1. The Ocean Course
Kiawah Island
If Harbour Town is all about shotmaking around frequent vertical obstructions, Pete Dye’s leading effort (with a co-design credit to his wife, Alice, who died in February) at Kiawah Island Golf Resort is all about exposure to the elements. Perched at the northwest end of the barrier island among tall dunes and native grasses, the 7,356-yard course opened in 1991 with a Dye-style twist on oceanside golf.
Instead of playing beneath or alongside the dunes, the Ocean Course (No. 13 on Golfweek’s Best list of modern courses) sits atop the sandhills – credit for that idea goes to Alice. This gives little relief from the Atlantic winds, which can challenge every shot. Unlike its Dye cousin to the south at Harbour Town, the Ocean course has almost no trees in play.
Simply put, there’s nowhere to hide on the Ocean Course when the weather is blowing. A low-handicap player might have plenty of scoring opportunities on a calm day, but good luck choosing one of those.
The course has 10 holes playing tight to the beach with the other eight perched just beyond. This whole end of the island is made for cameras – it’s impossible to find a bad view from a fairway or tee.
But woe to the player who strays into the natural waste areas, which present all kinds of hills, dips, native vegetation and precarious lies. The layout features plenty of width off the tee, but the winds can push errant shots away from the short grass into steep, penal fairway bunkers and scrub.
The routing consists of two out-and-back, nine-hole loops that roughly parallel the beach. That means about half the par 4s and par 5s might play relatively easy as the wind assists, but turning back into the wind as the loops redirect brings on a completely different thrill ride.
Overall, the greens feature less extreme contours with fewer greenside bunkers than Dye normally built into his courses. Those obstacles simply aren’t necessary, as the wind and waste areas do the trick. All in all, it’s one of the greatest tests in the United States. Players need every bit of skill and imagination to keep it in play through the incredible setting and strong breezes.
Rater’s comments: This course is all you could ask for in a resort challenge. The fairways are generous. The greens are challenging but not crazy fast. It is truly a second-shot course. The ocean and the setting of the clubhouse make the back nine very memorable. Dye uses his trickery and subterfuge to entice you to trouble. – James Groschan, Lutherville, Md.