OKATIE, S.C. -- Spring Island's Old Tabby Links in Okatie, SC has been ranked in the top 1% of the more than 20,000 golf courses and golf clubs in the USA by Top 100 Golf Courses, the only independent website dedicated to the top golf courses of the world. The UK-based website's ranking system is derived from existing golf publication rankings, coupled with ratings from reviewers and golfers who have played the courses. www.top100golfcourses.co.uk

"Many consider the 9th hole - where the Tabby ruins lay to the right of the fairway, across a large pond - as on of the best risk reward holes in the Palmetto state," according to Top 100 Golf Courses. "While the par three 17th is regarded as one of the 18 best holes that Arnold Palmer ever created."

Top 100 Golf Courses is not the only group to recognize Spring Island this year. Golfweek ranked Old Tabby Links 25th in its 2009 list of residential courses, Links named Spring Island one of the "Best of the Best" private golf communities in 2009, and Travel + Leisure Golf ranked the community 23rd in its list of the Top 100 Golf Communities.

Spring Island is one of the most picturesque and historic sea islands on the Atlantic coast, with nearly half of the island's 3,000 acres protected as a nature preserve. While the golf at Spring Island continues to garner awards, tennis, fitness and equestrian facilities have been sensitively woven into the island's tapestry of woods and fields. The tradition of the island's legendary quail hunting has also been maintained with private plantation hunts available for members, and fishermen and boaters will find an abundance of ponds as well as two of America's cleanest and most beautiful rivers at Spring Island's shoreline. www.springisland.com.

The developers of Spring Island, Chaffin/Light Associates (CLA), has created internationally recognized, conservation-based communities that feature superb recreational facilities, including some of the best golf courses in the United States, while building and supporting non-profit organizations which provide arts, conservation and educational programs. CLA communities include: Spring Island, Chechessee Creek Club and Callawassie Island, South Carolina; Balsam Mountain Preserve, North Carolina; Roaring Fork Club, Idarado Legacy, Park East and Snowmass Village, Colorado; Semiahmoo Resort, Washington; and The Dunes Club, Amelia Island, Florida. www.chaffinlight.com.