Knowledge center

Few travelers realize it, but Hilton Head Island in South Carolina was the first master planned resort community in the United States. The developer was insistent upon blending nature, homes and sports facilities, and more than half a century later, there are still no white houses allowed because they stand out, no neon signs, no high rises, no homes built between the dunes and water, and no streetlights, lest they interfere with the night sky.

This 12 mile long, 5 mile wide preserved piece of paradise is interlaced with 50 miles of paved, winding bike paths and two dozen golf courses. The 2,000-acre Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort has the most, with three 18-hole courses and five miles of bike paths (the resort also has 3 miles of Atlantic Ocean beach, an award-winning tennis center, and an 11-mile inland salt-water lagoon system for fishing and kayaking).

The new Golf Bike combines two sports and just made its debut at the three courses at the Palmetto Dunes resort on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island.

Bicycling and golf have has long been renowned Hilton Head activities – but never like this. Now golfers playing Palmetto Dunes’ three courses (by Robert Trent Jones, George Fazio and Arthur Hills) can pedal their way around the holes, instead of walking or taking a motorized cart. This offbeat new option allows golfers to play at the speed of a cart while still getting a workout.

“We are always looking for fun new products to enhance our golf experience and The Golf Bike really caught our attention,” said Director of Golf Clark Sinclair via release. “These specially prepared golf bikes should heighten the fitness experience of a round at Palmetto Dunes.”

Palmetto Dunes claims to be the first resort along the East Coast to offer the new “Golf Bike,” so players can burn more calories and get a better workout while enjoying their favorite game. This is not surprising, given that they were the pioneers who first brought golf-outfitted Segways to Hilton Head several years ago. The resort has already received nine of the nation’s first 100 bikes, which are available at all three courses (they cost the same as a cart). Built from the ground up for golf, they feature a step-thru frame so golfers can get on and off easily, and hold up to 14 clubs and supplies on racks integrated into the frame. Wide tires and smaller diameter wheels make for easy acceleration with less impact to the fairways than a motorized cart.

Have a good round – I mean ride.