New Clubhouse and Beach Club in Sea Pines set to open!

Posted by Joan E. Diamond at 3:14 PM Read our previous post

The near complete 23,000-square-foot clubhouse and golf learning center at the Ocean Course and the Pete Dye-designed Heron Point course is one of two new projects improving the lifestyle in the beautiful Sea Pines Resort; the other is the new Beach Club just steps away.

Sea Pines is host to the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing at its famed Harbour Town Golf Links.

Beginning in January, all academy instruction will move to the resort's new golf learning center.  The elite junior golf academy will also undergo a name change and will now be known as Elite Junior Golf Academy at The Sea Pines Resort, according to a news release.  The famed Golf Academy at the Sea Pines Resort, which features multi-day instruction by PGA Pro Skip Malek, will remain at the new complex.

The learning center will feature two indoor hitting bays, equipped with digital cameras and software to help players analyze their swings, as well as a putting lab. The center will also offer custom club fitting, in addition to individual golf lessons, schools and clinics.

Berkeley Hall and Belfair Plantation offer similar golf learning facilities, as well as other PGA Tour sites.

The Sea Pines Beach Club is also set to open this year. Work began this fall on the more than 25,000-square-foot building next to Marriott's Monarch at Sea Pines.

The $12 million club will feature an indoor restaurant and bar; an open-air beach bar; second-floor space for private receptions and parties; retail and office space; and expanded restrooms, showers and changing rooms. The club will replace the current oceanside club built more than 40 years ago.

In all, The RiverStone Group has spent nearly $50 million upgrading the resort's amenities since purchasing it in 2005..

Sea Pines officials say the improvements are part of an islandwide resurgence designed to ensure the RBC Heritage stays and the island remains a hot spot for tourists.

Next up is a new $20 million-plus clubhouse at Harbour Town Golf Links. Demolition is set to begin after the 2014 Heritage in April on the current clubhouse, with a new one completed by the 2015 tournament.