I had the pleasure of North Carolina golf in May of this year, including the Ocean Course.
I found the low country beauty stunning, especially including Kiawah, and the site of the Ocean Course possibly unparalled.....open, raw, wild. Great Stuff!
My experience of the Ocean Course was mixed. We took a cart, and if I had to do it over would have walked, for riding and experiencing the layout that way was disappointing....the paths are almost completely below the level of the fairways; from that vantage point you have to climb up steep slopes just to see each hole, and riding left me missing the chance to walk down the middle of the holes and thereby really get a good look at the strategy, the construction, the layout of each hole as it unfolds in the playing of it. While I was glad to get the chance to play there, at the end I felt cheated out of a real opportunity to experience Pete Dye's greatness. It was a real guess where our shots went, so to grab several clubs, run up onto the fairways, search out shots, worry about the pace of play, etc., all took away from the majesty and excellence that is there.
The turf around the greens was grainy bermuda and precluded any runup shots. The greens were bumpy and slow, without any doubt the worst greens of the 16 rounds that week (mostly in Myrtle Beach area but including Turtle Point and the Nicklaus course at Kiawah). We were told when we were ready to play that the paspalum greens on the course were "good, much better than the practice green" but that certainly wasn't the case. I was left wondering how the PGA Seniors, scheduled for next year in the same month we played, would fare with a stimp of 6 or 7 and truly bumpy surfaces.
Pac Dunes on the other hand? Just completely awesome in all it's linksy and great ways....how does one compare them?
Tight turf, ground game, natural features, great variety, etc, etc. Pure fun.
Tom