Friday was the big day for us – the round at Harbour Town Golf Links. I lived in Virginia for seven years and made countless trips to Florida along I-95 but never took the time to play Harbour Town. Happily, I fixed that today and got to play the PGA Tour stop for the RBC Heritage.
After a couple days of so-so weather, today turned out to be a great day, at least for this time of year. It was chilly to begin but warmed up nicely with plenty of sunshine. My pictures turned out great so make sure to take a look at those if that is your thing.
I guess I’ll get the bad news out of the way first. Harbour Town is very expensive, even during the off-season. We managed to save $55 by doing a three-round package, but the green fee runs $335 this time of year, plus a forecaddie. I didn’t realize a forecaddie was required when booking the tee time so I had to scramble to find some cash for the tip. Plus, if you don’t stay in the Sea Pines community then it is $9 to get through the gate, without any exception because you are golfing. Dumb.
If you can get past the steep price tag, then the good news is that Harbour Town is a beautiful golf course. The course’s presentation was my favorite thing about playing here. And, the par-3’s are excellent. Harbour Town won’t blow you away with dramatic scenery like a West Coast course, but many mature trees, great bunkering and two holes along the Calibogue Sound made it a special walk. It is cart path only year-round in case that matters to you.
Pete Dye designed Harbour Town with input from Jack Nicklaus. There are many Dye touches throughout the course including gnarly bunkers and plenty of railroad ties. Bunkers come in all shapes and sizes and range from the massive bunker that nearly circles the 7th green to the small pot bunkers hidden behind the 9th green. The short par-4 13th has railroad ties that come up vertically out of the bunker to give it a sundial-style look.
We played the blue tees which are 73.4/144/6681. Harbour Town is a par-71 with only three par-5’s and one of those is the 571-yard 15th. What makes the course so difficult is all the narrow playing corridors. That made for a long day with my current tee game. Trees overhang most fairways and while a couple holes open up, the 11th through the 15th is a particularly narrow stretch. The greens are also quite small.
The final two holes at Harbour Town are the signature holes that play along the sound. The 17th is a 185 yard par-3 that forces you to carry the edge of the marsh. The green sits out in the marsh and one of Dye’s wacky bunkers guards the left side. The 18th is a long par-4 (444 yards) with two carries over the water.
The conditions were excellent and reflective of the course’s top 100 ranking. Everything was overseeded and had that bright green look. The tees and fairways were cut short and the ball sat up. The greens were a medium pace according to our forecaddie, but I would have called them fast.
Harbour Town is a great course and ends up as one of my favorite Dye designs. I’d recommend playing here at least once if you can swing it financially. However, it wasn’t as magical an experience as some of the other top courses I’ve played – for example, Pebble Beach, Cascata or Chambers Bay. I think that feeling results from the lack of playability with all the trees around.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):