Hilton Head Life

Crescent Pointe Golf Course

There are two "Pointe" golf courses located in Bluffton, SC: Crescent Pointe and Eagle's Pointe. The extra "e" on the "Pointe" confuses me.  Why didn't they just name the clubs "Crescent Point" and "Eagle's Point"? 

The word "Pointe" defined: "In ballet, dancing that is performed on the tips of the toes."  My golf game will never apply to that!

Anyway, in September 2005, I had the pleasure of playing at the Crescent Pointe Golf Course. This Arnold Palmer designed signature golf course is one of the finest Public Golf Courses in the Hilton Head/Bluffton area. The course is challenging and well maintained -- and you can tell each hole was crafted with care.

The course, located right on US278 on your way to Hilton Head, flows around a development of houses, marshland and manmade lagoons. Luckily, we had the earliest tee time that day and played the course wide open.

All golf carts are equipped with GPS navigation and the staff both friendly and attentive. We warmed up at a good sized driving range for a few dollars more.

Many of the holes were designed around challenging natural obstacles, like a row of trees that juts out into the Par 5 third hole. The picturesque Par 3 ninth hole goes 200 yards over a scenic tidal marsh, which is now home to several of my Callaway golf balls.

Fees were in total around $100 per person for carts, driving range time, 18 holes and some extra new balls. For the quality of this course, this was a good deal. Look in the Hilton Head Golf brochures and you may find a coupon to play both Crescent Pointe and Eagle's Pointe for one, lower price.

I'll be back to Crescent Pointe. But I have to practice and buy more balls first.

Phone: 843-706-2600

Route 17 to Savannah at Night

Living in Boston, you get used to the roads lined with sidewalks and street lights. Take a trip down Rt 17 on your way to Savannah from Hilton Head at night and you're in for the polar opposite. Pitch black, just two lanes and lots of trees. It can be a bit intimidating, particularly when you are trying not to miss the few lefts and rights you need to take off of Rt.46 and Rt. 170 to actually make in to Savannah.  Oh yeah, it can get foggy -- and maybe some deer too...

I couldn't help but wonder where I was going to end up if I missed a turn. For now, I'll stick to Rt. 17 during the daylight hours only. A trip to or from Savannah at dark will be on well lit I95 even if it does take longer.

By the way I'd take the darkness and trees over those unnatural street lights any day.

Hargray

Two weeks ago, I had the cable, phone and Internet installed by local Hilton Head provider Hargray. My big concern was the connection speed and reliability of the Internet connection. So far, so good. It's been a steady, high speed connection with no downtime. This is a big relief as I do most of my work on the Internet.

Phone service seems satisfactory, however, Hargray offers a weird local call service which includes Bluffton calls but not Hilton Head. Seems I can't call Hilton Head without it being considered long distance. Interesting, considering my address is Hilton Head. My Sprint PCS service works flawlessly here, so I'm wondering if I need a land line phone anyway.....maybe VoIP would be better?

Lastly, cable TV service seems OK, but no HD! I'm currently looking at Satellite Direct TV as an option for TV service instead.