio routed the course through natural wetlands, hardwood forests, and around several lakes, creating a layout that reflects the region's coastal plain topography. The design emphasizes strategic shot values and multiple teeing grounds that allow the course to play differently depending on skill level. The routing takes advantage of the property's natural water features and mature vegetation, with several holes playing along or across marshland areas characteristic of the Lowcountry. Fazio's shaping integrates the fairways and greens into the existing landscape, with bunkers styled to appear natural rather than manufactured. The greens feature subtle contours that reward accurate approach play, and the course generally favors players who can shape shots and manage distance control in the often humid coastal conditions. Belfair Plantation operates as a private club with two eighteen-hole courses, the East being paired with a West Course also designed by Fazio. The club serves a residential membership and maintains the course conditions typical of upscale Lowcountry clubs. The East Course provides a quieter, more traditional golf experience compared to resort courses in nearby Hilton Head Island, focusing on playability within a natural setting rather than dramatic or forced design elements.