Hilton Head Island Real Estate ownership offers a true sense of community.  Spring is a great time to get that feeling of community spirit. With the many festivities that have already taken place and the upcoming activities, we are reminded of this, every beautiful spring day.

Foremost in everyone’s thoughts is the Heritage Golf Tournament 2011, taking place at the Harbour Town Golf Links in Sea Pines, April 18 – 24. This is a great example of the community that Hilton Head Island really is. Without a title sponsor, the Heritage Foundation and the business community have worked tirelessly together to ensure that this tradition continues.  Fortunately, it has been announced this past week, that the efforts to continue the golf tournament have been successful. The PGA has approved that funding the next five years can come from the town, state and private entities until a sponsor is found.  In addition to this event boosting the economy on the Island and in South Carolina, it is also an important event for the Island area charities. Last year alone $1.763 million was donated to more than 100 charities through the Heritage Foundation. Since the inception of the Foundation in 1986, $18.5 million dollars have been donated.

This sense of community that everyone enjoys during the Heritage Golf tournament is a reality year round.  Sea Pines, Palmetto Dunes, Port Royal, Hilton Head Plantation, Long Cove Club and Wexford (just to mention a few) have numerous clubs and events with in their neighborhoods that extends this feeling. Keep an eye out on my blogs for the next several weeks to see which community appeals to you and your interests.

The unique circular yacht basin,  along with the many Harbour Town Villas were designed to utilize the incredible views of Calibogue Sound.  Considered the heart of Hilton Head Island, Harbour Town was designed as an intimate village with the ambience of the low country. The Christmas season tends to bring this out.

Hilton Head Island Homes, located on golf courses can be very attractive at this time of year. With the majority of the country grabbing their shovels to dig out from the snow, many Hilton Head Home Owners are grabbing their clubs and heading to the links. There are more than 50 championship courses on or around the Island. The two resorts that come to mind first are Sea Pines Resort and Palmetto Dunes Resort.

 Sea Pines Resort is probably one of the most popular or at least one of the most well known. There is a wide variety of Sea Pines Homes that enjoy golf course views. The three championship golf courses give future Hilton Head Home Owners a great selection to choose from. The most well known is the Harbour Town Golf Links that hosts the Heritage golf tournament, a PGA event. The Ocean Course and Heron Point are not to be overshadowed by Harbour Town. All three courses are full of centuries-old hardwoods, lagoons and marshes. Sea Pines Resort offers additional amenities once you come off the links. There are 3 miles of sandy beaches, the Sea Pines Racquet Club, two unique marina villages, unlimited water sports and much more.

Palmetto Dunes Home owners also enjoy a great variety of golf course home sites to choose from. There are three championship courses in a beautiful natural setting designed by three legendary golf architects. Each course is unparalleled in design but distinctly different and challenging. There is the Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront course, the George Fazio Course and the Arthur Hills Course. In addition to the pleasure an avid golfer gets from a golf course home, there are many other amenities available. There are three miles of pristine beaches, an award winning tennis center and Shelter Cove Harbour with an abundance of shopping, dining and water sports.

So often, our lifestyles are so busy we overlook a forgotten piece of paradise in Sea Pines Plantation. Whether you are already a Hilton Head Island resident or vacationer looking for that perfect Sea Pines home you need to take the time and explore the Sea Pines Forest Preserve.

The Sea Pines Forest Preserve is open to Sea Pines real estate owners, their guests and visitors of the resort. Made up of 605 acres that offers hiking, fishing, picnicking and wildlife viewing. The landscape is made up of sand ridges and wetlands that was sculpted by changing sea levels over the past 15,000 years.  The first inhabitants were the Nomadic Indians over 4,000 years ago. It has since been used for growing rice, indigo and cotton. You can still see traces of the Indians and rice fields.

Sea Pines Plantation is one of the most unique communities on the east coast showcasing more than you could ever expect in an oceanfront resort. With 3 miles of pristine beaches, two unique marina villages, 4 incredible golf courses, fantastic tennis facilities, miles of bike trails and two nature preserves, Sea Pines Plantation has something for everyone's passion.

 One of the enjoyable aspects of living at Harbourtown in Sea Pines Plantation is the opportunity to walk to so many outstanding events. Besides The Heritage Golf Classic and the advance showing of the Concours d'Elegance, I was able to see the 40^th annual Calibogue Cup sailing race, right from the pier in Harbourtown.