Sea Pines, One Of The Most Storied PGA Resorts, With An Illustrious History

• In the early 1950s, Hilton Head Island didn't have electricity, phone service, gas stations, or convenience stores. Only one paved road existed, and that was on the north end of the island. At the time, the Lowcountry area of South Carolina was one of the poorest in the state.
• Nevertheless, Charles Fraser - a graduate of Yale Law School, with a brief practice in Augusta, Georgia - saw potential in the dense forest leading to the Atlantic Ocean. It took some prodding before Charles could convince his father, General Joseph B. Fraser, to sell him the land to cut down a few trees - rather than completely level the area - and turn it into a resort / retirement area. But as Joe Fraser - Charles' older brother - has said, their parents were supportive of whatever they wanted to do.
• It was in 1956, under the Fraser Land Holding Company, that a master plan for Sea Pines came about, followed by the construction of the resort's roads and other infrastructure.
• On June 20, 1957, the Sea Pines Plantation Company was incorporated. Charles - who was 28 years old then - became president, and Joseph became senior vice president. Their father, General Joseph B. Fraser, served as chairman of the board.
• Oceanfront lots started at $5,300, but quickly jumped to $7,500 as the development took shape. Charles built himself a house on the second row of Green Heron Road, and - by 1960 - was using it as both an example of his idea of what a Sea Pines house and landscape should look like, and as a place to entertain clients. Some of them were turned down as buyers, if they didn't meet the high criteria set by Charles and his executives.
• In the early 1960s, the first condominiums in The Sea Pines Resort were built, most of them clustered along Lighthouse Road. With them, the nature of the area changed. It no longer was just a private residential community, but was quickly becoming a resort destination, catering to vacationers. Visitors became buyers, and - before long - The Sea Pines Resort was running out of new property for sale.
• Sea Pines Company didn't start out as such. It has had many names over the course of the years, including Fraser Land Holding Company and Sea Pines Plantation Company. In the 1970s, "plantation" was dropped from the name because of its negative connotations with slavery. Today, three companies operate within the flagship: The Sea Pines Resort; Sea Pines Real Estate, which also encompasses residential and commercial property outside of Sea Pines; and Community Services Associates.
• There were three primary house builders of the early houses on Hilton Head - Robert Graves, Bobby Woods, and Faris Highsmith. Initially, Fraser - who wasn't a golfer himself - thought it would be difficult to sell any inland homes, but an innovative T-road design, along with the idea of building homes along golf courses, helped sales along.
• Fraser wanted to make sure the community and environment would withstand the years and came up with a rock-solid set of covenants - attached to each private property, dedicated open space and common areas, commercial property, and forest preserve. Fraser wanted to ensure that these covenants could not be breached. One of the "clicker" clauses included in these covenants stated that when The Sea Pines Resort reached a certain percentage of build-out - which occurred in the mid-70s - the property owners, through an association, would take over the common elements of the community, including landscaping, forests, roads, easements, and waterways. Each owner would be assessed an annual fee to generate funding to manage these elements. Today, those fees add up to nearly $7 million a year, for the upkeep and maintenance of the common elements. The association is run by an elected board of directors - who serve two- or three-year terms - and is comprised of commercial and residential representatives.
• Charles Fraser wanted to bring in professional sports - which, at the time, were just starting to resemble what they are today. He was convinced a Professional Golfers Association event was just what the island and The Sea Pines Resort needed. Again, his foresight didn't fail him. Since the first Heritage Classic Golf Tournament in 1969, attendance has grown to more than 100,000. In addition, The Sea Pines Resort hosted the Family Circle Tennis Cup tournament for several years. Today, there are three golf courses in The Sea Pines Resort: Ocean Golf Course, Sea Marsh (currently closed for renovation until September 2007), and Harbour Town Golf Links, which was finished in 1969 - just in time for the first Heritage golf tournament. As the story goes, sand was still being poured in bunkers, as golfers were teeing off for the first round.
• The Harbour Town Lighthouse - "Fraser's Folly" - was still under construction at the time of the first tournament. But Fraser believed the tournament and the lighthouse were the "hooks" that he was looking or - the things that would make The Sea Pines Resort stand out and be recognized. Today, the lighthouse is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the country, and one of the most recognized corporate logos in the world.
• In the 1970s, The Sea Pines Resort bought the northeast end of the island for more than $8 million, which quickly sold and became its own village, Hilton Head Plantation.
• For nearly two decades, The Sea Pines Resort enjoyed successful growth. Between 1968 and 1974, employment at Sea Pines Company increased tenfold. Charles surrounded himself with smart people, and - in the early 1970s - he was reported to have recruited more Harvard MBAs than any other firm in America. Getting their feet wet at The Sea Pines Resort, many of them went on to develop other world-class resorts themselves.
• Fraser sold his stake in The Sea Pines Resort in 1983. However, he continued to live on the island, serving on the island council and boards of other developments. The Sea Pines Resort and Fraser's visions have served as the template for the planning of Hilton Head Island - as well as other resort communities, including Amelia and Kiawah islands.
• The Heritage Classic Foundation was created in 1987 to solidify the PGA Tour's Heritage Golf Tournament, now the Verizon Heritage.
• In 2003, Sea Pines Associates board members announced their intent to sell the resort, but only to a person or entity who would be a good steward and who would carry on Fraser's original intent for the community. They also insisted that potential buyers be of sound financial standing.
• In March 2005, the Riverstone Group purchased The Sea Pines Resort.
• No building at The Sea Pines Resort is taller than the tallest magnolia or oak tree; even the world-famous yacht basin at Harbour Town was designed and redesigned to save trees.