Old Tabby Links on Spring Island, South Carolina

By Lisa Allen, Contributor

One could view Spring Island, S.C., as an enclave with a moat around it.

The second hole at Old Tabby Links on Spring Island, S.C., includes a water carry.

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The gated community, about 30 miles from Hilton Head Island - home to Old Tabby Links - is accessible only by boat or through a manned gate on yet another sea island, Callawassie.

Of the island's 3,500 acres, the owners set aside 1,000 acres as a nature preserve and gently added into the natural setting the golf course designed by Arnold Palmer in 1992, an equestrian center, a fitness center and a nature center staffed with several full-time biologists and naturalists.

The focal point of Old Tabby Links are tabby ruins between the ninth fairway and the River House, the course's clubhouse. The ruins of the Union-burned mansion are a rare, well-preserved glimpse at a pre-Civil War Southern cotton plantation.

The golf course blends in perfectly, employing the natural obstacles of sand and water as hazards and adding undulations at the large greens for more challenges.

It's a beautiful course in a fiercely protected natural setting. You won't forget your round at Old Tabby Links for several reasons: the golf, the beauty and the history.

March 23, 2010