Harbour Town Golf Links reopens after major restoration

Harbour Town Golf Links has reopened following a six-month restoration project that updated the celebrated Pete Dye design while preserving the strategic elements that have defined the layout for more than 55 years.

The Sea Pines Resort closed the course in May 2025, shortly after the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, to undertake a full rebuild of greens, bunkers, bulkheads and supporting agronomic systems. The project, completed in November, was led by Love Golf Design with five-time Heritage champion Davis Love III serving as player consultant.

Harbour Town, originally designed by Pete Dye with his wife Alice and assisted by Jack Nicklaus in one of his earliest architectural roles, opened in 1969. It immediately gained national attention for its narrow corridors, small greens and emphasis on precision — characteristics that contrasted sharply with the larger, sweeping courses being built at the time.

Since then, it has hosted every editionof the Heritage tournament, producing winners such as Arnold Palmer, Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Payne Stewart, Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler.

The 2025 restoration was intended to protect Dye’s architectural identity while ensuring the course meets modern performance standards. All green complexes, bunkers and bulkheads were rebuilt, and agronomic improvements were made throughout the property. The grasses remained consistent with recent decades: TifEagle Bermuda on the greens and Celebration Bermuda throughout tees, fairways and rough.

“Everyone at The Sea Pines Resort is committed to honoring the legacy of Pete Dye’s design,” said John Farrell, director of sports operations. “We have protected the shot values, both long and short, that have come to define Harbour Town Golf Links for nearly six decades.”

Representatives from The Riverstone Group, which owns The Sea Pines Resort, said the goal was to preserve one of the most recognizable tournament venues on the PGA Tour.

“We feel very fortunate to own such a historic and popular PGA TOUR tournament venue in Harbour Town Golf Links,” said Matthew Goodwin of The Riverstone Group. “We are fully committed to maintaining the golf course to the highest possible standard, while preserving the original design integrity of Pete Dye.”

Love, who grew up on coastal courses throughout the Southeast, said the team approached the project with a clear priority: “protecting the strategy and integrity of Pete’s design.”

In many cases, restoring original design elements meant studying archival photographs and footage to replicate the shapes and sizes of greens and bunkers that had evolved or shrunk over time. Farrell said even experienced Harbour Town players may have difficulty spotting the refinements because they were based on past documentation rather than new concepts.

Updates include restoring lost hole locations, reestablishing greenside bunkers that had drifted away from the putting surfaces, lowering and reshaping selected green surrounds and adjusting tree placements to maintain Dye’s intended lines of play. The project also replaced several asphalt cart paths with waste-area paths to improve aesthetics and course flow.

The reopening comes as Sea Pines prepares for the 2026 RBC Heritage, when PGA Tour players will compete on the updated surfaces for the first time. Resort guests, members and local golfers will play the restored version of the course year-round.

More information about The Sea Pines Resort and Harbour Town Golf Links is available at seapines.com.