Kiawah Island Golf Getaway

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort hosted the 2007 Senior PGA and the 2012 PGA Championships. It will also host the 2021 PGA. The Ocean Course is the fourth course to have hosted each of the PGA of America’s major championships. Probably no other golf course in the world outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland is affected as much by the wind. From one round to the next, a player can experience up to an 8-club difference on holes depending upon the direction and strength of the wind. Built in 1991 by Pete Dye, there are no prevailing winds on the course. Dye took this into account when designing the course. In fact, he designed two courses into one – one for an easterly wind and one for a westerly wind.

The Ocean Course gained instant notoriety as the host of the dramatic “War by the Shore,” a battle decided literally by the final putt of Sunday’s final match in 1991’s Ryder Cup Matches. In 1997, The Ocean Course hosted the World Cup of Golf, with the world’s finest golfers from 32 countries competing in the stroke play tournament. The inaugural UBS Cup took place on the course in 2001, and in 2003 the course hosted the World Golf Championships World Cup. The PGA Professional National Championship was played in June 2005.

Jack Nicklaus course designer. Because of its traditional design, many of the better players visiting Kiawah Island Golf Resort would rather play Turtle Point than any of the other courses on the island. With narrow fairway corridors, small greens, strategically placed water hazards and plenty of out-of-bounds, Turtle Point calls for great accuracy and intelligent strategies. Players not driving the ball well will struggle for par. Since it is one of the longest courses on the island, proficiency with fairway woods and long irons is a must. So is the ability to scramble.

This exciting course was selected to hold many important championships including the Carolinas’ Amateur, the Carolinas’ PGA, the South Carolina Amateur and the 1990 PGA Cup Matches, the club professional’s version of the Ryder Cup. 

Making full use of Kiawah’s maritime forests, lagoons and saltwater marshes, Osprey Point is one of the most popular courses with resort guests. Totally renovated in 2014 under the direction of course architect Tom Fazio, Osprey Point features tees, greens and fairways grassed with Paspalum. Fazio blended a par-72 layout that takes advantage of its setting.

The course offers a wide variety of holes, each presenting its own unique challenges and beauty, which are bound to produce an enjoyable round. Each hole is unique and memorable. There are four challenging par-3s, four extremely distinctive par-5s and ten outstanding par-4s ranging in length from 340 yards to 461 yards from the championship tees.

The resort purchased Oak Point in 1997, rounding out the championship rotation of five courses that makes Kiawah Island Golf Resort one of the world’s great golf destinations. Clyde Johnston, a noted Southeastern golf course architect, designed Oak Point on the grounds of former cotton and indigo plantation. Completely renovated in 2015, the new and improved Oak Point offers guests the greatly enhanced playing surface of Paspalum. Renovations also significantly added to the strategic challenges of the design elevating Oak Point to the championship level of the resort’s other courses.

Cougar Point Golf Course was recently rated the “Golf Course of The Year”, by the South Carolina Golf Course Owners Association. One of the most dramatic vistas on the island is the middle of Cougar Point’s front nine, along the Kiawah River, making this course a very memorable one. Originally named Marsh Point, Cougar Point was redesigned by Gary Player in 1996 and plays 6,875 yards. It features a great blend of short and long par-4s, great risk/reward par-5s and extremely scenic and challenging par-3s.