Harbour Town Golf Links

Harbour Town Golf Links is located on Hilton Head Island, SC and year in and year out is considered one of the best courses in the nation. It was designed by one of the all time great American architects Pete Dye with the help of the very prolific designer Jack Nicklaus in 1967. The course itself is a relatively short layout at 6,973 yards par 71 and consists of many narrow tree lined holes. Along with the narrow and demanding tree lined tee shots other characteristics that describe Harbour Town are its small greens and distinct mounding that surround the landing areas of both the fairways and greens. A common characteristic of Pete Dye courses are his large and relatively long bunkers that flank the landing areas and Harbour Town is no exception. Many of the holes are flanked by just such bunkers and even some of the greens surrounded entirely by these gargantuan hazards.

Just like any great course Harbour Town has very distinctive holes that help to define the course and set it apart from many others. The par threes at Harbour Town, for example, are some of the more demanding par threes around with all of them incorporating some type of hazard whether it be a heavily mounded bunker or a dangerously close pond or lake. Although none of them demand great length to conquer they all demand sufficient length and dead on accuracy with a longer iron for any scratch golfer. Although these holes all stick out in my mind as both beautiful and difficult, nothing compares to the courses finishing hole. The 18th hole at Harbour Town is undoubtedly one of the most picturesque and yet one of the most difficult holes in American golf. With two forced carries over the famed Calibogue Sound into one of the smallest finishing greens on the PGA Tour the 18th hole at Harbour Town is one-in-a-million. And who can forget the sight of the famed light house flanking the green across the marina. It will forever be ingrained in golfers hearts as one of the greatest holes in golf.

One of the reasons that this place is so special is because of its very popular PGA Tour event the Verizon Heritage. Each year some of the world's best professional golfers come to Hilton Head for this event. Considered one of the favorites by many of pros the tournament has seen winners like: Nick Faldo, Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, and the late Payne Stewart just to name a few. Each year these pros fight for the famed plaid jacket. Similar to the Masters' green jacket but safe to say with much less prestige this prize is sought by many and is cherished by those who've won it.

My experience with Harbour Town extends to my childhood on a family vacation to the Hilton Head area. During my trip there I was fortunate enough to be able to play Pete Dye's masterpiece and can say from experience that what the course lacks in length it makes up for ten fold in character. The golf course is one of the hardest I have played in my lifetime and although I was very discouraged with the way my day had gone I couldn't help but walk up the 18th fairway and feel an unmeasurable amount of joy. The course is a gem and provides a better golf experience altogether than just about any course I have played before. It truly is an American classic!

Information derived from Wikipedia.org, the www.verizonheritage.com, and www.hhigolfvacations.com.