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KIAWAH ISLAND, SC
July Trip Report

COUGAR POINT
Cougar Point, designed by Gary Player is a 6875 yard par 72 gem and the oldest of the Kiawah Island resort courses. We played the Cougar tees at 6503 yards with a 127 slope and 71.6 course rating (just short of the tournament tees). The track carries a 4 star Golf Digest rating and IMO should be a solid 4.5 stars when compared to other similar rated tracks. Conditions were terrific all around. The track is very well bunkered throughout, providing great visual frames from the tees and fairways. The course delivers terrific views of the salt marshes and Kiawah River with generous landing areas on most holes. Cougar has a good variety of long par 4’s framed with large southern tree varietals that give the appearance of wide tunnels to hit through. The par 3’s are all stunners with distances ranging from 158 to 201 yards from the Cougar tees. The 3 closing holes , all par 4’s, are really terrific finishing holes with a wonderful 388 yard par 4 18th that is a slight dogleg over water to a long, tiered lima bean shaped green. This course is a real winner and one Gary Player made sure would be a crowd pleaser among the many courses in the Charleston area. Cougar Point is a perfect resort course, challenging when played from the correct tees with beautifully laid out holes.

THE OCEAN COURSE
The Pete Dye masterpiece measures 7536 yards with a whopping 144 slope and 77.2 course rating. There is little I can say about this track that hasn’t been said before. It is simply one of the most outstanding golf courses I have ever played. The Ocean Course, host to the 2012 PGA Championship and past Ryder Cup and World Cup course, will forever be on of the top 100 courses in the world. If you go, morning rounds require you walk and take a caddy. Walking definitely enhances the experience as it affords the player panoramic views from fantastic vantage points throughout the course. This track is rated the most difficult resort course in America with good reason. The caddies are extremely helpful in club selections relative to wind conditions, placements off the tees and reading the greens in terms of speed. To enjoy your round to the fullest it is critical that you play the appropriate tees. The starter and caddy will help you choose correctly. For example, I usually play the tips or one down, but at the Ocean Course that has sweeping winds coming in from the Atlantic Ocean, I was warned that the 30 MPH winds on this day, the course would play 300 yards longer than the scorecard. Based on this, I moved down to the Dye tees at 6475 yards (136/72.5) and had plenty of course to play giving me the chance to make a number of pars on my way to a score of 84. Make no mistake about it, the Ocean Course is expensive and you want to enjoy the experience, not fight your way around 18 difficult holes. Take a camera or you will hate yourself once you see how gorgeous this track is from the 1st tee to the 18th green. The two finishing holes are mint. The par 3 17th, one of the Ocean’s signature holes, is a long par 3 to a tight 2 tiered green with pot bunkers protecting the left side with the green framed with sand dunes, natural grasses and the Atlantic Ocean on the right. The par 4 finishing hole is long, between 396 and 439 yards with wind straight in your face along the ocean leading up to the new club house that acts as the backdrop.

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Course photos, Kiawah Island

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Man, I have wanted to go there for our golf trip for so many years. The place looks so, unmm, professional I guess is the word.