Hilton Head Travel Feature - Harbour Town Golf Links an "Emotional" Course

By Shane Sharp,
Contributing Writer

HILTON HEAD, S.c -- If Myrtle Beach was once referred to at the golfing K-Mart by the sea, then Hilton Head has always been considered the Saks Fifth Avenue. And located just behind the men's clothing and to the left of women's jewelry is the top offering of this high end department store - the Sea Pines Plantation's Harbor Town Golf Links, home of the MCI Classic Heritage of Golf.

"In my opinion, this is one of the better courses in all the southeast," said one of the MCI Classic attendants in passing as Jesper Parnevik prepared to tee off on No. 1. "I think if you ask any of the players they will tell you that this is one of their favorites."

Harbour Town was designed by Pete Dye, with assistance from Jack Nicklaus, and if you know anything about either course designer, it is that neither man pulls any punches with their layouts. But Harbour Town is a kinder gentler Dye, and grandfatherly Nicklaus. True, the greens are the size of a single wide trailer and some of the fairways are as narrow as railroad tracks, but for the most part, the course is extremely playable.

"The greens here remind me of the greens back home," said Davis Love III. "They are small but I know how they putt."

Even if you weren't playing the course, Harbour Town would be an interesting walk, at worst, an intriguing adventure, at best. With the exception of the 17th and 18th holes, Dye and Nicklaus have literary carved this track through an impressive assortment Lowcountry hardwoods and a smattering of coastal lakes.

But not everyone is enamoured by Dye's "masterpiece", while some are out right critical. For starters, a number of Hilton Head regulars in attendance at the MCI cited the fact that almost every hole is surrounded by houses, just like any other course on the island. For others, it was all about the money.

"This is a good course, but it is not worth the price they ask to play it," said one player assistant, wishing to remain anonymous. "There are plenty of other courses on this island that are just as good, with a good designer label on them, and they charge much less during the peak season.

Some love it, some like, some are spiteful. That the course can inspire so many mixed emotions amongst players both professional and amateur says more about capitalism than it does about Dye's design. Unequivocally, no one faults the design of the course as being unfair, or uninspiring. But bring up greens fees and housing development and the criticism comes around faster than Jesper Parnevik's backswing.

No matter what your stance is on Harbour Town, there is no denying the success it has experienced as the most popular stop on the Carolinas swing of the PGA Tour. Despite its unenviable position immediately following the Masters, the MCI continues to draw one of the best fields of a non-major. MCI Classic past champions have won 65 majors, collectively, and the tournaments purse has quadrupled since 1988.

"This place is so special, a lot of guys, they have parties and the fans are around, and nobody here is stupid, like some of the other places we play," said defending champion Glen Day. "I think it's a great week, and I've always loved this week, not just because I won last year."

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