Fairway for fabulous fare
Written by Clay Bonnyman Evans | Photographed by Rob Kaufman
When Damian Hayes and business partner John DeAngelis decided to open Hilton Head Island’s first golf-themed restaurant in 1998, they thought they’d name it Amen Corner after the famously difficult 11th, 12th and 13th holes at Augusta National Golf Club, home of the annual The Masters Tournament.
Hayes even began collecting memorabilia suitable for a Masters-themed restaurant.
But after realizing there was no British-pub-themed restaurant on the island, they changed their minds and named it after another “major,” the Open Championship, also known as the British Open. That gave them a menu as well.
“We switched to a British theme, fish ‘n’ chips, pot pies, things like that,” says Hayes, who now as sole owner is celebrating 25 years in business on the island and 12 at the restaurant’s Bluffton location this year.
That meant he had to go back to the first tee, so to speak, when it came to collecting the artwork and memorabilia that gives the pub its now-familiar atmosphere. Over time, he got numerous British Open winners, including such greats as five-time winner Tom Watson, three-time winner Seve Ballesteros and two-time winners Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, to sign tournament artwork that graces the walls at both restaurants.
“When Watson signed that fourth one, he asked, ‘How many pubs do these guys have?’” Hayes says with a laugh. “A lot of (the winners) have been in the pub.”
Each location features a bar where patrons rest elbows atop hundreds upon hundreds of Titleist golf balls under glass, a handful signed by British Open winners, including Ballesteros, 1994 winner Nick Price and Watson.
“(Price) wouldn’t sign balls for anybody, because at that time kids were getting balls signed and then just selling them,” Hayes says. “But when he came in the pub and saw the bar, he gave a signed ball to my wife, Andrea, knowing it would go under glass.”
And the British Open Pub remains the world’s only “Titleist Bar.” When the CEO of the Titleist company came in, he asked Hayes where he’d gotten the hundreds of Titleist golf balls on display.
“The Titleist rep had given them to me, but he made me promise never to tell. So, I told (the CEO) I purchased them. He asked, ‘why all Titleists?’ and I told him, ‘It’s the number-one ball in golf,’” Hayes recalls. “He said, ‘Good answer,’ gave me his card and said if you need anything let me know.”
Hayes soon sent the CEO a letter requesting permission to officially use the line, “Bar by Titleist.” The man agreed
The Bluffton restaurant also sports a “bad-luck” wedge “donated” by 2001 Heritage winner Jose Coceres. During a 2002 Heritage Golf Tournament on Hilton Head, Coceres was searching for a private spot to snap a 60-degree wedge over his knee after four bad pitch shots, when he came upon Hayes’ wife, Andrea, holding a sign in support of her fellow Argentinian and pushing a baby carriage where the couple’s son, Evan, slept.
“The reunion instantly softened Coceres’ mood,” who decided to give the club to the family, reported the Savannah Morning News.
“And now my son is 21 and waiting and bartending” at the restaurant where the wedge is displayed, Hayes says.
Of course, customers can’t eat golf balls, unlucky clubs or prints. They come for the food, year after year.
“Our locals are our mainstays in business year after year,” Hayes says. “Our servers and bartenders know most of the customer base when they walk through the door.”
One recent day, a British couple came in to sample the fare.
“They both said, ‘The fish ‘n’ chips is better here than back home,’” Hayes says.
The pubs have given back to the community over the years, most notably through nearly a quarter of a million dollars for local youth, raised through the annual British Open Pub Invitational golf tournament (which was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic).
Hayes says two factors have made long-term success possible for nearly a quarter century: his staff and his family.
“I’m fortunate to have some of the same people since we opened our doors. The staff is the secret,” he says. “And my family. They have put up with an awful lot. I’ve missed a lot of things, football games, horseback-riding events and cheerleading performances, because I had to work.”
But family members have always been part of the business.
“My oldest daughter, Brooke, is my general manager at the Hilton Head store. My daughters Ali and Skylar and son Evan fill in serving and bartending when home from college,” Hayes says. “Andrea, while still a hairdresser by day, is a front-of-house manager at the Bluffton location.
“It’s all family-owned. Hopefully family will take over some day,” Hayes says.
