Golf courses in Kiawah Island, SC.

Kiawah Island, SC

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, near Charleston, South Carolina, is a Pete Dye design that opened in 1991. Ten holes run along the Atlantic and the rest sit close behind. At Alice Dye's suggestion, the whole course was raised above the dune line so every hole has a view of the ocean. That decision leaves the course fully exposed to shifting coastal wind, which can change club selection by several clubs from one round to the next. Much of the sand is unedged waste area rather than formal bunkers, and the greens are firm and hard to hold into the breeze. The Ocean Course hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup, known as the War by the Shore, the 2007 Senior PGA Championship, the 2012 PGA Championship won by Rory McIlroy, and the 2021 PGA Championship won by Phil Mickelson at age 50. It is open to resort guests and the public, walking with a caddie is encouraged, and carts are allowed after 10 a.m. in summer.

Kiawah Island, SC

Osprey Point occupies inland ground on Kiawah Island and began life as the resort's members course. Tom Fazio designed it and it opened in 1988, and he returned in 2014 to lead a full renovation. The routing crosses lagoons, marshland and pine forest, with several holes running alongside water that tightens driving lines and sharpens the approach. Its shift from wooded corridors to open marsh views gives it a different character from Kiawah's exposed oceanfront courses. The 2014 work refreshed bunkering and turf while keeping the playability that defined the original.

Kiawah Island, SC

Turtle Point sits on the eastern end of Kiawah Island and was the second course to open at the resort. Jack Nicklaus designed it and it opened in 1981, winding through maritime forest and marsh before reaching three consecutive oceanfront holes on the back nine. Lagoons are placed to make the golfer choose a line rather than simply punish a miss, and the fairways are generous but angled. Nicklaus returned in 2016 to lead a renovation that regrassed the course in paspalum and refined the bunkering and green complexes. The result balances Lowcountry woodland golf with a genuinely dramatic run along the Atlantic.

Kiawah Island, SC

Cougar Point lies near the entrance to Kiawah Island, originally a Gary Player design and extensively reworked by Gary Player Design in a ten-month project that reopened in October 2017. The layout threads between maritime forest and expansive tidal marsh, with sweeping views across the Kiawah River. The redesign focused on shot values and playability while keeping the marsh-edge drama that defines the front nine. Play moves from tight, tree-lined corridors into open, wind-exposed holes on the water. Player himself framed the project as a chance to correct elements of his original.