Augusta National, Harbour Town top list of PGA players' favorites

Augusta National Golf Club is at the top of the list of PGA Tour players’ favorite courses, according to a Golf World survey released in January.

The surprise, perhaps, is what is at No. 2 – ahead of Riviera Country Club (No. 3) in Pacific Palisades, Calif.; Pebble Beach Golf Links (No. 4); and Colonial (No. 5) in Fort Worth, Texas.

Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, S.C., directly follows Augusta National in the survey, just as the 44-year-old RBC Heritage is the next tour stop after the Masters.

That might be part of Harbour Town’s charm: Call it a major decompression.

“I don’t use it as a stress-relieving device, but it sure does seem to relieve the stress when I’m out there with the wife and kids and we’re all just having a good time,” said Stewart Cink, who has played in the Masters since 1997 and the Heritage since 2000.

Harbour Town is part of Sea Pines Resort and offers nearby amenities – housing, boating, restaurants, shopping and biking, a Cink family favorite.

“We like to ride our bikes to restaurants,” said Cink, 38, a married father of two teenagers. “Get the shorts on – because it’s beautiful – ride our bikes all around the island, or all around Sea Pines, anyway, go out to eat and get there by bike. That’s the best.”

Said Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion: “Obviously, this (Augusta National) is one of the best. You’re foolish not to say that. My favorites throughout the year are the ones I play well at, but more than that, it’s also condition-based. What separates Augusta is, the condition never changes. The only change that comes with Augusta is Mother Nature. You know what you’re going to get.”

Harbour Town’s layout, designed by Pete Dye with Jack Nicklaus, also sets it apart from nearly every course on the PGA Tour. Just shy of 7,000 yards, the course is known for its tight, tree-lined fairways, multitude of water and sand hazards, postage-stamp greens and picturesque views of Calibogue Sound.

“I really enjoy it,” Johnson said. “There’s nothing like it. It’s one of those old classics they don’t make anymore. You can hit down the right center of the fairway and be dead, more or less. It might be a slight exaggeration. I love Hilton Head.”

The Heritage did have a schedule hiccup in 2011, as it moved to two weeks after the Masters. Cink said the players “would approve overwhelming” having the Masters and Heritage back to back rather than last year’s order.

“A great event for our state,” South Carolina native Lucas Glover, 32, said this week. “The tour would have a hard time letting that one go. The players might have had a mutiny on our hands … Thank God RBC stepped in.”

Glover puts the Masters and the Heritage “right there” at the top of his list of most enjoyable courses. He also likes the order.

“That helps out with their field,” he said of the Heritage. “I’m looking forward to getting down there and relaxing. It’s a great week for us. … It’s a chill week and a chill feel to the tournament.”

Hilly Augusta might not compare favorably in one aspect.

“I wouldn’t want to ride a bike around Augusta National at all,” Cink said. “Walking is hard enough.”