2. Harbour Town Golf Links
Hilton Head Island
This Pete Dye course (with collaboration from then-fledgling designer Nicklaus) at Sea Pines Resort opened in 1969 and soon became home to what is now the RBC Heritage. From the start, Harbour Town was a different kind of golf course by a different kind of designer.
PGA Tour fans will recognize the 18th hole with its exposed fairway and green alongside Calibogue Sound – and the red-and-white lighthouse rising from the nearby marina – but most of Harbour Town (No. 54 on Golfweek’s Best list of modern courses) plays just the opposite of the closing hole’s width.
The opening 16 holes amble through neighborhoods and wooded areas, with trees strategically guarding approach shots to many of the perched, TifEagle Bermuda greens. On several holes it’s possible to be in the short grass but on the wrong side of the fairway with almost no shot to the green except a low runner beneath the branches. Tee selection is critical for amateurs, as playing the 7,099-yard course at too great a distance can leave a player blocked out on doglegs.
As American-style golf has become an aerial game, the frequent trees effectively present vertical challenges that ground-height humps, bumps and even water hazards cannot. The entire setup can be extremely challenging – almost shocking – to players who make assumptions about ease of use whenever they are swinging from the short grass.
The overall effect is a stunning test of shotmaking, with the ability to think and then curve shots both ways more rewarding than power alone. The list of PGA Tour winners here proves that point, with most of the biggest stars of the past 50 years having won. Those include Arnold Palmer, Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Hale Irwin and Tom Watson among the early champions.
The march through the pines and oaks reaches a crescendo after the tee shot on No. 16, with the picturesque estuary in view for the first time. The 185-yard, par-3 17th over water and sand is followed by the famous 472-yard, par-4 closer, both incredible marsh holes with wide-open views and plenty of opportunity for heroic play or lost balls – and no trees blocking the lines of play.
Since building Harbour Town, Dye has become famous for testing players with little patience for careless or incapable swings. This is one of his greatest examples of that challenging approach.
Rater’s comments: A shotmaker’s course and a Pete Dye classic that hasn’t lost its interest. Tight fairways lined by native trees challenge ball movement. The original railroad ties are a Dye signature that were subsequently replicated on so many of his courses. – Gregg Feinberg, Allentown, Pa.