![]() Its other 72 holes of guest-accessible golf – Turtle Point, Osprey Point, Cougar Point, Oak Point – provide plenty of on- and off-ramps to and from the resort’s heavyweight test. Though it is by far the most famous, The Ocean Course is just part of Kiawah Island’s golf story. Oak Point's 18th hole runs along the Kiawah River. Of all the courses I’ve played for the first time in 2022, The Ocean Course is the one I most want another crack at. It is on this level that despite its capacity to daze players a bit, The Ocean Course answers one of the most important questions that determines a course’s greatness: Does it make me want to be a better golfer? This is the secret behind the smile on the face of Dye’s statue: you’re going to get beaten up a bit, but if you’re resilient, you’re going to long to come back for another chance. ![]() The severity of many of the drop-offs means that missing in the correct spot is more important here than almost anywhere else I have played. Not only do you need to know your carry distances into The Ocean Course’s greens, you need to be able to flight and shape the ball low and high, left and right, to suit the conditions that will meet it upon impact. ![]() Where the course punishes you again and again is on approach to the greens, which shrug not-quite-good-enough full shots down steep slopes and into bunkers. Even though most every hole looks like an island shrouded in marsh, water and dunes, it’s not overly difficult to get in play off the tee, especially if you play the right set. Tim Gavrich/GolfPassĪs a first-time visitor, I was taken aback at learning what actually makes The Ocean Course so ornery. Long grass, water and marsh seem to be The Ocean Course's most fearsome challenges, but it's the elusive greens and perilous dropoffs that will really eat away at a golfer's attempts to make a score. And only 16 broke par in 2021, when Phil Mickelson won. In 2012, even though Rory McIlroy waltzed to victory by eight shots, only 20 total players broke par for 72 holes, and only McIlroy and runner-up David Lynn did better than -4 for the tournament. The match-play format concealed some of the carnage during the game-changing ’91 Ryder Cup, but not much. All three of its high-profile events have been memorable in different ways, but all have been particularly strenuous challenges. Mere mortals are not its target audience, as it was built for the 1991 Ryder Cup and other championship-golf duty, which has included the 20 PGA Championships.įew championship courses have been so reliably tough on the best golfers in the world when called upon to test them as The Ocean Course. ![]() Tim Gavrich/GolfPassįor almost every golfer who tees it up there, The Ocean Course does indeed bring the pain. A statue of Pete Dye serves as a friendly warning to golfers at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. ![]()
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