Ohio Golf Journal April 2019

Enjoy Golf & First-Class Service at Relaxing Sea Pines Resort I n April, the week after the Masters, the PGA Tour takes a collective breath and heads to the relaxing atmosphere of Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage Classic. Harbour Town Golf Links, in the Sea Pines Resort, is only 130 miles from the hallowed grounds of Augusta National, but a million-light years away from the pressure cooker that is the Masters. Hilton Head was the dream of founder, Charles Frazier and he commissioned the first course built on Hilton Head Island, Atlantic Dunes in 1962. Two more courses, The Marsh, in 1964, andHarbour TownGolf Links in1969 completed the golf offerings of the resort. TheMarsh was later redesigned by Pete Dye and renamed Heron Point. It can be stretched to 7,035 yards but can play considerably shorter from any of the seven sets of tees. Risk-reward is the motto of Dye’s design with water hazards, sand and mounding framing target areas and greens. Davis Love III won the RBC Heritage Classic on five occasions and was the logical choice to renovate the historic Atlantic Dunes Course in 2017. Love entirely rebuilt holes to accommodate modern shot values and frame scenic corridors. The new course features a pronounced seaside ambience and Lowcountry feel accented by coquina shells and seaside grasses. The project incorporated elements of the surrounding beachfront along with the area’s bounty of native pines and oaks lining the fairways. Harbour Town Golf Links was designed by Pete Dye with consultation by Jack Nicklaus and opened for play in 1969. The inaugural Heritage Classic was held that same year with the “King,” Arnold Palmer crowned the first champion. By Fred Altvater Ohio Golf Journal Golf Travel