[Ran Morrissett]

https://golfclubatlas.com/courses-by-country/usa/harbour-town-golf-links/

This course profile is inexcusably late. Harbour Town, as indicated by the plaque that I hand painted for Dad as a birthday present ~three decades ago, played a HUGE role in the Morrissetts becoming hooked on architecture.



Time has shown that the seven hour ride home to Richmond, VA from Harbour Town in 1981, having just played there and Pinehurst No. 2, would serve as my foundation for discussing golf course architecture. What fodder my two brothers and Dad had, comparing the pros and cons of Pinehurst to that of Harbour Town. Having just seen the best of the old and the best of the new proved to be a dream platform to begin a life-long obsession with golf course architecture. Thereafter, innumerable great things followed in the world of golf, including this darn web site!

Giving my longtime fondness for Harbour Town, you would think I had a good read on it, having returned each decade since. Yet, not necessarily, as my December 2020 visit was a revelation on several levels. This time, I was struck by the complete absence of mounding and irrelevant dirt movement. Dye’s soft, minimalistic approach to the design stood out. Lesson learned: Low profile features invariably age better than wildly-shaped land.  Also, I freshly appreciated aspects of Pete Dye's 1963 Scotland trip with his wife Alice and how they incorporated what they saw. Features found especially at Prestwick seem liberally laced throughout Harbour Town.

We have all seen Harbour Town on TV and know what a neat, exacting set of targets it possesses. However, examining them close-up heightens one's appreciation. Harbour Town is important historically for its impact on architecture and more to the point, its targets (green complexes) are in a class by themselves. If there is a young Raynor out there, please come to Harbour Town for fresh ideas for new template holes!

A couple of other things I learned on my visit: Green Keeper Jonathan Wright (the only Green Keeper the course has had this century) constantly manages tree growth to achieve the proper light and air circulation. If you're on the 9th tee and look right, you will know what I mean and I have never seen the course better presented than a month ago. Wright has down to a science the balancing act between healthy turf and trees remaining integral to the design. Plus, conditioning has been helped by the fact that the owners (for whom I work and who also own the resort at Kiawah Island) and management keep the rounds suppressed by ~30% on an annual basis to insure a stellar playing experience. They could ring the bell financially for north of 40,000 rounds but that’s not the objective. The winner is you, the golfer, as you add a memory for a lifetime.

For example, an historic event occurred in 1981 when brother John, age 10, on the back nine was poised to break 50 for the first time. OF ALL NINES! It came down to a 5 footer for a bogey on the final hole. He drilled it after a fairly lengthy deliberation, reached into the cup, hurled the ball into Calibogue Sound, and gave a fine wave to the nonexistent crowd. One of the great - though little reported - moments in the game's history. Feels like it was yesterday.

Another person who was captivated by the design (though he never played it) was Byron Nelson. He toured it in a cart in the spring of 1987 and later opined that he would have won often at Harbour Town because he was confident he could place his way around the course and hit those 'tiny' targets. Plus, the Texan could flight the ball, and the wind at Harbour Town would help separate him from the field. Very cool stuff for a 23 year old (me!) to hear.

It's a delight to NOT post a profile on a course with 60 yard wide fairways and bunkers galore. Harbour Town only has 53 but I remember whining my last time there about how many I had found. The point is they are where you wish they weren't and they aren't were it doesn't matter. That's intelligent, restrained design. A cunning veteran without a power game can tack his way around Harbour own and gain advantages that would be impossible at many modern, big scale courses. Plus, these greens, which average just over 4,000 square feet, are ~ 50% smaller than those at many current course favs. THIS IS GOOD. If we celebrated just one form of architecture, we would be ignoring one of golf’s most appealing aspects - the diversity of its playing fields. Indeed, there would be no need for GolfClubAtlas and its world-famous Discussion Group if everything was the same!

We publish this profile today as a salute to Pete Dye, who passed away nearly thirteen months ago. There’s no better way to tip the hat and to recognize all that he brought to golf than by studying this design. For goodness sake, a slew of world class holes emerged on property with a high to low point of 6 feet! We are in the midst of a second Golden Age, for which I give much credit to Harbour Town and Sand Hills. A few of my all-time favorite architects are busy working right now but I state emphatically that Harbour Town is the one course that no architect - dead or alive -  could have done better. It is a landmark course and beginning in 1969 helped change the way architects looked at design.

Modern architects should return and see the course with fresh eyes to gain appreciation for its time-tested nuance. Harbour Town is a critical and healthy counterbalance to the excesses (needless width, excessive bunkers, gigantic green) that we see in the game today. Most importantly, it is a blast to play.

Best,

[Mark_Fine]

AMEN!  I love the golf course and have talked about it a ton on this site.  Nice profile!

[Tommy Williamsen]

Thanks for this Ran. I have such great memories of playing in a pro-am with Arnold Palmer and my best friend there in a 1985 SENIOR TOUR event. I shot 79 with an OB tee shot on 1 and a tee ball in the water on 10 (our first hole). My best memory is after the drop on 10. I hit a four wood to five feet and drained the putt. After the shot Arnie said, “Great shot Tom!”
I have replayed it a dozen times. It never gets old, especially if I am straight off the tee. I always make sure that I have practiced my short game before going there. I always need it.

[Joel_Stewart]

How much credit does Jack get for Harbour Town?  If you read the interview with Nicklaus, he talks about how Pete brought Jack in to consult during the construction of the Golf Club in Columbus and Jack (who received the job at Harbour Town) brought Pete in to assist.

[Tommy Williamsen]

How much credit does Jack get for Harbour Town?  If you read the interview with Nicklaus, he talks about how Pete brought Jack in to consult during the construction of the Golf Club in Columbus and Jack (who received the job at Harbour Town) brought Pete in to assist.

It sure seems the fingerprints of Pete are all over the course. I don't see much Jack.
On the Nicklaus Design website it relates of Harbor Town "Designed by Golf Course Architect Pete Dye with Jack Nicklaus serving as a design consultant."

[Anthony_Nysse]

Gary T. Snyder was Superintendent at HT until 2008 or 09. Jon was under him as an Assistant.

[Jason Thurman]

Beautifully done, Ran. This profile cements my feeling that Harbour Town might be my top US bucket list course, in the "realistic to expect to play it someday" division. I've just never seen anything quite like it.

[JLahrman]

Thanks Ran.

My dad served in the Marines and was stationed at nearby Parris Island. My parents have always had a soft spot for the area and when we were kids my family took several trips to Hilton Head. In 1990 we somehow convinced my dad to take me (age 15) and my two brothers (ages 13 and 9) for a round at Harbour Town. I was amazed that he would pay what I thought was an exorbitant amount of money for one round of golf, especially considering that he would be playing that round with his three bonehead sons.

Although being able to see the course every year on television no doubt helps, I still remember quite a bit of detail from what remains my one round at Harbour Town. I holed out from 135 yards for eagle on 5, and birdied 14. The narrowness of the holes, the strange small greens, and the railroad ties. I remember being disappointed that I HADN'T hit into the bunker on 13. It's a very memorable course in a charming part of the country.

[Terry Lavin]

I used to go on an annual golf trip to Hilton Head with a big group (6 foursomes usually). I put Harbour Town very high on my must play list. Throw in a couple of resort courses and get on Long Cove and you have yourself some South Carolina bliss.

[James Reader]

Beautifully done, Ran. This profile cements my feeling that Harbour Town might be my top US bucket list course, in the "realistic to expect to play it someday" division. I've just never seen anything quite like it.

I was just thinking exactly the same thing.  Until then, I’ll look forward to watching the Heritage with a greater appreciation of what I’m seeing.

[Eric Smith]

Well if this profile doesn't get you fired up for a trip to Hilton Head, nothing will!


Ran, this one's as good as it gets; who cares that its taken 50 years to make your Courses by Country listing, we've all known its place in your heart. I'd be more interested to learn if Harbour Town Golf Links will be added to a future Custodians listing?

[JC Jones]

I think this is one of if not the best profile Ran has done.  Often overlooked between worshiping golden age and marveling at the new supposed golden age is what, in my opinion, is one of the most important golf courses built i. This country; and maybe, anywhere. 


The course has stood the test of time, is wonderfully presented by the current management, and remains and should be celebrated as one of the best golf courses (period).  Few courses demand as much shot making as HarbourTown and I’m not sure any can match its finish.


Along with Pinehurst #2, it’s one of the few courses that can be played by a retired couple today and host a tournament for the pros tomorrow.


Great stuff all around on this one....and about time!!

[Thomas Dai]

Thanks for this Ran.
Looking through it and then having a look-see on Googlearth raised a question in my mind .... how would the course play without, yes without, any of the trees?
To what extent would the angles change? Would wild shots get into more trouble? Would ‘bombers’ look at the openness, attempt to play aggressive ... and what would be the likely outcome if they did?
Just a bit of out of the box thinking.
Just wondering.
Atb

[Mark_Fine]

Thomas,
The course was designed around the trees.  How would Sand Hills play without the sand hills? 


It is interesting to read the posts on this thread vs the posts on a few of the Harbour Town threads in the recent past. 
Happy to see all the thumbs up on this thread.  It is a course that needs to be played.  A shame it is expensive because you can learn a lot studying it.

[Peter Pallotta]

It's interesting how one discipline (playing good golf) can shed light on another discipline (building good golf courses) -- but only if we have our eyes open and are willing to see it.

I liked HT long before I knew anything about golf course architecture, and even before I started playing golf myself. Why? Because watching on tv as far back as 35 years ago, I'd hear the commentators say that HT was a 'shot-makers course', one that rewarded those who 'could work the ball both ways', a course where 'accuracy was more important than distance' and where you 'had to have a good short game' given the small targets; 'a grinder's course'.

And even for someone like me who knew almost nothing about gca and next to nothing about playing the game, that information was telling: the course seemed to be 'defining' what golf itself was all about, ie working the ball, making shots, getting up and down etc.

In other words -- though I didn't have the words for it back then -- the golf architecture at HT admirably fulfilled its No. 1 function: to serve as an engaging field of play for a game called golf.

And I would've been perfectly happy to leave it there -- and trust my own assessment of it -- for the rest of time, if it hadn't been for one well travelled architecture nerd throwing a monkey wrench into the equation by telling me that HT was actually built during 'the dark ages' of golf course architecture --  and then a bunch of other nerds saying its fairways were too narrow and it had too many trees!

Who were these guys? Did they never even watch golf on tv?!   


PS
Tommy: great story and great photo. You fit right in -- if I didn't know, I'd guess you were the pro (is that Dr Cary Middlecoff, or Mike Reid?) and Arnold the amateur!

[Jason Thurman]

Thanks for this Ran.
Looking through it and then having a look-see on Googlearth raised a question in my mind .... how would the course play without, yes without, any of the trees?
To what extent would the angles change? Would wild shots get into more trouble? Would ‘bombers’ look at the openness, attempt to play aggressive ... and what would be the likely outcome if they did?
Just a bit of out of the box thinking.
Just wondering.
Atb

My first thought was similar to Mark's... that the trees of Harbour Town are part and parcel of its unique identity and to think of it without them is like wondering how The Old Course would play if lined with trees and a couple ponds.

But I do think Ran's profile beautifully illustrates that Harbour Town possesses the fundamentals of great architecture, despite looking very different than what we typically think of as great architecture. Angles matter, and not just because of trees. The profile calls out the way that certain green shapes and bunkering schemes dictate preferred strategy. And I hadn't ever really noticed that... I don't watch much golf on TV, and I don't think I'd ever really noticed the 9th green, just to pick one example of many.

I think Ran's profile helps illustrate that underneath the trees lies the fundamentals of an excellent golf course with varied targets and subtle strategy and more options than you'd probably expect from a course that looks so dictatorial.

And then that makes me think about how one of the virtues of width so often extolled is that it makes preferred strategy murkier for the good player, while still allowing the duffer to golf their ball around without too much punishment. On a course with meaningful width, a player who just plays down the middle over and over will be at a disadvantage to the player who properly positions shots, at least theoretically.

But when I look at Harbour Town, I notice the effectiveness of the inverse. On a course that's so claustrophobic in appearance, the good player feels the pressure of hitting straight shot after straight shot. The weaker player, meanwhile, might be surprised to find his errant shots in a playable position most of the time, and have an easier time playing under trees or staying short of the real trouble. And EVERYBODY is going to get screwed a few times and decide just how heroic they're feeling before their next shot. To pick a VERY different course, Mammoth Dunes gives everybody a chance to score, but at the expense of real satisfaction when a good score is achieved. And I picture a true bunter, like my mother, feeling like she's just whacking a ball aimlessly in a field on most shots she hits from outside 120 yards out there, whereas at Harbour Town every shot has some visible consequences that keep things interesting as long as those consequences aren't overwhelming when you experience them.

Harbour Town looks scary to everybody, but probably isn't quite as scary as it looks sometimes. And I have to think a good score there feels a lot better than a good score on some of these modern Participation Trophy layouts. It's a really different way to create a course that's still playable for everybody, and engaging for everybody.

[Carl Rogers]

HT has been on the bucket list for a long time.

[Jay Mickle]

With both COVID shots I am seeing golf travel in my future and Harbour Town will be in the 2021 rota.

[jeffwarne]

Having worked 4 years at Hilton Head in the late 80's/early 90's,  one of my many holes in my golf education lies at Harbour Town.
I attempted to play it 3-4 times and just couldn't get past the poor experience-3 hour front nines, greens with no grass(winter overseed was gone after May). I think I only finished 18 once-with Long Cove and twenty plus other courses as an option it never made sense to hang in for another slow, miserable nine.
Certainly many cool holes, just so many one dimensional tunnels at the time.(the reality was there probably wasn't enough room for my hook)


Great to hear they've done needed tree work for turf and reduced the number of rounds for a better experience.
I need to get back and see what I missed.

[Matt Kardash]

I feel like I've mostly seen people crap on this course over the years on this site. Ran writes a review and suddenly everyone is in love. Wow, his influence on you lemmings is strong! Where are the hater's at?


I've always though HT was a super cool course. One of a kind.

[Eric Smith]

everyone

Yes, everyone. 15 people have commented on this thread.

[Matt Kardash]

everyone

Yes, everyone. 15 people have commented on this thread.

It's amazing how people don't understand exageration for effect.

[Jon Claydon]

Apologies if i've missed it elsewhere, but is there any thread with a discussion/comparison of HT with Long Cove Club and how Dye's work on each was similar or different etc?

[Tom_Doak]

How much credit does Jack get for Harbour Town?  If you read the interview with Nicklaus, he talks about how Pete brought Jack in to consult during the construction of the Golf Club in Columbus and Jack (who received the job at Harbour Town) brought Pete in to assist.

I once had a good conversation with Pete about that.


Jack apparently made something like thirteen day trips to Harbour Town while it was being built.  I believe he was a big proponent of making the greens small.  The story about the original 15th green [now expanded] is that Pete had Jack hit a bunch of 9-iron shots from the fairway, and they drew the perimeter of the green based on what Jack felt his good shots were!


But, Pete also said that if you were going to give Jack a lot of credit for the design, then you should also credit George Cobb, who did the routing of the course; and Alice, who designed the 13th green among other things; and Charles Price, who contributed the idea of the big waste bunker on 16, and who was there a lot more than Jack was.


But the client preferred to have Jack's name on it right alongside Pete's, and not the others.  No one wonders why.

[Tim Liddy]

Great review by Ran. Like Tom I heard fun joustling between Nicklaus and Dye about his involvement. Nicklaus has a record of 23 flights to Harbour Town with his plane. Pete countered it was because he used Nicklaus' plane without him. Only they knew for sure. Alice's involvement has always been undervalued. Imagine her and Pete discussed every hole, every shot on every evening over dinner.

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