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The RBC Heritage on Hilton Head
From the PGA Tour event’s history on Hilton Head Island to how to get tickets now, here’s everything you need to know about this week’s event.
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When Sea Pines announced it would be renovating its signature Harbour Town Golf Links, at least one pro golfer was left a little leery.
“I’ll be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous a little bit about it,” Justin Thomas, the 2025 RBC Heritage winner, told reporters on Tuesday.
In November, the 57-year-old course and the site of this week’s annual PGA Tour RBC Heritage golf tournament re-opened after an extensive “restoration project” that took six months to complete.
Golfer Davis Love III, who has won the RBC Heritage five times, served as the restoration’s player consultant. Officials promised that the updates stayed true to course’s original design, with only a few subtle changes.
At the PGA Tour’s tournament this week, golfers from around the world, including Thomas are getting to experience the restored course for the first time.
What does Justin Thomas think about the course?
Thomas wowed crowds last year when he beat Andrew Novak in a one-hole, sudden death playoff to win the RBC Heritage. This year, the 32-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky will be competing for a chance at his second RBC Heritage win.
Asked what he thought of the renovated course during a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Thomas said he thinks Davis Love III and his team did a “great job.”
Justin Thomas speaks during the closing ceremony following the final round of the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing at Harbour Town Golf Links on Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island. Eston Parker III for The Island Packet
Thomas said he’s seen plenty of restorations that “screwed up the course pretty bad.”
Knowing that Love was serving as the player consultant for the restoration “made me feel a lot better,” Thomas said.
“One, because he is very good at this, but two, he loves it,” Thomas said. “I mean, he isn’t going to completely change the golf course that he loves.”
So far, Thomas said he’s only played the front nine holes. He’ll get a chance to test out the back nine tomorrow morning.
“From what I’ve seen so far, it’s very, very subtle tweaks,” Thomas said.
How the course was redone
Like the roof of a house, golf courses have a life expectancy. Wind, rain, and natural wear and tear gradually erode the greens and bunkers, changing their shape and size.
That’s why as part of the restoration, all the greens, bunkers, and bulkheads were rebuilt, according to John Farrell, director of sports operations at The Sea Pines Resort. The Packet previously interviewed Farrell during an unveiling ceremony for the new course in November.
The 16th hole at Harbour Town Golf Links, shown fully restored in this drone photo provided by the Sea Pines Resort. Bill Hornstein The Sea Pines Resort
Advancements in technology have made it possible for a new course be created as a near exact replica of the course before it.
Prior to moving any earth, laser technology was used to take precise measurements of the course, so the new greens could be designed to the exact same shape, size, and elevation as the old.
What’s changed at Harbour Town Golf Links?
The iconic Sea Pines course has served as playing grounds for RBC Heritage since its first tournament in 1969. Designed by legendary golf course architect Pete Dye, its thoughtful design revolutionized the playing field.
In the course’s restoration, all greens, bunkers and bulkheads were rebuilt, and improvements were made to the agronomy and maintenance of the course, according to a press release.
Even the species of turf has remained the same, with TifEagle on the greens and Celebration Bermuda on the fairways, tees and rough.
This drone shot of the 17th hole at Harbour Town Golf Links in Sea Pines Resort shows the fully renovated course. The iconic golf course reopened on Nov. 11, 2025, after closing in May for an extensive restoration project. Bill Hornstein The Sea Pines Resort
Here are some of the subtle changes to Harbour Town Golf Links, according to a press release:
Hole 7: Less sand around the greenHole 13: The dirt is a little higher around the boardsHole 14: Pot bunker “may not be as hard as it was”Hole 16: Bunker “looks a little different from what Pete built”Designing a golf course for the ‘modern player’
Golf course renovators need to think about how the game of golf has changed, and adapt the course accordingly.
Modern golfers tend to hit the ball farther than golfers in 1969, when the Sea Pines course opened. A major part of that is due to advancements in technology; engineers have spent decades designing golf clubs that give players an edge in their game, and golf balls that give players better control over their shot.
The fully restored 9th hole at Harbour Town Golf Links at Sea Pines Resort, showcasing the iconic Inn and Club at Harbour Town. Bill Hornstein The Sea Pines Resort
That poses a challenge for golf course owners — how much should they adjust the course to make sure it’s still challenging for today’s players?
A round of golf at Harbour Town Golf Links, however, isn’t a test of how far someone can hit a ball.
Dye designed the course to reward precision and strategy over brute force. That means being able to hit the ball farther doesn’t always make the hole easier.
Dye pioneered the design philosophy of sculpting the course through the existing landscape, carving small greens out of the woods and leaving trees behind as obstacles.
Each hole is like a puzzle where the golfer must ask themselves what shot Dye wants them to take, and perform it well.
The newly restored 18th hole of Harbour Town Golf Links in Sea Pines, showcasing the resort’s iconic golf course. Bill Hornstein The Sea Pines Resort
If they get too ambitious, the course punishes them with well-placed trees and bunkers. Some holes taunt golfers to take a risk with a seemingly clear shot, and laugh when that fails.
“That was the genius of Pete,” Farrell said. “He built something that is just as appropriate and just as great a test to day in 2025 as it was in 1969.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 4:07 PM.
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Li Khan
The Island Packet
Li Khan covers Hilton Head Island for the Island Packet. Previously, she was the Editor in Chief of The Peralta Citizen, a watchdog student-led news publication at Laney College in Oakland, California.