GolfClubAtlas.com Lowcountry Trip
November 5-8, 2009
The seventeenth at Old Tabby Links
In the southeast of the United States, the state of South Carolina possesses more first rate courses built after World War II than practically all the other states combined. The Lowcountry in particular acts as the gracious host to many of these courses and the purpose of this four day gathering is seeing and playing four of the best.
We start the trip at May River, which is widely considered one of Nicklaus Design’s handful of finest efforts. An easy walk, its range of holes coupled with no obvious weakness has drawn many glowing reviews, including the course profile found on this web site (click here to read it). In many ways, the course epitomizes Nicklaus’s evolution as an architect as he moved away from a penal style in the late 1980s and early 1990s into the more strategic one found here. The course encourages and rewards good golf without ever beating up the golfer.
After the round, we board the “Grace”, a charming yacht from another time that takes us down the Calibogue Sound at a leisurely pace. The one hour on the water with drinks and snacks provides the opportunity for us to compare notes and review our thoughts on May River before arriving into the harbour with the famed lighthouse at Sea Pines. Here on the first tee of Harbour Town at the luxe Inn at Harbour Town is where we will be staying for the next three nights. The Inn successfully blends its Scottish style, with that of a luxe boutique hotel and is the choice accommodation in Hilton Head. Its location on the first tee of the famed links is a nice plus for golf groups such as ours!
Friday’s course, Old Tabby Links on Spring Island, may well be Palmer’s single best design in the United States. Its land plan is held in high esteem by all, including Bill Coore who got to see and study it while he was building nearby Chechessee Creek. The photograph above highlights the appeal of both the course and its setting. Please see July’s Feature Interview on this site with Vicki Martz to gain a better appreciation for the qualities that make Old Tabby special.
Our round the next day is at Harbour Town which qualifies as the most historic of the four modern courses included in this trip. Its reach and influence on many subsequent architects started the very year it opened, which is nearly forty (!) years ago as hard as that is to believe. After riding around it in a golf cart, Bryon Nelson told Ran in 1986 that it was the exact kind of course where he would have loved to have competed. When asked what he meant by that, Mr. Nelson responded that the greens were cumulatively some of the best targets he had ever seen. No golf architecture trip is complete without a round here.
Finally, there is Chechessee Creek on Sunday morning. A man not prone to bragging about his firm’s own work, Bill Coore has told Ran on more than one occasion how impressed he continues to be with how well Chechessee Creek lies upon ground and how it is exactly what it was always meant to be. Just miss the tiny pushed up first green and you’ll get a quick sense of why John Morrissett considers it the toughest C&C course relative to par that he has played. As our special guest speaker, we are flying in Mr. Coore and we look forward to hearing his thoughts regarding building a course in this beautiful – but flat! – part of the world.
The common denominator between the four courses is that the golfer is free to appreciate the fact that he is playing golf in the Lowcountry. At all four, and unlike other courses in the area, the land wasn’t tortured and/or over-shaped and thus, the natural beauty and allure of the region speaks for itself. Yet, each of the courses is distinct from the other and we will be discussing the pros and cons of each of the different styles. Helping us to enjoy our time is the fact that early November is an ideal time to be down here and to soak in the area’s relaxed pace of life.
Ben and I hope you can join us and Bill Coore for some golf and camaraderie in the Lowcountry.
What’s Included
- Three nights accommodation at the AAA Four-Diamond Inn at Harbour Town
- Four rounds at the three private courses and Harbour Town Golf Links (caddies or forecaddies included where available)
- All meals from lunch on Thursday through breakfast on Sunday
- Transportation to and from the courses, which apart from the Grace will be a dedicated coach
- The opportunity to listen and speak with Bill Coore
- All on-site gratuities
What’s Not Included
- Aside from cocktails aboard the Grace, alcoholic beverages will not be included.
To join us on this trip, please contact us.