Heritage notebook: Seen and heard at Harbour Town
Graham tries to stay out of woods
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham showed up for the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing with photographic evidence that golf is a cruel game.
Before playing in the Monday pro-am, he held up a picture of himself hitting from behind a tree on the Harbour Town Golf Links in a past pro-am.
The photograph is by Arno Dimmling of Hilton Head Island. He gave the senator a copy of it.
The copy Graham brought was signed, with this sage advice:
“Strive to stay out of the woods in golf and in politics.”
David Lauderdale
Invocation draws applause, laughter
Who was that man whose invocation to open the 48th RBC Heritage was interrupted by applause?
He’s Keller Kissam of Hopkins, brought to the tournament by honorary chairman Charlie Rountree III. Kissam is Rountree’s Sunday school teacher at Shandon United Methodist Church in Columbia.
He is a senior vice president of SCANA Corp. and president of retail operations of its subsidiary, SCE&G.
Kissam was reared in Creston, population 33, in Calhoun County. He was able to go to college thanks to an academic scholarship. He was a summa cum laude English major in The Citadel class of 1988. He earned the military school’s top honors — regimental commander and the Wade Hampton Sabre.
When SCE&G came to campus to recruit, Kissam didn’t go because he wasn’t an engineer. But they asked for him, and he’s been there ever since.
Before the opening ceremony, Kissam said his daughter was 6 years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia. She has survived and is about to graduate from high school. And her father says it turned out to be “the best thing that ever happened to my life. It put life in perspective. Since that day, I’ve never had a bad day at work.”
He told people in the large gallery they could keep their eyes open during his prayer so they could appreciate the beauty of Calibogue Sound. When they applauded his rousing mention of defending champion Jim Furyk, he interjected, “I said you could look during the prayer. I didn’t say you could clap.”
Kissam does not play golf, but he used a number of golf analogies in his prayer given with no notes.
He closed with: “You have already repaired all the divots in our lives through your mercy and your grace. Amen and amen.”
Rountree said, “I suggest all of y’all find you a Keller Kissam in your life to help you on the journey.”
David Lauderdale
Citadel bagpipe band recognized
The Regimental Band and Pipes of The Citadel was recognized this week as an important part of the tartan fiber of the RBC Heritage.
Heritage Classic Foundation chairman Simon Fraser acknowledged the pipe band in the opening ceremony, saying that as far as anyone knows the band has been a part of all 48 opening ceremonies.
The Citadel has the only all-student bagpipe band in the country, according to the website of the military school in Charleston.
Few of the freshmen recruited to the band each year have ever played a bagpipe before. But their play soon becomes a staple for the Friday afternoon parade on campus and the annual march around the Harbour Town Yacht Basin to the 18th green at Harbour Town.
David Lauderdale
50th anniversary being planned
The Heritage Classic Foundation is already planning a commemoration of the 50th RBC Heritage tournament two years from now.
Board member Jim Chaffin of Spring Island heads the committee.
Chaffin was here when the first Heritage was played in 1969, then a young member of the Sea Pines sales team who had interrupted his work on a doctorate in psychology to join his friend Jim Light to work for Charles Fraser at Sea Pines.
Chaffin and Light went on to plan other communities, including Snowmass Village, Colo., and Spring Island in Beaufort County.
“We’re doing everything we can to acknowledge and honor the heritage of the Heritage,” Chaffin said. “We’re using that 50th celebration as an opportunity to amplify not only the history of the Heritage but the significance the tournament has had to the community.”
He said that means more than its philanthropic contribution.
The tournament brought a sense of place to Hilton Head, he said. And with a corps of more than 1,000 volunteers, it still pulls people together for a common cause and chance encounters, he said.
“It created an awareness and an energy,” Chaffin said. “It brought recognition and a source of pride to Hilton Head Island, the Lowcountry and the state. We want to capture that and celebrate that.”
David Lauderdale
Vegas likes Day’s chances
Las Vegas oddsmakers like Jason Day’s chances to win the RBC Heritage.
Day, the world’s top-ranked golfer, was listed Tuesday by a prominent sportsbook as an 11 to 2 favorite to win the tourament.
Paul Casey, Brandt Snedeker, Matt Kuchar and Kevin Kisner round out the five golfers most likely to top the leaderboard at the end of Sunday’s round.
The tournament’s longest odds, 750 to 1, belong to the trio of Andres Gonzales, Mike Weir and Kelly Mitchum, according to the sportsbook.
Lucas High
Signature reuben is a Heritage must
Chef Matt Willis’ signature Reuben at Links Grill at the Clubhouse has become a staple of the RBC Heritage.
The sandwich, made with hand-cut thick Russian rye bread and pastrami-style brisket, is the restaurant’s most requested lunch item for Heritage, according to Jonah Ritter, food and beverage operations manager.
“Last year, we sold about 200 to 300 Reubens a day once the tournament started on Thursday,” Ritter said.
He suggested washing the sandwich down with a Heritage Bloody, a bloody mary made with Your Mom’s Kitchen local bloody mary mix.
Caitlin Turner
Shop offers something to fit all budgets
If money is no object, you can walk out of the golf shop in Harbour Town’s club house wearing a special edition RBC Heritage sports jacket.
At $495, the jacket is among the single most expensive items in the store, employee Chuck Dix said.
The jacket is made with 100 percent wool by designer Peter Millar.
“It’s a very popular brand, but it’s a very high-end brand,” Dix said.
Store employee Christen Grinder said only a few jackets are sold each year.
For shoppers looking for an RBC Heritage memory without breaking the bank, the store offers commemorative golf balls and ball markers for $5 each.
Lucas High
Heritage brings game to backyard
Two years ago, Beth Paltta was watching her first RBC Heritage from the comfort of her backyard porch when pro player Jordan Spieth hit a ball feet from her.
Her home at the 15th hole sits “right in the action,” she said as she gears up to watch her third Heritage.
“During the tournament, you’ll get the occasional sprayed shot,” Carl Fenstermacher, Paltta’s friend, said.
“But every other week of the year, you never know what you’ll get,” Paltta said.
While living next to the course, Paltta said she has collected a bucket-full of balls shot into her yard and had to replace a back window that was shattered by a random shot.
Caitlin Turner
Clubhouse opens 2nd outdoor bar
The Harbour Town Clubhouse is offering extra space for tournament patrons to enjoy the view, kick back and have a drink.
In response to the increased demand for space to have a bite, the clubhouse opened a second outdoor bar area to those with clubhouse member passes, according to Jonah Ritter, food and beverage operations manager.
“This is the first year we’ve had two bars,” Ritter said.
Caitlin Turner
Practice makes perfect
During RBC Heritage week, when golfers aren’t on the course or relaxing, they’re at the driving range.
From 6:30 a.m. until after dark, the pros are hitting practice shots.
Dale Thompson, who manages the driving range, said the players can go through between 20,000 and 40,000 practice balls every day.
The balls are constantly being collected, washed and seperated — only to be smacked down the driving range again.
Thompson uses 50 student volunteers to help keep the operation running all week.
“We just want to help accommodate the players,” Hilton Head Island Prep student Rick Ujaan said.
Thompson said, despite the help from the army of young volunteers, “it’s just never enough.”
Lucas High
Harbour Town becomes BMW town
During RBC Heritage week, BMW loans out a fleet of more than 100 cars to PGA players and executives.
At an average cost of about $60,000, that’s more than $6 million in loaner BMWs cruising the grounds of Harbour Town.
BMW, a sponsor of the tournament, also has six of its top-of-the-line vehicles displayed on the grounds throughout the golf course.
Lucas High
This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 12:40 PM with the headline "Heritage notebook: Seen and heard at Harbour Town."