Hilton Head Sports

Harbour Town Clubhouse has been named the "New Public Clubhouse of the Year" by Golf Inc. magazine. For more than 20 years, Golf Inc. has annually honored premier new clubhouse designs. Nine projects earned scores high enough to be honored in this year's competition. Harbour Town Clubhouse's winning selection in the public category was announced in the magazine’s July/August issue. The clubhouse opened to rave reviews last March, just before the 2015 RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.

Beijing, China, native Cheng Jin is the 2016 Players Amateur Champion. He joins an impressive list of past champions including Rickie Fowler and Bill Haas. The incoming University of Southern California freshman started the final round in the lead but bogied the first three holes, giving several others a chance at the win. “I had an awful start.

International Junior Golf Academy alumnae Shanshan Feng, Mariajo Uribe and Stephanie Meadow will be competing in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Last year, Feng, a native of Guangzhou, China, became the first player from China to win the Ladies European Tour’s Order of Merit after capping off her season with a victory at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters. Bucaramanga, Colombia, native Uribe was the first Colombian to ever win a USGA title when she won the 2007 U.S.

Berkeley Hall Club recently announced the launch of the private club’s golf course enhancement and drainage improvement project. “Berkeley Hall is committed to providing a premier golf course experience,” said Adrian Morris, general manager and COO of Berkeley Hall Club. “The project will further upgrade our golf course playability, signifying an important investment in our community, one that will help us remain one of the premier golf communities in the Southeast.”

Local travel team hopes for strong showing at Cooperstown Dreams Park

Elite MLB players who are lucky enough to make it to Cooperstown, New York, after they retire are in their 40s, 50s or even older. For 11 talented ballplayers from Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, their first first journey to this historical baseball village will come later this summer at the ripe old age of 12.

Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resortoffers some of the best golf on Hilton Head Island. Now it also offers the island's best custom club-fitting experience.

That's because Chris Wycoff, after running the island's most successful custom club-fitting business at his Golf Etc. store, has moved his SwingFit operation to Palmetto Dunes and the Robert Trent Jones Ocean Course clubhouse. Wycoff didn't move his entire retail operation, of course, but he set up a covered hitting bay at the end of the range and a shop underneath the clubhouse where he has thousands of components on hand to build clubs for both resort guests and residents.

How does a relatively small community like Haig Point consistently produce a string of wins? For the seventh year in a row, Haig Point has sent at least one team to the South Carolina State Championship. The men’s 55-and-over teams have represented Hilton Head at the state tournament for each of the last three years. This year, the women’s 3.5 55-and-over team, finished in the top four.

May River High School athletic director Brett Macy recently announced eight coaching hires for the new school’s athletic programs. Four coaches came from nearby Bluffton High School — swimming coach Eric Kemeny, track and field/cross-country coach Brian Ryman, baseball coach Keith Stewart and boys basketball coach Matt Whitmore. Other coaching hires are Aaron Johnson, volleyball; Jeannie Murphy, softball; Jermaine Bigham, girls basketball; Candice Dimmest, cheerleading; Kelly Minasi, girls golf; and Brian Rietveld, boys golf. May River High opens in August. Its athletic teams will compete in Region 8-AAA. 

The Hilton Head Beach Volleyball Academy is hosting daily clinics at the courts near the Tiki Hut on Coligny Beach. The clinics are 8-9 a.m. Monday-Thursday through Aug. 12. Advanced clinics are 6-8 p.m. Monday and Thursday through Aug. 12 at Providence Presbyterian Church. A weekly round robin will take place from 8-10 a.m. Fridays through Aug. 13 at the Tiki Hut. Find more information online at www.hiltonheadbeachvolleyball.com.