Hilton Head Travel Feature - the MCI Classic

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

HILTON HEAD, S.c. -- Driving south along US 17 from Myrtle Beach to Hilton Head is a bit like coming up for air from the deep end of a swimming pool when you have stayed under water just a little bit too long - it's not necessarily a breath of fresh air, more like necessary for survival.

As soon as you leave Garden City Beach on the south end of the Grand Strand, you begin to get the flavor of what coastal South Carolina was like before the advent of miniature golf, or even golf for that matter.

Ah, but alas, the day is still about golf as the MCI Classic is in town - Harbor Town Golf Links to be more specific. And no one could be happier than PGA fans and players. If everyone has a hangover from the intensity of the Masters, then the seven day party that is the Tour's swing into Hilton Head is the Bloody Mary.

There is a reason that every hotel, motel, B & B and guesthouse from Georgetown to Savannah is booked for this entire week. The pomp and circumstance surrounding Augusta National and the battle for the year's first major is certainly a rite of passage every spring. But the laid back atmosphere of the "Heritage of Golf" is more like spring break.

"This is more like a vacation week for me," said Loren Roberts, in contention at Augusta last week. "I like to just come down here and enjoy the charms of the Lowcountry.

First there is the location. Whereas the Masters essentially ceases to exist outside of the grounds of Augusta National, the Heritage of Golf thrives along the festive streets of Hilton Head like Tiger Woods under pressure.

Stick a world class field of golfers in the middle of a geographically constrained location, that just happens to be on of the most beautiful resort destinations on the east coast, and throw in the warm temperatures of the south in the spring time, and you have yourself a fiesta like few others on tour.

"I was at Augusta last week and that has to be one of the biggest party scenes I have ever been a part of," says Todd Nelson, long-time MCI Classic patron. "But it is nothing like Hilton Head. This has to be the biggest party on tour."

Second, there is the golf course. Harbour Town Golf Links is not only the crown jewel of an area blessed with a plethora of high class golfing facilities, this Pete Dye classic is one of the more interesting and challenging tracks in the entire country. Its four par-3s, which play around an assortment of hardwoods, live oaks and marshes has been called the best set of short holes on any course, anywhere.

The par-4 18th hole which playing alongside the Calibogue Sound with its red-and-white striped lighthouse is one of the most recognizable sites on the PGA Tour. Ironically, the most visible hole on the course is nothing short of an aberration, as the majority of Harbour Town's seventeen other holes sport narrow, dog legging fairways and postage stamp size greens that yield only to the players striking the ball perfectly for four days.

Finally, there is Davis Love III. The unofficial "Son of the South" on the PGA Tour has won at Harbor Town four times in his successful, yet often criticized professional career. No one encapsulates the laid back, slow as molasses feeling that surrounds the entire week at Hilton Head, and the post Maters Bloody Mary that is the MCI Classic.

"I think I play well here because I prepared so hard for the Masters," said Love after his practice round. "I am always working hard on my game this time of year and I think it just spills over onto this week."

THE MCI CLASSIC

When: Today through Sunday
Where: Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island
Ticket Information: 18002341007

TravelGolf.com Editor Shane Sharp will be reporting travel related information daily from Hilton Head and the MCI Classic.