Though upstaged by the high-profile Sea Pines Racquet Club in another part of the development, the South Beach Racquet Club deserves consideration, especially if you simply love to play. Its welcoming clubhouse resembles a Lowcountry cottage, with a porch that wraps around two sides. Rocking chairs on the porch, which overlooks Court 1, a 1,000-squarefoot deck at one end, and free morning coffee (except in summer) all encourage people to drop by and hang around. “Many of our members have their own rocking chair,” notes Don Sigmon, who owns and operates the club with his wife Rachel. Those avid members account for much of the activity; however everyone is welcome, whether or not they’re staying within the resort. Or as Sigmon puts it: “To play here you need to like tennis and enjoy having a good time.”
The club is just a few steps from the shops, restaurants, and watersports center at South Beach Marina and about 300 yards from the beach. Bicycles can be rented at the racquet club, and at the end of the day lots of people wander over to the Salty Dog Cafe, a favorite place for beverages and snacks.
Tennis Staff: Owners Don and Rachel Sigmon take an active part in the club’s operation. The very popular Brian Kiggins, who had been head pro in the past, has returned after a stint at another Hilton Head Island resort, this time as Director of Tennis.
Tennis Programs: Apart from private lessons, South Beach runs stroke-of-the-day clinics for adults and, in summer, a variety of clinics for children (ages 5-8), pre-teens, and teens. With roughly 175 members—about half of them full-time residents—to draw on, the staff can often put together competitive matches for anyone who asks. Another way to meet players—apart from just dropping by—is to attend one of the twice-weekly round robins, which attract anywhere from a few to 16 players. Beyond that there are adult clinics and drills and several junior sessions (by age or ability) every Monday through Friday.
Court Complex: South Beach has 13 clay courts, six of them in a cluster anchored by the clubhouse and another seven among the trees across the road. Fees are $20/hour walk-in, $25 with a reservation (although those who rent through certain agencies get free or discounted rates—check with the pro shop for up-to-date information).
223 Reviews on “South Beach Racquet Club”
we just had the most fabulous learning experience, fun, and incredible hospitality for a womens’ weekend at South Beach. I worked with Michael to set up 3 3-day clinics for 3.0/3.5 girlfriends. He did a wonderful job, and the owners and staff did everything possible to make sure we felt taken care of on and off court, giving us discounts on clothing. The instruction was first class. Drills were fun, and we were able to play/practice alot with instruction. Michael and SB are the best tennis destination ever! Call ahead and anything is possible, especially on the off season. We will be regulars even though we all live in Illinois.
Michael and Keith at the South Beach Racquet Club in Hilton Head flat-out deliver a comprehensive constellation of nuanced, detailed tips that help build a more complete game. Drills, techniques, mechanics, psychology, physiology and fun, are all combined to bring your game to the next level.
My wife & I both participated in a week of clinics in early September 2010 and came away with so much more than we expected. Though we have been able to gain from the many other pro’s with whom we’ve taken classes I can honestly say that Michael and Keith opened new and exciting doors for our enjoyment of the game.
We have been coming to South Beach Racquet Club for many years. Both my husband and I always look forward to private lessons and clinics with the Head Pro Michael O’Keefe. Now our children do too! Of the many pros at clubs and resorts up and down the east coast we have visited, he stands out as a true gem. His amazing ability to diagnose needed improvements and adjustments to our games is remarkable. He then methodically breaks down the step by step remedies and in no time we feel huge improvements.
Additionally, he is one of the nicest guys you would ever find on the court. We only wish we could visit more often or take him home to our local club. He is well worth the trip to South Beach no matter where you are staying on the island.
Another great week at South Pines Racquet club. Took Mike and Keith’s drills, the best. Ryan took great care of the granddaughters, Mike’s privates turned a friend of ours into a new tennis lover and Rachel, the owner always makes sure everything is running smooth. Best tennis resort anywhere. Wish it was closer to home.
Spent the week in Hilton Head, played got 3 lessons from Ryan, and had a great time. Ryan was the best pro i have gotten a lesson from in years. Had great fun and improved my game significantly. Very cool.
The drills and games were instructive and helpful. There was a good balance of group instruction and individual feedback and assistance. The pros were fun and engaging. They kept the group moving all the while providing feedback about the students form. The court ratio (generally 4:1) ensured that there was not a lot of idle time. The social components gave the students a chance to meet each other and the pros. Exceptional camp.
Terrific service- We rented bikes from South Beach Racquet Club and all of the staff was professional and made sure we were happy with our bikes. We’ve rented bikes from South Beach for 5 or 6 years now. Always great! Love the tennis too. Clay courts are great and the pros are excellent.
Rachel was great! Set up matches, courts are in excellent condition, GREAT organizing. Kept everyone up to date. Staff friendly! Come here again in a heartbeat!
My favorite for vacation tennis! great for beginners or more advanced players. Staff is outstanding and very accomodating. Owners are very hands-on. i would highly recommend.
Great.. Very friendly and helpful. My favorite tennis club. Most certainly will return next year. Thet made our vacation relaxing and fun. Thank you.
We had a tennis girls’ weekend with 8 of our closest friends. We all played at the South Beach Racquet Club and several of us also took a private clinic tailored for our skill level. We all had a great time and the staff was exceptional and worked very hard to ensure that we had a fantastic time. I would highly recommend this club. I felt very comfortable there, almost as if I was a member of the club. The pro shop has some of the best tennis clothes around too!
I would highly recommend the South Beach Racquet club in HHI. Michael O’Keefe is an excellent instructor and his daily drills are great for players of all levels. I’m a 4.5 USTA player and had as much fun the less experienced players and even learned a thing or two. It’s a beautiful facility with helpful, friendly staff – and you can’t beat the location!!
It is a wonderful club! I love playing tennis there every afternoon while on vacation. Plus the staff is so friendly and always helpful!
I brought my team members to South Beach last month and we had a great time. The drills and instruction were terrific! Everyone commented that they had a great time and learned more in our 4 days than in any other program!
SBRC is a great location with great staff and facilities.
South Beach Racquet Club is the perfect spot for a tennis enthusiasts. Located in beautiful Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head Island, the club offers 13 soft courts, great tennis apparel and gear, a friendly staff and very good pros, (also bike rental). My husband, kids and I took lessons and clinics all week. If one of us was finished before the others there was a large covered porch with big comfortable rockers for relaxing and watching the tennis. We received great instruction and had lots of fun too. The location is great for biking, easy beach access, shopping and dining. We will definitely go back!!!
Very good courts. Smooth and true bounces.
The property is very nice with large shade trees and a covered balcony to observe the courts. The Owners, Don & Rachel, are about as down-to-earth as it gets. They delightful people and the other staff very friendly as well. My Son loved his Junior Clinic. The Pro (Keith) was GREAT with the kids. I’ve never seen my Son so happy to go back each day. They even rent bikes here which is very convenient. Thanks for making our visit to Hilton Head a wonderful experience for all.
a great place to play tennis,glof,shop,water sports,great places to eat and fantas beachs
Really enjoyed the facility. Nice tennis shop along with great personel. The clay courts are in excellent shape and the camp I attended was exactly what I wanted. Have a very enjoyable trip to Hilton Head with this tennist resort being the highlight of my trip.
Great friendly staff and well kept grounds. We got a court right away. We’ll definitely be back.
South Beach Racquet Club is our absolute favorite place to play tennis on Hilton Head Island. We’ve been going there for 18 years now. The courts are always in excellent shape, and the setting at South Beach is beautiful.
The best part, though, is they have the friendliest staff of all the clubs I’ve visited. I’ve played at Palmetto Dunes, Sea Pines, the Westin facility, and we make a point of going to South Beach Racquet Club even if we’re staying in one of the other plantations.
I was only in town for the weekend and only got to play once, but the courts played quite well and it was a good sized facility. Pro shop staff were great – the pro even replaced my grip with a new one when he saw how ratty my old grip was.
Recently I had the opportunity to spend 5 days playing tennis @ the South Beach Racquet Club. This and exceptional tennis facility. I enjoyed taking clinics from the head pro Michael, who offered great instuction. This is a warm and welcoming club in a great location in Sea Pines. Can’t wait to go back!
Fantastic club –the reason we keep coming back to Sea Pines and South Beach Tennis—condos and Racquet Club. Michael is fantastic coach and the office staff is amazing–extremely helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. Lots of serious tennis players here so esay to sub in or get a group going. thanks to Tri and all the great folks
We are a group of 10 women who have been attending tennis camps at various locations for many years. Last year (2009) we attended the program at Stratton Mountain which is now run by by Cliff Drysdale. We happened to go on “Legends Weekend” and Cliff himself was there to instruct and join in. Cliff and his staff are exceptional instructors, highly motivated and willing to accommodate your group in any way possible. We will be heading back again this year for sure!
Awesome tennis club. Was there for a long tennis weekend. Had a clinc with their pro and played tennis on their wonderfully maintained tennis courts. Very friendly staff and great tennis shop with all the latest apparel. Just a few minutes from the beach and great dining. Right next door to Salty Dog Cafe. A hop skip and a jump from Charlotte. Highly recommend it for a ladies tennis team get away.
South Beach Racket Club is so inviting with the beauty of the Club and tennis courts, a perfect location in Hilton Head. The staff is professional, friendly and very helpful! The tennis shop has the latest and most beautiful tennis fashion and the tennis lessons will last a life time!
Excellent facility with a top notch staff. Head pro, Michael O’Keefe, is quite good as an instructor. surroundings are beautiful
Stratton resort was a very enjoyable place to visit. The accomodations were quite nice and the food and activities on offer were varied and pretty good. I would highly recommend a visit to stratton. It’s a beautiful place! My husband and I attended two mixed doubles tennis weekends at the Broadmoor this year, one for Valentine’s Day and one in October. We plan to return next Valentine’s Day. The instruction is phenomenal. They keep you moving while providing lots of tips. They mix drills, skills and game to keep us interested and make it fun while learning. We also were videotaped with the dart fish system and all learned we weren’t quite as bad as we thought! They were able to provide lots of tips. The Broadmoor itself is fabulous. The beds are extra comfy and we enjoyed the hot tub each day after 3 hours of tennis lessons (9 hours total during the weekend). Our favorite restaurant was the Tavern for their exceptional steaks and service. The Broadmoor has a fully stocked tennis pro shop and gives all camp members a 20% discount. We loaded up on the latest fashions. They also demo racquets and the pros will help you choose ones the fit your playing style and ability. We loved the camp and plan to continue attending. The camps are small – only 8 players with 2 pros, so there is lots of individual attention. They also varied some mixed instruction, some all men/all women, and rotated pros between groups so you received feedback from different pros who explained things just a little differently which really helped. We brought several of our team members to fill the camp. That made it even more special, as we all knew each other! I would highly recommend it to all levels of players. Several of my friends have attended all women weekend camps and loved that as well. Karen, the tennis director, is also fabulous. She will arrange things to make sure your weekend is spectactulor and really acted on all the feedback we provided to make our next day and next stay even better than the last!
Both of my kids attended the Stratton tennis Camp (Cliff Drysdale) for 4 days this past summer. They enjoyed the camp very much. The instructors organized lots of fun games and there was some good tennis. Though as a weakness my 11 yr. old was disappointed that there wasn’t more tennis training (they attended camp the previous year and there as more training then)
It was an amazing program. I had not played tennis in seven years and with Drysdale Tennis I got back on the court and played 2-3 times a week with private lessons, clinics and Cardio Tennis. They run a solid program with great pros.
Excellent, friendly tennis program.
Scott…you were so amazing. thank you for a wonderful week…
The tennis program at Stratton Mountain was excellent. I atended this camp with 8 other woman from my tennis team. The drills and activities were very good and the pros were all talented and enthusiastic about the game. I came home with some new pointers and ideas about how to improve my game. These were ideas that were easy to incorporate into my current game. It was a pleasure that we hope to repeat next summer.
I was pleasantly surprised with my one night 2 day stay at Stratton. My morning intensive sessions were right on target. Hard work but a positive fun session. I am a 70 year old player and will return next year with my wife. The price, instruction and drills exceeded my expectations.
My daughters are still talking about how much they loved Cliff Drysdale Tennis camp in Stratton, VT. The pros and counselors were terrific! The kids played a lot of tennis and also enjoyed activities such as swimming, soccer and pizza parties. Our family enjoyed the adult tennis clinic as well as the tennis day camp this past summer, and will look into the sleepaway camp for next summer for the kids.
I had 2 of my children in the tennis camp they were 5 and 6 and they both LOVED it. There were various ages and the director was able to organize the courts to abilitly of play well. It was an all round mixture of tennis games and just fun that i think any age would love. While the kids were in camp i enjoyed private lessons and clinics which i enjoyed and will do again. Great work out and good intruction.
The Junior Tennis Camp at Stratton (Drysdale Tennis School) run by Scott Colebourne is the best tennis camp I have encountered. They strike the perfect balance between putting in hours on the court and keeping the kids interested and having fun. The staff, led by Scott, really knows how to handle, inspire and motivate kids. The instruction is terrific!
I cannot speak highly enough of the Drysdale school led by Scott.
Sent 2 children (10 & 11) just 2 AM’s….it was NOT strictly tennis, which was OK….but….the boys were not grouped properly. The 10 Yr. was with much younger kids and they used a Jr. net (as low as you can get!). Both boys had fun, but the tennis seemed secondary!
I would have had them enroll for longer, but it needs to be grouped better. Next year, hopefully, this will be on a better scale.
Cliff Drysdale was there and it was great getting tips from him. His instructors were great and very attentative. Great value and since, I’ve recommended the camp to several people…
Great instruction! staff were knowledgeable and fun. Loved the mini tournaments and the friendliness of the staff
We definitely learned so much and were extremely impressed with the caliber of the instruction from Scott and the Cliff Drysdale Team at Stratton. They really achieved the perfect balance between very high quality constructive feedback that will help take our games to the next level, while encouraging and challenging us all in a very positive and fun atmosphere. Also impressive was the way they all were able to give such tailored and individualized feedback throughout the week we were there. Very pleased with our experience there!
Great all-around experience. Mike was awesome with both my daughter and myself. Keith took the time with my 7 year old son, and then took more time to talk thru some pointers with me. No question there is great value here. Cant wait to get back there next year for 2 weeks.
What a great surprise! I almost want to keep this place a secret. Everything was right about SBRC. I came down with 5 other ladies from my tennis team and took a couple of clinics with Michael and Keith. I’ve learned that you can teach an old dog new tricks! They were VERY good at helping us to improve our game on both the singles and doubles courts.
Michael and Keith were very accommodating to each of our needs and they never seemed to run out of energy or enthusiasm. The facility is beautiful and the courts play great. It was an overall wonderful experience. We are all excited about returning in the Fall.
Affordable, relaxed atmosphere along with good tennis instruction. My 10 year old twins have played tennis here for the past two years and we will be returning. Mike O’Keefe, Dir. of Tennis is wonderful with children and their parents.
A very friendly tennis club which welcomes vacationers and has some great clinics and events. Michael O’Keefe, the director of tennis and the chief pro, is a great teacher for all levels and who believes tennis should be fun, And that is what he makes it: fun. He breaks down your strokes and creates solutions to problems that are specific to your needs, not just cookie cutter instruction.
We just started to play at this facility, having used other ones on Hilton Head before. This was the best we’ve tried so far. The layout of the club is very attractive; the courts are in very good condition; the staff are pleasant and helpful. The outstanding attraction, however, was the pro, Michael O’Keefe. He is an outstanding professional who gives great lessons and clinics. His greatest strength is that he doesn’t teach by rote, but really tailors his instruction to your needs. He gave my completely different directions to my wife and I over our serves, because we both had different needs. My only hope is that he stays there so that when we return in September we can take up from where he left off.
The best kept secret on the Island, after wasting our time visiting the “larger” tennis resorts we stopped by the South Beach Racquet Club and met Michael (teaching pro) who immediately put together a goup of 8 players arranged for a mini round robin match, he even stayed late and participated in it. The owner’s (Don and Rachel Sigmon) manage the club and they have managed to create one of the most enjoyable tennis experiences that we will never forget. This club is a must for any first time visitors to HHI looking for a place to find a match in a most pleasant environment.
It is sad to think that the Gunterman Tennis School will no longer be at Stratton. That is the main reason why me and my gourp of friends went to Stratton. It was Kelly Gunterman that added the “touch” that made us feel special. The setting is great – Facilities could use an upgrade but we went for memories and experience and to have fun! He and his talented staff provided that for us.
I will be on the look out for he future sites. It is a lost for Stratton.
I loved it there. They have excellent services. The resort that I was in was great. The coach that taught me tennis was outstanding. I wished that I can stay in my vacation much longer, so I can stay in that resort.