The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island

Overview: The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island is Pete and Alice Dye's windswept coastal design, built across dunes, marsh and beach on Kiawah's exposed Atlantic edge. The routing uses raised fairways, broad sandy corridors and ten oceanfront holes, with wind direction often changing the correct line from one day to the next.

History: The course was built between 1989 and 1991 and became famous before it opened when Kiawah was selected for the 1991 Ryder Cup. Hurricane Hugo interrupted construction, but the course opened in time for the event and later hosted major championships including the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships.

Did You Know? The Ocean Course is arranged in a figure-eight routing and is listed at par 72 and 7,876 yards for its championship setup. Its ten oceanfront holes are unusual even among coastal courses, but the wind is the feature that most directly changes how the course plays.