Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina plays host to the Verizon Heritage Tournament from April 13–19, 2009. ASGCA staff recently sat down with World Golf Hall of Fame member Pete Dye, ASGCA to discuss the course. Dye, an ASGCA past president, designed the course with wife Alice, who is also an ASGCA past president. The course opened in 1969 and was renovated in 2000.

Teeing off at 17 - Harbour Town Golf Links

ASGCA Staff: There is an interesting back-story to your initial involvement with the Harbour Town course. Can you elaborate?

Pete Dye: Jack Nicklaus, ASGCA approached Charles Elbert Fraser about doing the course, the third for the Sea Pines Resort. With Nicklaus being a rookie, Fraser was hesitant to hire him to take over his crown jewel. Nicklaus, however, was sold on my skills, and so he dropped my name in his conversations with fraser. Knowing that the legendary Robert Trent Jones was designing a course down the road, Fraser decided to take a chance on me, even though he had hardly heard of me! Fraser certainly took a leap of faith in hiring me and in giving me a blank slate to design the championship course he desired.

ASGCA Staff: When Harbour Town Golf Links opened in 1969, the golf world marveled at your innovative design. What was your basic approach in designing this course?

Pete Dye: The freedom I was given in planning Harbour Town allowed us to defy many of the prevailing norms of course architecture. Instead of huge, multi-layered greens, I built smaller ones with virtually no contour. I constructed railroad tie bulkheads, included ornamental flourishes of Bahai and pampas grass, and gave golfers spectacular ocean views. My goal was for the course’s sandy waste bunkers, narrow fairways, and dramatic angles to leave striking images in players’ minds.

ASGCA Staff: Another distinguishing aspect of the course is its shorter length. Can you talk a bit about this?

Pete Dye: For the Verizon Heritage, the course plays to 6,973 yards. The course does not play short, though. Depending on wind direction and velocity, there are holes that can play as long and as difficult as any par-4s in the world. Take, for example, the 8^th hole, often considered the toughest hole on the course. A well-placed drive is essential to avoid water and trees, and you have to carry the dogleg past the first two pines to have a shot at the green. Though I wouldn’t consider Harbour Town a long hitter’s course, swinging a big club has its advantages in certain situations.

The lighthouse overlooking 18 - Harbour Town Golf Links

ASGCA Staff: Can you tell us about some of your other favorite holes at Harbour Town?

Pete Dye: Number 4 is your classic risk/reward hole. Players must decide whether challenging the lagoon makes a straight shot worth the attempt. There is ample room on the right to bail out, however, and a hidden bunker behind the green can save a ball from the lagoon. The 15^th hole demands careful deliberation and precise shot execution all the way from tee to flag. Water on the left and bunkers on both sides can really cause nightmares. And the 18^th hole, of course, is close to my heart. Nicklaus and I took this par-4 out along the marshes of the Calibogue Sound rather than bring it back toward the clubhouse. Fraser punctuated the dramatic finish by constructing the red and white lighthouse at the nearby Hilton Head marina. A successful shot at this hole should be aimed toward the striped beacon, ultimately landing in the wide area jutting into Calibogue Sound.

ASGCA Staff: In 2000, you came back to remodel the greens and tee boxes. What can you tell us about that project?

Pete Dye: We didn’t want to make drastic changes to a course players had come to love. We just needed to tidy a few things up. A number of the putting surfaces had shrunk over the years due to a lack of sunlight, especially at the 8^th hole, so I enlarged the hole’s green and changed the angle of approach. We re-cut the bunkers, fortified the fairway and greenside mounting, and re-did the greens with TifEagle Bermuda grass. We had the remodel completed by January of 2001, and in the end, I think players really appreciated what was done.

ASGCA Staff: PGA TOUR professionals often mention Harbour Town as one of their favorite courses. What are your thoughts as the tournament draws near?

Pete Dye: First, I’m flattered that the course is still held in such a high regard. Rather than simple strength, the course values finesse, imagination, and shot-making. I think players admire and appreciate that. I’m really looking forward to the Verizon Heritage. As the course architect, I take great pride in seeing the best in the game work their way through a course I love and put so much time and effort in designing.