Harbour Town Golf Links - Hole by hole pictures

[jvincent]

Hey guys,

Got back last night from my vacation in Hilton Head on my continuing mission to play as many of the "Top 100" courses as possible. The target for this trip, Harbour Town Golf Links (#12 on the latest list), the host of the RBC Heritage. I've now played 17 of the current list. A couple of courses on older lists have been bumped off.

In addition to playing Harbour Town, I also played Heron Point (nice), and the Ocean Course (nice layout, bad conditions). I ended up playing 7 rounds total, four at Harbour Town.

As I usually do on these trips, I do a photo essay of the round where I take a picture from the tee box, showing what it looks like, and another from where I am hitting my approach to the green.

Sorry about the mix of sun / shadows, but these were taken during an early morning round.

Here's the link: Harbour Town Pics

Harbour Town is a fun course. Compared to most of the tour courses I have played it's relatively narrow off the tee and the greens are tiny by tour standards. It's a very nice layout, a good mix of doglegs and straight away holes. You really need to control ball off the tee because there are some narrow openings. I was not as successful at this as I would have liked.

In addition to being small, the greens are firm. According to my caddie, they get them even firmer for the tournament. As an example, on one hole I hit what I thought was a fabulous, towering 9-iron flag high. It hit, and took a 10-12 foot hop before it stopped. Yikes! Apparently they can't let them get too fast for the tournament or they run out of usable pin positions even though there isn't a lot of slope/undulations in the greens.

As you can see from the pics, they are already putting up the grandstands.

It will be fun to watch the big boys play there in a few weeks.

[Bouche]

My gparents are currently there. It's too bad you didn't play the other courses on the island. My grandmother truly enjoys old south if you ever get the chance to go back.

[Txxxxxxx]

Looks like a good time! Nice pictures!

[imozzie]

Great photos! I see what you mean about the small greens though.... kinda like throwing darts at a dartboard from 100+ yards out!

[nokids]

So did your handicap go up?

[jvincent]

So did your handicap go up?

I haven't put my scores in yet, but it definitely did. Haven't swung a club since October and then duked it out with a Tour course.

The most consistently bad part of my game was my chipping/pitch shots. Driver was iffy. I hit several tee balls off the planet OB. Irons weren't terrible, but I missed a lot of greens.

[nokids]

I haven't put my scores in yet, but it definitely did. Haven't swung a club since October and then duked it out with a Tour course.

The most consistently bad part of my game was my chipping/pitch shots. Driver was iffy. I hit several tee balls off the planet OB. Irons weren't terrible, but I missed a lot of greens.

All good.

Im jealous you got to play so much.

[Wilster]

Great pics John , I love the finishing holes on this course , yet another great course I'd love to play

[jvincent]

18 is a really cool hole. It wasn't playing the full 444 yards when I took the picture. It was up about four yards.

Wind was in and from the left. The landing area is about a million yards wide but when it's blowing hard you need it all because any ball that has even the slightest bit of slice spin gets blown into the houses. From the fairway you can't see any of the putting surface. The flag just looks like it is sitting on the deck of a boat.

[4jag]

Great photos, thanks for sharing.

[spackler]

Looks great JV, thanks for sharing.

[hoolio]

Awesome... Looks like there are a few holes where the green-side trees really come into play on your approach shot, if you don't position your drive correctly.

[jvincent]

Looks like there are a few holes where the green-side trees really come into play on your approach shot, if you don't position your drive correctly.

Indeed. I clipped a couple of those. You can also be easily blocked out in the fairway if you aren't on the correct side.

[big mac]

Hey JV--you should have emailed--been here for two months. Was over to Harbour Town yesterday-----now that the bleachers are set up---the greens look a lot smaller now

Hope you had decent weather---it has not been it's usual spring.

[jvincent]

I actually had really good weather.

We only had light rain one morning but it wasn't heavy enough to bother putting the rain gear on. The coldest temp I had in the morning was around 8-10C but it was usually warmer than that and it warmed up during the day as well.

[downhillslider]

I was on the Island 9 years ago and played 6 courses but not HT because I could not justify the cost of the green fee after playing Pebble Beach the previous year. Kicking myself in the a... now !

Life is to short, go for it !!!!!!!!!


Good on you JV.