There are few places on Earth that live up to the hype the first time you ever get to experience it.
In golf, that is even more true. Kiawah Island Golf Resort is one of those rare and special places that will blow you away every single time you get to visit the property. The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island is the design that took this property to the forefront of golf resort royalty, and to complement this iconic design the resort has continued to invest in the other four courses on property to create one of the truly special golf destinations in the United States. There is so much to see and do at the resort, but for the purposes of this article we want to focus on the golf experience to give you some insight into what you can expect on the course during your visit to Kiawah Island.
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island
The star of the show at Kiawah Island Golf Resort is the Ocean Course. This Pete Dye masterpiece is one of the best golf courses on the planet. Be forewarned, this course is difficult. It’s supposed to be. This is the day that you get to test your game for what it really is and see what you have. If you don’t like that thought process, we suggest playing up one set of tees for the day. It significantly takes some of the sting out of the round, and you’ll be able to enjoy the ocean-sided stroll down the fairways with a little more ease.
The Ocean Course gained its notoriety at the famous War on the Shore, the 1991 Ryder Cup. Dye’s diabolical design came to the forefront as the back 9 in particular never lets off and requires accuracy and discipline on every hole. The good news is, even if you have a couple of bad holes you are comforted by the views that are spectacular as the ocean breezes blowing the long fescue grass creates a sense of calm for all golfers. 17 and 18 get a lot of the love here, and with good reason.
Do yourself a favor and Google the ’91 Ryder Cup and watch how shot after shot on the par-3 17th end up finding the water. The genius of this hole is how every shot has been thought of by Dye. It’s a long par 3 over the water with ocean views over the dunes, and the green runs from left to right as you go from front to back on your shot. As most players are right handed, a fanned approach that rides the wind right will find the drink, or if you pull one you are “rewarded” with finding a difficult lie in a bunker and a tough shot that runs away from you towards the water.
Pro tip: Do yourself a favor and be sure to reserve your round with a caddie. First off, it completes the experience at one of the finest courses ever created. Second, the team at Kiawah Island really knows their stuff and they can not only help you around the course, but also provide you with some great stories throughout your round. Also, grab a cocktail after your round at The Ryder Cup Bar and enjoy a drink on the porch overlooking the 18th green and the Ocean to cap off a special day the right way.
Osprey Point at Kiawah IsIand
All of the golf at Kiawah Island is fantastic, and the unfortunate thing for the other courses onsite is that they are so often compared to the famous Ocean Course. It must be a bit like being the sibling of Brad Pitt in that no matter what you do, you’re always fighting an uphill battle for attention in your house.
That being said, the Tom Fazio-designed Osprey Point course is incredibly fun and is always the second course we suggest to golfers as their “must play” during any golf trip to Kiawah Island. As with most designs by the famed Tom Fazio, he just has a way of maximizing the beauty of any golf course.
The course has water features on 17 of the 18 holes, but with the course maxing out at 6,902 from the tournament tees and with most golfers playing either the Osprey tees at 6,545 yards or the Fazio tees at 6,192, you’ll see that you don’t necessarily have to pull driver on every par-4 and par-5 as you can smartly work your way around the beautiful layout and post a decent score.
Pro tip: Be sure to snag lunch before or dinner after in the clubhouse at the casual Cherrywood BBQ & Ale House.
Cougar Point at Kiawah Island
Over the last several years, Kiawah Island Golf Resort has significantly invested in upgrading the golf courses including the recent 2017 redesign of Cougar Point by the Black Knight himself, Mr. Gary Player. You may recognize several holes on this golf course as it was famously a filming location for the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance that starred Matt Damon and Will Smith.
The course takes on the personality of its famous designer with some great risk/reward par-5s throughout the round, and you’ll be taken aback by the beautiful marsh views that give you that great Lowcountry feel that is synonymous with the resort.
Much like Osprey Point, Cougar Point maxes out at 6,814 yards making it not incredibly long, but the genius design can make it play longer by requiring a smart tee shot or rewarding those who pull out the big stick and can position the ball correctly. A perfect example of this is the opening hole on the course. At a modest 351 yards from the back tees, the hole features two strategically positioned bunkers on each side of the fairway that come into play with a tee shot over 225 yards. A longer hitter can pull driver and go between or over these bunkers and be rewarded to a flip wedge to an accessible green, but a safe and smart tee shot will still leave you only about 130 yards in.
Don’t get us wrong, this course is not a cake walk. For example, the 550-yard, par-5 9th hole features water all the way up the right side and out of bounds looming up the left to a very narrow fairway without any real bail out areas.
Turtle Point at Kiawah Island
When you step onto the tee of a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, you know you are not going to be able to sleep on any holes as he is going to challenge your mental fortitude and skill set throughout the round. Turtle Point received a renovation in 2016 that included rebuilding all of the bunkers and re-grassing with Paspalum which has helped keep this course picture perfect year round as this particular grass can stand up to the conditions that being so close to the ocean provides the golfer. This was no small task, but it just goes to show you how much the ownership team is willing to invest to make this bucket list destination a memorable trip from start to finish.
Oak Point at Kiawah Island
This refreshed design of Oak Point by Clyde Johnston gives you a blended feel of the Lowcountry and Scottish Links golf courses for a unique experience during your visit to Kiawah Island Golf Resort. The course is surrounded by maritime forest and combines the coastal waterways to create a fun first round for your golf trip.
Pro tip: Oak Point is just outside of the main gates of the property, so it’s a great opening or final round for your trip depending on your arrival and departure times.
Recommendation
This is a simple one: Go! Kiawah Island Golf Resort is one of the finest golf resort experiences in the world, and there is a reason why visitors continue to return to this bucket-list destination time and time again. The beauty of this property is that it works as a buddy trip, a family trip, a couples trip, or really any type of golf vacation that you can dream up. If you’ve never been, we suggest staying at the Sanctuary as the vibe and ambiance here are second to none, and if you can pull it off try and include two rounds on the Ocean Course as you’ll want another crack at it after your first round here. Visit www.kiawahresort.com to learn more about how to maximize your Kiawah Island golf experience.