Harbour Town Golf Links Ravaged By Hurricane Matthew

Devastation from Hurricane Matthew littered Florida and the East Coast last week when the storm reached Category 5 levels. Inevitably — but by no means the most devastating — golf courses were damaged by the high winds, water damage and debris that the storm brought when it made landfall. Unfortunately for one of the most iconic courses on the PGA Tour, Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island was hit pretty hard.

Some areas of harbour town golf links are a total mess, some are completely fine #HHI pic.twitter.com/V2LKINMfVf

— Mandy Matney (@MandyMatney) October 12, 2016

.@Nikegolftwo3 Can’t access course yet so no assessment. This pic ran in Island Packet. pic.twitter.com/2fK1ZPKtLO

— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) October 12, 2016

Downed trees littered tee boxes, fairways and greens and the famous 18th hole was under water for a time, leaving sea shells and other remnants in the fairways. The bridge used to access the island was closed over the weekend and reopened later in the week, an indication of the damage suffered by the island.

Hilton Head Island. #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/8oHRHen34y

— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) October 11, 2016

GolfChannel.com’s Rex Hoggard filed this dispatch earlier this week.

Although the PGA Tour seemed to escape the brunt of Hurricane Matthew, officials on Hilton Head Island, S.C., were still assessing the damage caused by last week’s storm.

“It’s unbelievable. There are trees everywhere,” said Steve Wilmot, the RBC Heritage tournament director. “I haven’t had a chance to see the course [Harbour Town Golf Links], so we won’t know the extent of the damage for a few days.”

Hilton Head Island had been closed because of the storm until Monday afternoon and there have been reports of fallen trees at Harbour Town, the site of the annual Tour stop.