May River Golf Course

May River Golf Course at Palmetto Bluff is a Jack Nicklaus Signature design in Bluffton, South Carolina, that opened for play in 2004. Threading through the May River Forest amid ancient live oaks and tidal Lowcountry landscape, the par-72 course stretches beyond 7,100 yards from the back tees. It was among the earlier prominent courses to be grassed entirely in salt-tolerant Paspalum turf, a choice suited to the coastal environment, and Nicklaus specified a distinctive angular bunker sand to hold sloped faces against coastal weather. In 2005 the course was named Best New Course in South Carolina by the state's course-ratings panel. As the golf centerpiece of the Palmetto Bluff resort community, now anchored by a Montage property, May River helped raise Bluffton's profile as a Lowcountry golf destination while emphasizing a low-impact, environmentally minded approach to its natural setting.