RBC Heritage blasts into the future in a quieter Harbour Town on Hilton Head

Hilton Head Island’s annual walk with fame may be more like a Presbyterian church this week than a PGA Tour event.

It should be quiet, with the COVID-19 pandemic strictly limiting attendance at the 53rd RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.

Even if most fans turn out to be hollerin’ holy-rollers, there might not be enough of them to be heard over the squeaking ospreys soaring above the Harbour Town Golf Links in Sea Pines.

And the announcers in dashing plus fours who traditionally introduce the players as they walk up to the ninth and 18th greens won’t be there.

No children will be squealing after the pro golfers, begging for an autograph.

The Quarterdeck at the Harbour Town Lighthouse has finally been silenced — by bulldozers that razed it to make way for a new iteration of the storied watering hole.

Sunday morning will be quieter still, with no sunrise service near the 18th hole.

Yes, the tournament opened Tuesday afternoon with its infamous big bang. Defending champion Webb Simpson hit a ball into Calibogue Sound from the 18th tee area as the costumed Sea Pines artillery fired a cannon loud enough to wake the dead in the nearby Braddock’s Point Cemetery. No fans were allowed.

And other things will have a different tone this year, so much so that you could substitute “Heritage fans” for “Presbyterians” in the old joke: How many Heritage fans does it take to change a lightbulb?

Ten. One to change it and nine to talk about how much better the old one was.

PERRIER-JOUET

Remember when fans were allowed, yes even begged, to attend the opening ceremony? And it was sponsored by Perrier-Jouet, and the bubbly flowed freely?

Remember when you saw swarms of kids competing to see how many autographs they could get? And can you remember seeing their parents doing the same thing when they were kids?

Remember when Aaron Baddeley spoke at the sunrise service at the 18th, and it was Easter and his first anniversary, and a few hours later he won his first PGA Tour tournament at the same spot?

Remember when a ballroom full of people came to the Christian Heritage Breakfast to hear a golfer like Bernhard Langer spill his guts about faith and doubt?

They will not gather this year for the breakfast, but there will be a special anniversary tribute via YouTube at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Remember when the late Vance Fowler started the announcers’ tradition at the 9th hole? Remember how touching it was that the retired Navy officer, then working for Sea Pines, would contribute this to society — after being blown off the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, a Bible in his pocket saving him from being killed by shrapnel?

Remember how Charles Perry took his place, he of the Harley-Davidson voice?

Remember sipping iced tea beneath the green-striped awnings on the upstairs deck of the old Harbour Town Clubhouse, watching the Vincent van Gogh painting come to life down below?

Remember when the Heritage was sponsored by MCI or Verizon and you could go into a tractor trailer and call LONG DISTANCE free?

Wasn’t the bulb a lot brighter then?

NEW GENERATION

We’ll just build new traditions.

This year, the local SERG Restaurant Group will be doing the concessions food, even if there aren’t as many booths as usual.

That will give the PGA Tour a Hilton Head twist, like that early Heritage tournament when one booth of volunteers offered up oysters on the half shell.

I’ll build tradition by watching Bryson Nimmer of Bluffton play. The former Clemson star now early in his pro career was given a sponsor exemption.

I taught his mother, Patsy, when she was in middle school. I followed his father, Tony, with my camera when he was younger than Bryson, playing the same course during a pro-am with Lee Trevino, the “Merry Mex.” And something happened to Tony’s pants during the round, I can’t remember what, but it all ended well.

I want it to end well for Bryson, too.

And I want it to end well for Alan Perry. He’s Charles Perry’s son, who succeeded him as chairman of the announcers.

Alan will instead be a starter this year, introducing the players as they tee off on the 10th hole on Thursday and Friday mornings.

He’s not looking back, and he’s not looking ahead.

“Who knows what the future holds,” he said. “This year our focus is on 2021, and we’re thankful we have it.”

David Lauderdale may be reached at LauderdaleColumn@gmail.com.

This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 3:40 PM.