Harbour Town Golf Links is one of the most distinguished golf courses on the PGA Tour. It is consistently ranked among top courses in the world by publications such as Golf Digest, Golfweek and Travel & Leisure magazine. Here is a hole-by-hole description of the course, which has hosted the Heritage since 1969.
HARBOUR TOWN GOLF LINKS
11 Lighthouse Lane, Hilton Head Island
Par: 36/35 — 71
Yardage: 3540/3561 — 7101
HOLE 1
Distance: 410 Par: 4
How to play it: A straight drive is imperative to stay between overhanging branches in a chute only 20 yards wide, but the fairway opens up at the landing area. A short or medium iron should reach a green protected by both sand and grass bunkers.
HOLE 2
Distance: 502 Par: 5
How to play it: Long hitters can reach the green in two if they keep the drive on the left side of the fairway. Otherwise, the second shot should be positioned down the left side, to open up the green, which lies on a diagonal, for a third shot.
HOLE 3
Distance: 469 Par: 4
How to play it: Trees line both sides of the fairway, making a straight shot from the tee important. A large bunker guards the front of the green, with three more positioned to the right. A medium to short iron should get the job done, but the small green can be hard to hold.
HOLE 4
Distance: 200 Par: 3
How to play it: A classic Pete Dye risk/ reward design. There is ample room on the right to bail out, and a hidden bunker behind the green can save your ball from a lagoon.
HOLE 5
Distance: 540 Par: 5
How to play it: Aim just to the right of the left fairway bunker, then calculate your odds of making the green in two. The obstacles: A massive strategic bunker to the right, water and a greenside bunker left. A deep but narrow green falls off to the right and rear.
HOLE 6
Distance: 419 Par: 4
How to play it: Devilishly difficult to master, this dogleg par 4 requires a precise drive to the middle right just left of the fairway bunker. Take advantage of the open avenue to the flag and try to avoid the bunkers flanking the green. The small green can be hard to hold.
HOLE 7
Distance: 195 Par: 3
How to play it: The green is surrounded by sand, but the real hazards here are the trees. They will reject any off-line shot and make a successful recovery very tricky. The green is narrow but deep, and pin placement can affect club selection.
HOLE 8
Distance: 473 Par: 4
How to play it: Rated the toughest hole on the course, No. 8 makes a wellplaced drive essential to avoid water and strategically placed trees. Carrying the dogleg past the first two pines gives you a shot at one of the most elusive greens anywhere. Commend yourself for matching par, because you will have triumphed over a stubbornly resistant adversary.
HOLE 9
Distance: 332 Par: 4
How to play it: Placement is more important than power on this short but deceptive par 4. Drive to the middle of the fairway and avoid battling trees on your approach. The heart-shaped green is protected both in front and behind by sand.
HOLE 10
Distance: 451 Par: 4
How to play it: A wide landing area invites a big drive, but temper your gusto if you want to avoid the lagoon on the left. After a good drive, use a medium or long iron to get to a green nestled between woods and two strategically-placed bunkers.
HOLE 11
Distance: 436 Par: 4
How to play it: Plot your drive to stay within the chute, because a dangerous duo of trees and water lurks on both sides of the fairway. From the fairway, a long to medium iron must be rifled to the green carefully avoiding the trees gracefully protecting the right side. The green is also flanked by bunkers.
HOLE 12
Distance: 430 Par: 4
How to play it: Reaching the dogleg off the tee is imperative for any chance at par. Then the green is in range with a medium or long iron, but a back pin placement can make as much as a three-club difference. Two bunkers stand as the final challenge to those optimists in the quest of par.
HOLE 13
Distance: 373 Par: 4
How to play it: The tee shot here must be positioned to the right side of the fairway to set up the approach to the green. Then the second shot will be a short iron between the two large oaks. But don’t score your par until you’ve surmounted the two final obstacles — a large cypress and the banked bunker that guards the front of the green.
HOLE 14
Distance: 192 Par: 3
How to play it: This beautiful aquatic layout has water from tee to green on the right. Thanks to overhanging trees, the green is a small, isolated target with an adjacent small pot bunker bound to act as a magnet for the unsuspecting.
HOLE 15
Distance: 588 Par: 5
How to play it: You could call No. 15 a thinking challenge, since this great par 5 demands careful deliberation and shot execution all the way from tee to flag. To avoid nightmares on the approach, keep the drive from the tee as close to the center as possible. This will save you from the fate of water on the left and zealous bunkerguardians on both sides.
HOLE 16
Distance: 434 Par: 4
How to play it: The exclamation point of sand just about says it all on this interesting dogleg left. Avoid the left but also beware of the slalom-like pines on the right. If you arrive unscathed after that first drive, it’s just a short iron onto the green. Aim carefully. The cluster of bunkers on the right can easily humiliate par-seekers.
HOLE 17
Distance: 185 Par: 3
How to play it: Water, water nearly everywhere says one thing: Take that bold iron shot and make it accurate - or else! In this scenario, the 90-yard bunker is the next best thing to a friend, since it could save a slightly off-center tee shot from a watery extension. Still, the head or crosswinds which are the norm of this hole can easily carry a shot into the lagoon.
HOLE 18
Distance: 472 Par: 4
How to play it: The 18th hole is one of golf’s most highly-recognizable finishes. The goal is the wide landing area jutting into Calibogue Sound. The long approach to the flag offers ample bailout to the right where the innocent-looking but insidious mounding has caused many to lose a sought-after par.
Concession Stand
Clubhouse, 2nd Green, 8th Green, 10th Fairway, 13th Green, 15th Green, 18th Green, 17th Green, 19th Hole
Heritage Lawn
Video Board, Grey Goose Lounge, RBC Fan Experience, Social Media Lounge
Ticket Office
Will Call (drop off only), Lost & Found, Claim Area (confiscated items), Information