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"Golf… a young man’s vice and an old man’s penance." |
-Irvin S. Cobb |
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 That's why traveling to Georgia and South Carolina in July wasn't a crazy idea to me. Besides, I got to check off "Play Golf in the Lowcountry" from my Things-To-Do-Before-I-Die list. Lowcountry is the 50-mile coastline from Savannah to Hilton Head Island. For some, the draw is the year-round, top-down weather, the extraordinary natural landscape or the laid-back pace of life in the South. All I wanted was the chance to play Harbour Town Golf Links. But it also was a family vacation. My kids got to learn about the history of the region and my wife got three days at one of the more luxurious resorts in the South. SOUTHERN BELLE We traveled on the Fourth of July but arrived in Savannah in time for an outdoor buffet and fireworks display at Savannah Quarters Country Club. We were guests of Larry and Nanette Ringham, and their beautiful home became our base of operations. The next morning we played the course. The Greg Norman track winds through towering oaks, cypress trees and lots of lagoons. I pulled a "Tin Cup" on the signature hole, a 137-yard par 3 with an island green that gobbled up six new balls. I still can't believe I couldn't hit the green. Savannah - an enchanting and romantic city founded in 1733 - was next on our agenda. Located on the mouth of the Savannah River, the city was built into grids with wide streets and 24 public squares. Touring on bicycle-driven Pedi-Cabs was a ball, even during a torrential downpour that cooled us off as we were bicycled through the public squares singing off-key rain songs. THE INN AT PALMETTO BLUFF The impetus for the trip was a golf vacation package I purchased at a charity auction that included a three-day stay at the Inn at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, S.C., about 30 miles from Savannah. Our little ones stayed with their sister at the Ringham's while mom and dad got some alone time. Situated along the beautiful May River, the resort is the embodiment of all that is graceful and romantic about the South. After turning off Highway 46, the four-mile drive to the resort is a sojourn through a forest of massive oaks, where sunlight flickers through the trees and dances off the windshield as you move through the 20,000-acre resort. The luxurious accommodations were like nothing we'd ever experienced. The 1,100-square-foot cottages/suites are appointed with overstuffed couches and chairs and a king-size bed atop Southern Pine floors. Local art adorns the walls and includes landscapes depicting tropical tall grasses called savannas. The entryway features a wet bar and refrigerator, stocked daily with water and fruit juices you can enjoy with an in-cottage meal served on the 200-square-foot patio. His-and-her sinks with marble counters and dressing areas flank the bathroom, which is outfitted with a claw-foot bathtub. There's also a spacious steam shower, as people in the South do love their humidity. No cars are allowed in the cottage area, which is across a lagoon from the River House. If you don't want to walk the 800 yards back and forth from the main building, staffers will pick you up in a golf cart. Of course, a complementary bike is also a great way to get around. My favorite memory was sitting by one of the firepits outside the River House after a luscious dinner that included caramelized scallops. We roasted s'mores over an open fire while being entertained by a raccoon that walked the edge of the brick firepit begging for some of our dessert. MAY RIVER GOLF CLUB The Jack Nicklaus-designed May River Golf Club is one of the more beautiful and challenging courses I've played. Outside play at the private club is limited to guests of the Inn at Palmetto Bluff. Caddies are required before 9 a.m., but walking the course at any hour is the best way to take in the astonishing topography. Set amid ancient oaks draped with Spanish moss, the course brushes the banks of the river for which it is named. Good drives find lush fairways, and your accuracy is rewarded with a perfect lie on eco-friendly Paspalum grass, which is heat and salt tolerant and requires less water. Even the sand in the bunkers is special. Nicklaus introduced Pro/Angle sand shipped from Ohio, and its angular grains keep the sand in place on the steep slopes. And the amenities are fantastic. The restroom stops on both nines include a porch with rocking chairs and a refrigerator stocked with bottled water, juices and a bowl of ice-cold, hard-boiled eggs. HILTON HEAD ISLAND The next day it was on to the recreational Valhalla on the Georgia-South Carolina border. Hilton Head Island is seven miles wide, 14 miles long and the second largest Atlantic coast barrier island after Long Island, N.Y. In 1956 a bridge was built connecting the island to the mainland and a young developer conceived a resort community that would blend into the natural beauty of the island. Charles Fraser's resulting Sea Pines Plantation Resort became the model for resorts that focus on the preservation of nature but blend structures into the environment. There are more than 40 golf courses on the island and nine more nearby designed by names such as Robert Trent Jones, George Fazio and Arnold Palmer. Someday I'd like to say I played them all. That's how beautiful this area is. However, there was only one goal for this trip. HARBOUR TOWN GOLF LINKS One of Pete Dye's early designs, Harbour Town opened in 1969 and has proven to be a timeless favorite for golfers of all skill levels. Home of the Heritage Classic in April, the course has an abundance of pine, oak and cypress trees, along with unbelievably small greens. Playing Harbour Town demands strategy and precise play from start to finish. The par 3s rank among the finest in the world. There are few memories I have in my golfing life quite like reaching the tee box on the 18th hole at Harbour Town with that red-and-white lighthouse standing tall as my target. It's a great finishing hole, playing 452 yards and often into a stiff wind off Calibogue Sound. The fairway is incredibly wide and was one of the few opportunities I had to let out the shaft. It was also one of the few shots that day that went where I wanted it to go. It's the approach, however, that's really scary. Players must hit their shot over wetlands and bunkers to a smallish green on the point of the sound. There's a ton of bailout room to the right, which is where I hit my shot. A chunked pitch followed by a skulled chip that hit the pin and dropped in isn't a finishing par I'm proud of, but I'm reminded that golf is a game of numbers and not pictures - and I did get to put a 4 on my card. So now I've parred the 18th at Pebble Beach and Harbour Town. Can anyone get me a tee time at Augusta National? SG Eric Tracy can be reached at eric@themulliganman.com. |
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