Every April, right after the Masters wraps up in Augusta, the PGA Tour packs up its blazers and heads two hours southeast to a place with a very different personality. Harbour Town Golf Links sits right on the water at the southern tip of Hilton Head Island, and for one week it hosts the RBC Heritage: a tournament that’s part championship golf, part beach vacation, and part costume party built entirely around plaid.
Here’s what makes the RBC Heritage worth building a trip around, and why staying a few minutes away at Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort is the best way to experience it.
A Tournament Named for Real Golf History
The RBC Heritage got its start in 1969 when developer Charles Fraser opened Harbour Town Golf Links, a course designed by Pete Dye with input from a young Jack Nicklaus. Fraser wanted the new course to feel like it had history behind it, so he named the event the Heritage Classic. Arnold Palmer won that first year, putting both the course and Hilton Head on the golf world’s map almost overnight.
Here’s the part most fans don’t know: the tournament’s name actually carries weight. South Carolina has a real claim to early American golf, one that’s older than the story most people learn. Historical research suggests golf may have been played at a spot called Harleston Green in Charleston as early as 1786. That’s about a full century before the club in Yonkers, New York that usually gets credit as the country’s first. In other words, golf in the United States may well have started in the Lowcountry rather than the Northeast. That’s the heritage the tournament is named for.
The Plaid Isn’t a Gimmick, It’s the Whole Point
As you walk the grounds during tournament week, it’s sure to be the first thing you notice: plaid is everywhere. Pants, jackets, hats, dresses, even dogs can be seen wearing plaid bandanas. That’s because the RBC Heritage champion wins a tartan plaid jacket, the tournament’s answer to the Masters’ green jacket. Somewhere along the way fans decided that if the winner gets to wear it, they should too.
There’s also a tradition that outdoes the jacket for pure spectacle. Each year, the defending champion hits a ceremonial opening shot straight into Calibogue Sound, and a cannon fires the moment the ball leaves the clubhead. It’s loud, it’s a little absurd, and it’s exactly the kind of detail that makes a golf tournament memorable instead of forgettable. Between the cannon and the tartan, the RBC Heritage has more personality baked into its traditions than almost anywhere else on tour.
Golf That Actually Gives Back
Plenty of tournaments talk about charity, but the RBC Heritage walks the walk. The event is run by the Heritage Classic Foundation, a nonprofit that’s put more than $65 million into South Carolina charities since 1987, and the giving isn’t limited to golf-adjacent causes.
Local programs supported through the tournament include:
- Heritage Scholars Program, which has awarded close to $6 million in scholarships to area students since the early 1990s
- Bluffton Self Help, which stocks school snack closets for food-insecure kids
- Palmetto Animal League, which offers pet wellness and adoption programs
A dedicated fundraising group called the Tartan Club also helps raise money for the scholarship program. When you buy a ticket or grab lunch on the grounds, a meaningful share of the money you spend eventually lands somewhere useful in the Lowcountry.
What It’s Actually Like to Be There
Harbour Town isn’t a stadium course built for crowds. It’s a tight, tree-lined layout with lagoons and live oaks crowding the fairways, which means the gallery feels close to the action in a way bigger tour stops don’t. The signature moment is the 18th hole, where players hit their approach with the red-and-white striped Harbour Town lighthouse standing behind the green and Calibogue Sound just past it. It’s one of the more recognizable closing holes in golf and seeing it in person easily beats watching it on TV.
Beyond the golf, Harbour Town’s village at the base of the lighthouse is walkable and full of restaurants and shops, so a day at the tournament doesn’t have to end when the last group finishes. Plan for warm April weather and wear comfortable shoes: it’s one of the shorter courses on the tour, but you’ll still be getting plenty of steps in.
The Best Way to Experience It: From Your Motorcoach
Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort sits just over a mile from the beach on 50 acres built specifically for Class A and Class C motorcoaches. No trailers, no tow vehicle required, just pull in and settle into a site that’s yours. The resort has a clubhouse, a heated pool and hot tub, pickleball and tennis courts, a fitness center, a dog park, and Oasis Grill on site if you don’t feel like cooking. With more than 30 golf courses and over 100 miles of bike paths on the island, getting to Harbour Town and back is easy. Plus, Coligny Plaza’s restaurants and shops are close by for evenings off the course.
Tournament week is always one of the busiest stretches of the year on the island, so if you’re planning to attend the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, book your site as early as you can. Want to hit the links yourself? Check out this list of our favorite courses on the island. Even if golf isn’t the draw, Hilton Head Island Motorcoach Resort makes an excellent home base year-round for adventures in paradise.
