I arrived at the Savannah-Hilton Head airport (my first time there) at around 5:00pm on a late-summer afternoon. Grabbing my clubs off the kiosk I started to get excited about the golf-rich area I was about to explore with a friend. There are murals behind the carousel and tasteful ads for golf resorts and clubs almost everywhere you look.

But I hadn't planned on playing golf that evening. My friend who picked me up at the airport -- having arrived prior to me -- had other ideas. He had already scouted out a spot within close proximity to the runways (you can see them from the course), called Crosswinds. After stopping by and watching a local college golf team practice on the grass range, he figured we could skip over, play the par three course, and go get some dinner in Savannah.

The Director of Golf, James Walden, suggested we go one better and try our luck on the championship course. "The front nine's open guys - why don't you grab a cart and head out there?"

I'm really glad we did. First of all, Crosswinds offered us plenty of challenge and warmup for some of the courses we were about to play. It's 6748 yards long from the tips, with all the expected vegetation and water you would expect to find dotting the landscape of a Low Country course. And the front nine, at 3498 yards, was all the golf we needed.

Starting out with out-and-back par fours of over 400 yards each, and a nice 171-yard par-3 that follows, we figured that most of the course would have the wide open feel of those holes. But as we wound our way past the 4th green and stepped onto the 5th tee, things got tighter. Here, a well bunkered landing area on the right, with a hazard up the left side, makes the dogleg-left a much more difficult adventure than any of the early holes. (It's the number 2 handicap hole on the course for good reason.) The 6th hole has a real resort feel -- it's a risk/reward par-5 whose green is protected by a water hazard on the left.

Then things get almost Pinehurst-style as waste areas and overhanging trees come into play on the short 7th hole. And as you play the 8th, a 212-yard par 3, you can see some of the holes on the back nine and how wooded a few of those holes are.

I can't wait to go back and play the full layout next time I'm in the area, as a planned part of the trip. After all, daylight is precious and if you get in during the middle or late in the day, or have some time to kill before your flight, why not do it right next to the airport?

Bonus - there is a Sam Snead's Oak Fired Grill right across the street -- what a fun clubhouse-style hangout where your can get a steak dinner while walking around and enjoying a nice collection of Sam's memorabilia.

I rate Crosswinds a must-play and excellent value - enjoy it if you can.

TOURNAMENT NOTE:

The Seaport Open is played each October at Crosswinds - this 54-hole event is open to pros and amateurs with a very reasonable entry fee for either division. Navigate the link to the course page above to view complete course details including directions and information about the Seaport Open.

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