The final hole at Harbour Town Golf Links is one of the most iconic: playing toward the red and white stripped lighthouse in the distance. The lighthouse, while not necessarily a navigational tool for sailors (there is a museum inside), provides a target for the golfer on the 18th hole.
Like sailors trying to find home, the lighthouse guides golfers to the conclusion of their round. Before that last quarter of a nautical mile (the final hole plays 472 yards from the back tees), there are 17 other holes that will test, confound, and perturb players. While it is an early Pete Dye design, the course showcases some of his strategic and design philosophies. (Jack Nicklaus also provided design input.)
Harbour Town hosts the RBC Heritage on the PGA Tour and has done so since the first playing in 1969. The course was unlike many (any?) courses the Tour players have seen before - it was relatively short, tight, and demanded precise shotmaking. Sometimes landing in the fairway isn't enough; shots must be positioned on the correct side of the fairway. Feedback for the course could have went the way players initially chided TPC Sawgrass because of the unique design. But Harbour Town was put on the map probably in no small part to the winner of the inaugural Heritage Classic: Arnold Palmer.
The player's voyage at Harbour Town begins at the clubhouse, which immediately showcases the course's heritage - pun intended. To the left is the pro shop, but to the right is the Pete Dye Room. A celebration of the life and work of the famed golf course architect, the mini-museum displays interactive exhibits, videos, and photographs of Dye's work and especially his relationship with Harbour Town.
Embarking slightly inland from the final port of call, the majority of the course weaves its way through the South Carolina low country, twisting and turning through stately Spanish moss covered oaks and cypress trees, pines, irrigated canals, and sandy waste areas.
If there is one thing - beside the finishing holes - that people know about Harbour Town is that it is tight. That is evident off right from the first tee. The fairway seems rather open but is pinched by trees about 100 yards from the green. Immediately, accuracy is demanded. Slightly off and golfers are forced to navigate over, under, or around trees.
Like many Pete Dye designed courses, the par three holes are an anchor. Beginning with the fourth hole, played over a canal with the left side of the green pushed to the edge of the bulkheaded hazard, players must be on alert to confidently navigate the one-shot holes. With three of the four par three holes facing different directions, golfers gather their bearings, identify the wind direction (which can swirl around due to the trees), and make confident swings to sail the ball at the proper heading.
The most challenging of the par three holes is the 14th, playing 192 yards for captains (165 and 148 for first and second mates), over a long canal and pinched in by trees on either side. There is one small pot bunker on the left of the green, which seems to be a magnet for any slight pull or conservative tee shot. The green is immediately protected by the canal in front and on the right.
Design features such as long bunkers parallel to the fairways and water hazards, mischievous pot bunkers, and bulkheaded greens and hazards are all on display at Harbour Town. So, too, is the influence of Alice Dye, Pete's wife and course design companion. The 13th hole features an Alice Dye design. The green is shaped as a "T" with three distinct areas - left, right, and front - and is surrounded by a bunker. But being bold as her design choices often were, the bunker was sunken below the green and surrounded with cypress planks.
The voyage reaches the water and the Calibogue Sound on holes 16, 17, and 18. The 16th is a shorter par four that doglegs left around trees and a waste bunker with church pew mounds and native grasses. A centerline tree in the fairway at the turn of the dogleg requires precision on the drive. As the hole turns to the left and reveals the view of the Sound, the wind noticeably becomes stronger. Golfers must batten down the hatches on these final holes.
The 17th is another one of the strong par threes. Playing directly toward the Sound, golfers must contend with a tidal marsh and waste bunker on the left of the green and a small, deep pot bunker on the right of the green.
Land, ho! The 18th plays parallel to the Sound and toward the lighthouse. It's time to dock, but not without a difficult finishing hole. The long par four plays to the widest (by far!) fairway on the course. From there, the approach is over a marsh to a skinny green nudged up to the Sound on the left and in front. Attack the pin but take too much club? A deep bunker behind the green may collect the golf ball. While there is essentially the entire island to play conservative to the right, that will leave a difficult pitch to the flag. (Not to mention, that steers away from the lighthouse's signal).
Harbour Town is a unique golf course, especially amongst Tour venues. It may knock golfers off their feet and take some time to get their "land legs" back. But with a steady game plan and a straight compass, golfers can chart their way around the course. And what they will find is an enjoyable round complete with lowcountry charm, classic Dye features, and an iconic finishing hole.
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