Kiawah Island Golf Resort

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Kiawah Island Golf Resort

Club information
Location in the United States Show map of the United States Location in South Carolina Show map of South Carolina
Coordinates	32°36′34″N 80°05′52″W / 32.60944°N 80.09778°W / 32.60944; -80.09778
Location	Kiawah Island, South Carolina, U.S.
Established	1974; 50 years ago (1974)
Type	Resort
Owned by	CCA Financial[1]
Total holes	90
Events hosted	Ryder Cup (1991) World Cup (1997, 2003) PGA Professional Championship (2005) Senior PGA Championship (2007) PGA Championship (2012, 2021)
Website	kiawahresort.com
Ocean Course
Designed by	Pete Dye & Alice Dye
Par	72
Length	7,876 yards (7,202 m)
Course rating	79.1
Slope rating	155 [2]
Turtle Point
Designed by	Jack Nicklaus
Par	72
Length	6,911 yards (6,319 m)
Course rating	73
Slope rating	134
Osprey Point
Designed by	Tom Fazio
Par	72
Length	6,902 yards (6,311 m)
Course rating	72.8
Slope rating	135
Oak Point
Designed by	Clyde Johnston
Par	72
Length	6,701 yards (6,127 m)
Course rating	71.9
Slope rating	130
Cougar Point
Designed by	Gary Player redesigned
Par	72
Length	6,814 yards (6,231 m)
Course rating	72.7
Slope rating	134

Kiawah Island Golf Resort is a resort at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, which is located along a ten-mile (16 km) mix of island and beachfront property approximately thirty miles (50 km) southwest of Charleston. Opened in May 1974, it consistently ranks as one of the country’s top resorts.^[3]

The resort is home to The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, a Forbes Five Star^[4]/AAA Five Diamond^[5] 255-room hotel and spa. The resort also manages nearly 500 private villas and homes and has more than a dozen restaurants.

Best known for its golf courses, the resort also contains the Roy Barth Tennis Center, which features 22 tennis courts and is home to the Barth-Hawtin Tennis Academy.

Golf

Kiawah Island Golf Resort is home to five championship golf courses, most notably The Ocean Course, added in 1991.

The Ocean Course

The Ocean Course is the most famous course at Kiawah Island, and was designed by Pete and Alice Dye.^[6] The course was designed so that players have a view of the shoreline of the Atlantic Ocean, but also to expose golfers to the often-strong winds in the area.^[6] The Ocean Course has been consistently named as one of the best courses in the world by several publications such as Golf Digest and Golf Magazine as well as being named a "Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary" by Audubon International for its design protecting native bird species. As of 2010^[update], the Ocean Course was rated 25th in Golf Digest's 100 Greatest Golf Courses in America.^[7]

The Ocean Course is a par 72 course and from the championship

The Ocean Course was featured in the 2000 film The Legend of Bagger Vance.^[9] In October 2008, the Ocean Course became the first course to be available to play in the online video game that was developed by World Golf Tour. Helicopters equipped with cameras and GPS tracking devices were used to photograph and record the entire course to produce a geographically accurate simulation.^[10]

Scorecard

Source:^[2][11]

Tournaments held

The Ocean Course first became well known in its first year when it hosted the Ryder Cup in 1991.^[6] The United States team defeated Europe 14½–13½. The windy Ocean Course made for difficult playing conditions, and the United States team only won when Bernhard Langer of Germany missed a six-foot (1.8 m) par-saving putt that would have defeated Hale Irwin, tied the overall score at 14-all, and retained the cup for Europe.

In 1996, the Ocean Course hosted a match on Shell's Wonderful World of Golf between Annika Sörenstam and Dottie Pepper. The course hosted the World Cup of Golf twice – in 1997 and in 2003. In 1997, Pádraig Harrington and Paul McGinley won the team title, with Colin Montgomerie winning the individual title. When the World Cup returned in 2003, Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini won the team competition.

The Ocean Course hosted the

The PGA Championship was played at the Ocean Course in August 2012^[6] with Rory McIlroy winning by a record eight strokes. The championship returned to the Ocean Course in May 2021, and was won by Phil Mickelson, who became the oldest major champion in history at the age of 50.^[12]

View of the 18th green and the Atlantic Ocean from the clubhouse at the Ocean Course

Turtle Point

The Turtle Point course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and has also received accolades from Golf Digest magazine. Turtle Point has hosted regional tournaments such as the Carolina Amateur.

The Turtle Point course is a par 72 course. From the tournament tees, it measures 7,061 yards (6,457 m) and has a slope rating of 73/134.^[2]

Osprey Point

The Osprey Point course at Kiawah Island was designed by Tom Fazio.

The Osprey point course is a par 72 course. It measures 6,932 yards (6,339 m) from the tournament tees, and it has a slope rating of 72.8/135.^[2]

Oak Point

Designed by Clyde Johnston, the Oak Point course was purchased by the Kiawah Island Resort in 1997.

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 71.9/130.^[2]

Cougar Point

The Cougar Point golf course was originally named Marsh Point, and Gary Player redesigned it in 1996. It is a par 72 course and from the tournament tees it measures 6,875 yards (6,286 m) with a slope rating of 72.7/134.^[2]

Expansion

Beginning spring 2018, Kiawah Island Golf Resort launched a three-year development^[13] that includes a new clubhouse at Cougar Point Golf Course, a non-denominational chapel at The Sanctuary, the West Beach Village Conference Center, a new villa check-in facility in West Beach, four cottages near The Ocean Course Clubhouse, and a complete renovation of Night Heron Park.

References