For an unsurpassed golf experience, play on the five legendary courses at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, designed by five legendary architects: Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Gary Player, and Clyde Johnston.
When travelling to Kiawah, Cougar Point is the first golf course you reach once you get to the Island. This course is beloved for its great playing holes that were designed to be inherently unique from one another. In particular, you will find two holes situated along the Kiawah River that lend long fairways with challenging terrain.
Eight holes play along the Kiawah River and Bass Pond, with the other fairways and greens along marsh savannas, ponds, and oak-filled maritime forests. River Course site, which extends a mile or so along the Kiawah River, was the location of the first English settlement on the Island in the 18th century.
Oak Point. Designed by Clyde Johnston, the Oak Point course was purchased by the Kiawah Island Resort in 1997. He designed the course on former plantation lands that grew tomato and indigo. Oak Point plays to a par of 72, and it measures 6,701 yards (6,127 m) from the tournament tees with a slope rating of 72.4/137.
Kiawah Island Golf ResortClub informationDesigned byJack NicklausPar72Length6,911 yards (6,319 m)Course rating7341 more rows
In 1976, the Kiawah Island Resort opened, with the Kiawah Island Inn—including two swimming pools, two restaurants and a bar—and the Marsh Point (subsequently renamed Cougar Point) golf course designed by Gary Player. The Kiawah Island Company began to sell real estate.
The Goodwin family owns Kiawah Island Golf Resort, including Night Heron Park, the Sanctuary Hotel, the conference center and other commercial facilities at East Beach, the Straw Market, the oceanfront site of the original Kiawah Island Inn, two tennis centers, and four golf courses including the Ocean Course, site of ...
Rumors be told, a number of celebrities own or have called Kiawah Island home: Dan Marino, Richard Gere, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Bruce Willis and more. Are you surprised? Not us. Kiawah Island is quite a place and has become the benchmark us of best master planned communities.
Certain packages can drag the rates down to as low as $234 per round with the high being $330. That's still considerably lower than booking as a non-resort guest, where green fees will range from $373 to $463, depending upon the season.
While Kiawah Island can thank its award-winning golf for many of its faithful residents and star-studded clientele (Bill and Hillary Clinton, Richard Gere, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, and even Donald Trump), the island's mystique is in its natural beauty, deluxe yet family-friendly amenities, and southern ...
KIAWAH ISLAND, SC (WCSC) - Kiawah Partners, the master developer of Kiawah Island, has been sold to Charlotte-based real estate company.
As a two-time host of the PGA Championship, Kiawah has gained a global reputation for exceptional golf. Along with the Island’s five public courses, Kiawah Island Club offers Members two private offerings, each distinct in its playability and magnificent natural beauty.
The dark cedar-shingled River Course Clubhouse sits on an ancient bluff overlooking the Kiawah River to the north and Bass Pond to the southeast. Amenities include a golf shop, dining room, grille room and bar, veranda, living room, men’s and women’s lounges with locker areas, and fitness center.
Reminiscent of a 19th-century English country manor with stone-surrounded windows, copper guttering, and slate roofing, the Cassique Clubhouse offers commanding views of the golf course and the tidelands surrounding the Kiawah River. The dining experience at the restaurant and pub are also spectacular, with a menu designed exclusively by James Beard-award winner Consulting Chef Tom Colicchio.
The 2021 PGA Championship: What to Expect as a Spectator. The Ultimate PGA Spectator Guide The 2021 PGA Championship is one of the most prestigious events to grace the shores of Kiawah Island. One of the four Majors in golf, this worldwide event draws thousands of spectators hoping to see their favorite players win it all.
The Ultimate PGA Spectator Guide The 2021 PGA Championship is one of the most prestigious events to grace the shores of Kiawah Island. One of the four Majors in golf, this worldwide event draws thousands of spectators hoping to see their favorite players win it all. Although this year’s PGA Championship at...
Jimmie James was five years old when he set his first goal. At that tender age, he did not know one person who had graduated from high school, and he promised himself he would. One of eight children, Jimmie grew up well below the poverty line in a sawmill town in...
Water lines the right side of the fairway while trees guard approaches to the green. The hole has a big premium on a tee shot down the middle or to the left side of the fairway. The farther left, however, the longer the second shot to the bulk headed and very shallow green. An intimidating shot for the average player.
Many consider 15 the “signature” hole of the course. This is a short par-4 that features two distinct options off the tee. Those playing along the dunes on the left will get a full view of this punch-bowl green that slopes away from the player. Those bailing out right will be partially blinded by the dune. A bunker protects the right of the green. The best miss on this green may be long, as players are only faced with a straightforward pitch back up the green.
Hole 18 is a strong par-4 guarded by fairway bunkers on the right and water down the entire left side and in front of the green. The fairway is very wide short of these bunkers, but narrows significantly the further the shot is played. The wide and shallow green is strongly contoured and protected by bunkers front and back.
Players want to hit their tee shot to the left side of the fairway because trees can block second shots if too far right. Bunkers front-right and left guard the small green. Nicklaus moved the green a bit to the right and raised it over four feet, so it now demands a precise short iron second shot. 18.
It is the only hole on the golf course without a bunker. There is a lagoon along the left side of the fairway that is about 220 yards from the blue tee markers. The right side is best here. Many players will forgo use of their driver to gain position for a dangerous second shot to a tiered green.
So many tournaments were contested on this Jack Nicklaus-designed course, including PGA Cup Matches, the Carolina's Amateur, Carolina's PGA and more. Isn't it time you played Turtle Point?
After a comprehensive nine-month renovation led by Jack Nicklaus and members of his architectural team, Turtle Point reopened in late 2016 to rave player reviews. Sweeping improvements included regrassing with Paspalum, rebuilding of all bunkers, laser-leveling all tee boxes and reestablishing irrigation throughout the course.
The most recent addition to Kiawah Island’s golf lineup, Osprey Point , which was built in 1988, shines for its wide fairways and expansive greens. This Fazio-designed layout plays around four natural lagoons, so water is always in sight, yet generous landing areas and very few forced carries mean that the water is rarely in play. For those reasons, Osprey Point is often the most popular course among first-time (and returning) resort guests. “It’s our guests’ favorite golf course, and part of the reason is that you have equal opportunity to score on it,” Gerard says. “You don’t feel like you’re so locked into a tree-lined fairway and that puts a lot of people at ease, which takes away tensions, which takes away indecision, which leads to better scores.”
Turtle Point (photo courtesy Kiawah Island Golf Resort) Most Nicklaus-designed courses are famous (or infamous) for their difficulty, and such was the case at Turtle Point prior to its recent renovation.
The Ocean Course, host of the 103rd PGA Championship and one of Pete Dye’s seminal works which was completed just in time to host the Ryder Cup in 1991 (and previously hosted the PGA Championship in 2012), may be the crown jewel at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, but the luxurious resort’s four additional courses collectively form the crown itself.
Osprey Point. The most recent addition to Kiawah Island’s golf lineup, Osprey Point, which was built in 1988, shines for its wide fairways and expansive greens.
Talk with the caddies looping on the Ocean Course and many will tell you that their favorite course to play—perhaps after Dye’s championship layout—is this 6,800-yard jewel, which was designed by Player and built in 1976. The course winds its way through wooded areas punctuated by striking live oaks and brings players to picturesque marshland along the Kiawah River.
Described by Johnston as “a Scottish-style links course,” Oak Point incorpora tes plenty of open space, but it also meanders through tree-lined sections and later brings lagoons and marshland into play. In fact, in Wagaman’s opinion, the landscape’s natural beauty and a plethora of wildlife define the golf experience at Oak Point more so than at any of the resort’s other courses. Even though golfers are likely to see plenty of alligators at Oak Point, those players will also need to envision specific shots that must be played to score well.
When travelling to Kiawah, Cougar Point is the first golf course you reach once you get to the Island. This course is beloved for its great playing holes that were designed to be inherently unique from one another. In particular, you will find two holes situated along the Kiawah River that lend long fairways with challenging terrain.
Cassique Course is the only course on the Island with zero homes on the front nine. While you’ll find a few homes on the back nine — and only on one side of the course we might add — Cassique allows you to fully immerse yourself into the surrounding nature.
The last course on the list is Oak Point , known as the shotmaker’s course. This highly-rated course is the perfect blend of Scottish Links and South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Almost every hole is surrounded by maritime forest that frames the fairways for a picturesque view.
Known for its many challenges, beautiful scenery, and overall spectacular play, the River Course will host the USGA Four-Ball in 2023, following its initial debut in 2009 for the U.S. Mid-Amatuer Championship.
Living on a golf course is one of the best ways to enjoy what Kiawah Island has to offer. If you have always dreamed of living on a golf course, Kiawah has seven world-class options to choose from. View our listings of available homes built along these courses below.
In addition, the new Cougar Point Clubhouse was recently finished. From its architecture to its landscaping, this gathering space is Southern luxury at its finest. Inside, visitors can find dining options such as The Players’ Pub, and a full-service pro shop that carries the best golf brands to help you elevate your game. Plus, a new hotel will also be added to complement the course and clubhouse and accommodate guests wishing to stay at Cougar Point.
The Ocean Course will be hosting golf legends once again for the 2021 PGA Championship. Learn more here.
Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf once featured a fitting match. For close to a half-century between 1961 and 2003, “ Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf ” helped showcase many of the finest golf courses on the planet to millions of fans viewing from home.
Some 2,492 miles from Hollywood, Kiawah made its mark on the silver screen before it ever hosted a major championship.
The 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah was supposed to mark the grand introduction of major championship golf to one of the great American seaside courses. Well, those playing that week got a grand introduction, all right. To the hardest single round in PGA Championship history.
The Ocean Course hosted perhaps the most memorable Ryder Cup of the last three decades — the 1991 ‘ War at the Shore .’. While the tournament famously featured as much gamesmanship and heated rivalry as any Ryder Cup in history, the scene on the 18th green remains alone in Kiawah lore.