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Brian Cenci

Kiawah Island in December
« on: November 25, 2007, 05:10:04 PM »
I'll be near Kiawah Island in late December and wondering what the condition of Kiawah will be that time of year.  Dormant grass?  Curious if I want to use my free round on the Ocean course that my girlfriend got me for my birthday or wait until another time.

-Brian

David_Madison

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Kiawah Island in December
« Reply #1 on: November 25, 2007, 06:04:11 PM »
I played a few years ago on January 2nd, and the condition of the course was wonderful (as was the weather that day.) The primary grass, seaside paspalum, which they use on the greens and I believe fairways, does go a bit dormant, but it turns a neat reddish green. Your risk is more about the weather, which can be anything, then it is the condition of the course.

Anthony_Nysse

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Kiawah Island in December
« Reply #2 on: November 25, 2007, 07:04:38 PM »
Brian,
   You shouldnt have  issues with the conditions. The greens an tees are paspalum and the fairways and rough are 419 bermudagrass overseeded with rye. I wouldnt expect the greens to be firm nor fast. The paspalum tends to be very sticky. I didnt care for that, but the design is very good. Might be a little chilly because of the ocean winds. Im sure that Mike Vegis will chime in.

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Colonial CC
Ft. Worth, TX
Anthony J. Nysse
Director of Golf Courses & Grounds
Apogee Club
Hobe Sound, FL

Joe Hancock

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Kiawah Island in December
« Reply #3 on: November 25, 2007, 07:32:41 PM »
".....my free round on the Ocean course that my girlfriend got me....."

-Brian

Brian,

Trust me on this....there is nothing "free" about that round....you may end up paying for years....

 ;)

Joe
" What the hell is the point of architecture and excellence in design if a "clever" set up trumps it all?" Peter Pallotta, June 21, 2016

"People aren't picking a side of the fairway off a tee because of a randomly internally contoured green ."  jeffwarne, February 24, 2017

Brent Hutto

Re:Kiawah Island in December
« Reply #4 on: November 25, 2007, 09:22:23 PM »
I played the Ocean Course the day after Christmas a couple years ago. It was 38 degrees, raining steadily with a bit of a breeze and I was the only person on the course that day (except for the caddie accompanying me). Driving range through the tee shot on fifteen it never quit raining yet I only had one or two casual water situations. Otherwise, the fairways were reasonably firm and in immaculate condition, the ball generally sat up nicely. The waste-area "bunkers" are quite easy to play from in the rain as the sand packs down nicely and you are allowed a practice swing.

I played again the next morning, we had a delay until something like 10.30am because the temperature was in the upper 20's that morning (there was a skim of ice on a couple of the water features, quite a rarity according to the caddie) but as soon as it cleared 32 degrees they let me out on the course and it was a crisp, glorious day of sunshine and light breezes. There was virtually no sign of the 2+ inches of rain from the previous day.

In winter, the Paspalum greens are fabulous. They are a beautiful golden color and putt very true IMO. I found the green surrounds (closely mown) to be firm enough but a little bit "sticky", which others have complained about with the Paspalum. The caddie said chipping and bouncing the ball onto raised greens is tougher to judge in the winter but the greens are a touch slower which makes up for it.

One advantage to the Ocean Course for winter play is that because of its situation it is designed to remain playable in high winds. So the normal winter breezes don't cause lost balls at the same rate you might expect on a narrower beach resort course. Moving up one set of tees is probably key as there are a few tee shots that would be very daunting with the cold sapping your driver carry distance and the prevailing NE or E winds narrowing down the targets.

In sum, highly recommended. I wish I could afford to go there this winter.

cary lichtenstein

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Kiawah Island in December
« Reply #5 on: November 25, 2007, 09:24:46 PM »
Go South young man, go South
Live Jupiter, Fl, was  4 handicap, played top 100 US, top 75 World. Great memories, no longer play, 4 back surgeries. I don't miss a lot of things about golf, life is simpler with out it. I miss my 60 degree wedge shots, don't miss nasty weather, icing, back spasms. Last course I played was Augusta

Mike Vegis @ Kiawah

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Kiawah Island in December
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2007, 10:42:50 AM »
We're overseeding the greens this year for the first time since the paspalum was put in.  I never found paspalum sticky.  If anything, I've found them less so than our bermuda greens on the other courses here.  Ya don't go headhunting pins here in any season as I've rarely seen a ball back up on these greens.  Hard and fast all year long.  The Rye overseed on the fairways does tend to be a bit sticky so you don't bet as much roll as on the summer grass.  Last year, we were in the 70s through the first of the year so it can be an excellent experience.  I've been out of the office for the last two weeks but I'm playing today at 12:40 so I'll be able to report more tomorrow on the conditions...

Mike Vegis @ Kiawah

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Kiawah Island in December
« Reply #7 on: November 27, 2007, 06:03:30 PM »
Conditions were perfect (65 degrees and sunny with a 10-15mph wind).  Overseeding of greens turned out quite well.  The ball even backed up once or twice.  Not much roll on the Rye fairways, though...

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