KIAWAH OCEAN COURSE: Do or Dye

[Eric Smith]

The Ocean Course is consistently the hardest course i have ever played.  EVER.

Example - I'm a scratch handicap and my last round from the 6800 yard tees, I shot 89.  I hit every fairway on the front and shot 46!  It was amazing because I flushed every shot through the first 4 holes and was +5.

I've always looked at it this way..........KIAWAH = CRAZY WIND = MURDER  !
 

= FUN, right?!  

I get the feeling you like a good challenge everynowandthen Jonathan, since you use the word 'amazing' rather than say, unfair...good and crazy tough keeps us coming back for more!

Which nine is the more difficult in your opinion?  That 43 on the back was a pretty good recovery considering some of those finishers, especially with the high winds.

[PThomas]

Much to my dismay, I haven't played this course yet.  Tom Meeks, late of the USGA, told me that it is the most difficult course in America.  He would know...

I've played Butler National a few times and statistically speaking for stroke average, butler is the hardest course in pga tour history. (It was as of a few years ago, and was harder than every major held during the period that butler held the western open...... Please correct me if im wrong, but I don't think I am  )

HOWEVER.... The Ocean Course is consistently the hardest course i have ever played.  EVER.  The wind is out of control and with the new seaside paspalum on the greens, it's almost impossible to keep a putt on line when it's really windy.  This past december, the greens seemed as fast as Oakmont or Canton Brookside (btw- northeast ohio's best hidden gem hands down!!!!)  Furthermore,  the crazy part is that while the fairways are very generous and fair, it takes extreme precision with the irons to flight each shot properly to get it to your desired location.....once again, wind, wind, wind.

Example - I'm a scratch handicap and my last round from the 6800 yard tees, I shot 89.  I hit every fairway on the front and shot 46!  It was amazing because I flushed every shot through the first 4 holes and was +5.

I've always looked at it this way..........KIAWAH = CRAZY WIND = MURDER   !  

(everyone already knows this though, right? haha)

hardest course I've ever played, and i played it multiple times..THE WIND!!

and I'm a 14 handicap Jonathan, so when a scratch player like yourself shoots 89 , well, that really states how hard it is!

[Mike Sweeney]

Roger

I reckon the box could be some sort of control box - I didn't peak inside.  Again, why place it there?

Ciao

Sean,

It appears that The Kiawah Company is pretty well thought out in what they do and what they develop. I am guessing at some point in time the jigsaw puzzle of lawyers, environmental regulations (http://www.scdhec.net/environment/ocrm/permit/beachfront.htm) and golfing needs came together and Kiawah decided it could not spend another $100,000+ (a  guess) to hide that in a different area.

How much do you think they should spend to hide that box/pipe?

[jonathan_becker]

= FUN, right?!  

I get the feeling you like a good challenge everynowandthen Jonathan, since you use the word 'amazing' rather than say, unfair...good and crazy tough keeps us coming back for more!

Which nine is the more difficult in your opinion?  That 43 on the back was a pretty good recovery considering some of those finishers, especially with the high winds.

[/quote]

Eric,

Yes, i do like a challenge.  But Kiawah is almost too much for any amateur to handle.  

Playing there a few times, I've always had the luxury of having 14-18 downwind.  So....I haven't seen the true wrath of the closing holes.  I'm sure it's horrifying though.  Having said that, I feel that the front is harder.  Even downwind, it's really hard to judge each shot and alot of the times i've had the ball get knocked straight down out of the air.  HEY, ANOTHER BOGEY!!!!

When i shot 89, i parred the last 4 holes!  90+ was definitely in the equation.  My best score is 78.  best front = 39 (only done once)  best back= 37.  (in case anyone cares !)

Shot trajectory is everything at Kiawah. EVERYTHING.

[jonathan_becker]

Much to my dismay, I haven't played this course yet.  Tom Meeks, late of the USGA, told me that it is the most difficult course in America.  He would know...

I've played Butler National a few times and statistically speaking for stroke average, butler is the hardest course in pga tour history. (It was as of a few years ago, and was harder than every major held during the period that butler held the western open...... Please correct me if im wrong, but I don't think I am  )

HOWEVER.... The Ocean Course is consistently the hardest course i have ever played.  EVER.  The wind is out of control and with the new seaside paspalum on the greens, it's almost impossible to keep a putt on line when it's really windy.  This past december, the greens seemed as fast as Oakmont or Canton Brookside (btw- northeast ohio's best hidden gem hands down!!!!)  Furthermore,  the crazy part is that while the fairways are very generous and fair, it takes extreme precision with the irons to flight each shot properly to get it to your desired location.....once again, wind, wind, wind.

Example - I'm a scratch handicap and my last round from the 6800 yard tees, I shot 89.  I hit every fairway on the front and shot 46!  It was amazing because I flushed every shot through the first 4 holes and was +5.

I've always looked at it this way..........KIAWAH = CRAZY WIND = MURDER   !  

(everyone already knows this though, right? haha)

hardest course I've ever played, and i played it multiple times..THE WIND!!

and I'm a 14 handicap Jonathan, so when a scratch player like yourself shoots 89 , well, that really states how hard it is!

Paul,

Sometimes i wonder how people don't die out on that course!

[Eric Smith]

Eric,

Yes, i do like a challenge.  But Kiawah is almost too much for any amateur to handle.  

Playing there a few times, I've always had the luxury of having 14-18 downwind.  So....I haven't seen the true wrath of the closing holes.  I'm sure it's horrifying though.  Having said that, I feel that the front is harder.  Even downwind, it's really hard to judge each shot and alot of the times i've had the ball get knocked straight down out of the air.  HEY, ANOTHER BOGEY!!!!

When i shot 89, i parred the last 4 holes!  90+ was definitely in the equation.  My best score is 78.  best front = 39 (only done once)  best back= 37.  (in case anyone cares !)

Shot trajectory is everything at Kiawah. EVERYTHING.

= ASSASSINATION! = You'd probably never go back if you had to play the final stretch INTO the wind...

[Sean_A]

Roger

I reckon the box could be some sort of control box - I didn't peak inside.  Again, why place it there?

Ciao

Sean,

It appears that The Kiawah Company is pretty well thought out in what they do and what they develop. I am guessing at some point in time the jigsaw puzzle of lawyers, environmental regulations (http://www.scdhec.net/environment/ocrm/permit/beachfront.htm) and golfing needs came together and Kiawah decided it could not spend another $100,000+ (a  guess) to hide that in a different area.

How much do you think they should spend to hide that box/pipe?

Mike

I would definitely recommend paying maybe $25,000 to hire a guy to see if the box is a rubbish bin or not.  If the man discovers it is a rubbish bin, make it part of the contract to move it for free.  If its a control box or a gator pen, make it part of the contract that he shouldn't move it. Instead, the man should be instructed to call the director of the resort and ask why such a dangerous item(s) (there could be loads of baby gators) was placed in such a readily accessible spot for the all the touristas to wonder what it is.   

Ciao

[Brad Fleischer]

Sean

Touche ..  If I could I would !!

[Tim Pitner]

For those who played the Ocean Course prior to the re-do by Dye designed to offer more ocean views, how much different is it now? 

My quick take on the course was that it was an excellent one, and difficult, but not at all a links experience, which is what it was sold as, especially before Bandon came along and provided a more links-like resort course. 

[Brent Hutto]

It's in South Carolina.

Subject to that inescapable fact it's as links-like an experience as you're ever going to get. Firm, well-drained turf on a sandy base. Dunes, albeit low-lying ones. Fairly open to the breezes and ample width to accommodate play in the wind.

You can't grow cool-season grasses in this climate. So a fescue, bent and poa is right out but otherwise I find it pretty linksy. It has the advantage for me of requiring but 3 hours on the Interstate instead of 8 hours on a plane to the UK or 10 hours on planes and assorted ground transportation to Bandon. So it's close enough for me. 

[JNC Lyon]

Another great review.  The thing that makes the Ocean Course so appealing is that, despite its artificial construction, it has a timeless appearance.  This is particularly true about the way the holes weave in and out of the dunes.  Eating lunch in the clubhouse there last year and looking back down the 18th hole and out to the back nine, it appeared the holes had been there forever.

This is especially true for the greensite at the 10th.  I think this is a very underrated par four, and it is only notch below the great fours at 3, 13, and 18.  The strategy is simple yet exasperating.  The thought of a golf ball disappearing over the bluff on the right is almost too much to handle for a golfer looking for a smooth start to the back nine.  Yet the only way to ensure a clear approach to the green is to drive down the right.  This is hole where angles actually do matter; an approach shot from the left faces a shallow target with sand short and long.  Most architects would not design this severe of an angle for a strategic green, but Dye's tough angle works perfectly here.  The golfer who wants an easy par and possible birdie must be bold.  Furthermore, as Sean's picture shows, the green and the manmade dunes merge together perfectly.  It is hard to conceive of a par four with more simplistic appeal than the 10th at the Ocean Course.

[Mark Woodger]

I love the place.  I stayed there last summer on holiday and am desperate to go back. (mike - any special offers for GCA memebers?  ) I played it twice from the middle tees. first time with only a little wind and shot 79, the second time it was blowing big time and shot 98. So as other posts have stated its all about the wind. On the second day the last 4 holes were into the wind and although i did not score well i enjoyed the challenge of those last 4.

I thought the course was fantastic, I thought the par three's were very good, loved the 14th and never felt like the course was repetative at any particular point. IMO the greens were great in both conditioning and contours. Maybe it isnt exactly like the links courses in england where i grew up but my overall impression was that it was a very fair test and one i would recomend to anybody.

If the course itself isn't worth a special trip the hotel there (the sanctuary) certainly is and whilst you are there you might as well play The Ocean Course 

[Sean_A]

If the course itself isn't worth a special trip...and whilst you are there you might as well play The Ocean Course 

Mark

I concur.  In retrospect it seems kinda crazy to show up at Kiawah (at least the first few visits) with sticks in hand and not play TOC.  Its not like the other courses are real bargain. 

We rented a house just off the beach for the kids, so I didn't get to experience the hotel.  All in all, with Charleston nearby as a great place to visit and just wander around, Kiawah is good place to visit.  Its not as cool as Nantucket (still one of my favourite holiday destinations), but the golf available to visitors on Nantucket ain't much to talk about.

Ciao