No fans will watch top golfers at RBC Heritage — unless it’s a house party or boat deck
The top golfers in the world will tee it up on Hilton Head Island soon, though nobody has tickets to see them play.
That doesn’t mean everyone will be kept from seeing the action.
The RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing begins Thursday after being postponed from its traditional April dates. The event is the PGA Tour’s second tournament back after the season was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic. The tournament ends Sunday, June 21.
Spectators aren’t allowed in the gates during early events to prevent spreading the virus as case numbers remain high in South Carolina. Most will be required to see Harbour Town Golf Links via the television broadcast by the Golf Channel and CBS.
But people who own homes or have booked vacation rentals on the golf course will be among the select group able to watch the likes of Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson stroll the fairways.
And at least one water sports business has plans for a golf party off the 18th hole in the Calibogue Sound, where a variety of boats and personal watercraft have gathered in a flotilla on tournament days in the past.
“I think you’ll see more deck parties than you’ve ever seen on the golf course,” tournament director Steve Wilmot said after plans for a June tournament were announced. “Anybody that owns a house out there, they’re going to have a lot of friends that week.”
For those not lucky enough to be on porch on the course, there’s a boat deck.
Bluewater Adventure in Shelter Cove launched the “Miss Christie” in February. The 36-foot, cycle-powered party boat would likely have been deployed during a typical Heritage in April. But with no fans allowed on the course, the cruise has a new hook.
The water sports outfitter is offering four-hour trips during the tournament and will anchor in Calibogue Sound off the 18th hole at Harbour Town. For $99 a person, up to 20 passengers can watch golfers finish their rounds live or on one of the boat’s flat screen televisions.
Hor d’oeuvres will be served and guests bring their own beverage and can keep the drinks cold on an ice bar.
Twelve bicycle seats allow passengers to pedal and power the boat or they can relax and let the motor do the work.
On the golf course, vacation rentals were already in demand for the tournament’s June dates because of the peak summer season, property managers said.
Sunset Rentals, which manages multiple properties advertising enviable views of Harbour Town Golf Links, is booked through tournament week. But no callers have asked specifically about the golf tournament, general manager Stacy Charlton said.
Golf tournament customers might typically seek to book starting late in the week through early the following week to coincide with tournament rounds. All the bookings next week are the typical Saturday-Saturday schedule of summertime visitors, Charlton said.
“The inventory sold — but it sold anyway,” he said.
The short-term rental site Airbnb showed just one option on the golf course for dates during tournament rounds Thursday through Sunday. A private room in a large home advertising a swimming pool and golf views was listed for $165 per night as of a week before the tournament.
Property owners might still be wary of limiting gatherings because of COVID-19.
Kerry de Vallette, who manages seven rental properties in Sea Pines that aren’t not on the golf course, typically rents to visitors during the Heritage. Regular renters have included a PGA Tour player. But coronavirus disrupted the normal spring schedule and the demand now is from people wanting to get out after being cooped up for months.
De Vallette said he knows a Harbour Town homeowner who doesn’t plan to have visitors during the tournament — even with social distancing.
“They’re not opening up their home this year as they have in past years,” he said. “They want to be smart and healthy about it.”
This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
