ABOVE LEFT : Turtle Point ’ s dangerous 11th approach . BELOW LEFT : Osprey Point ’ s stunning front nine . BOTTOM RIGHT : Tiger Woods in his Sunday best at the Ocean Course .
Point and Cougar Point can show you the different , well , points of the island and everything it has to offer .
At Osprey , Tom Fazio ’ s 2014 renovation project led to extensive bunkering that added a different type of challenge to this once-private course . The crafty use of sand doesn ’ t beat you over the head , but it will make you think , maybe no more than on the par-4 No . 9 , where a fairway bunker awaits more than its share of tee shots .
Oak Point , named the 2019 Charleston Golf Course Owners Association Course of the Year , is one of Clyde Johnston ’ s best productions along the Carolina coast . Its rolling terrain is a product of its spot between a forest and the Kiawah River .
Jack Nicklaus took his shot at renovating Turtle Point in 2016 , and it included state-of-the-art touchups that players can feel ( even if they don ’ t understand it all ). It can bust up the unprepared , but those who take it slow can avoid some of the frustration .
Cougar Point is every bit a Gary Player design , one that puts shot selection at the forefront of every decision . He incorporated the existing marsh into his layout over and over , and then he added a few small ponds just for good measure .
Most of the time , and definitely during PGA Championship week , those courses ( and many others in the area ) are going to charge you a pretty penny to get on the tee sheets . If you ’ re willing to make another short drive or two , however , there are other options available .
Seabrook Island ’ s Ocean Winds course is a Willard Byrd track that was later renovated by Rees Jones . It ’ s sister course , Crooked Oak , is a true testament to Lowcountry golf , something Robert Trent Jones deemed to be among the most important virtues to this layout .
If you ’ ve already come this far , a poke into Charleston city limits and slightly to the north won ’ t feel that cumbersome , either . The Wild Dunes duo of Harbor Course and Links Course split views of either the Atlantic or the Intracoastal Waterway . Charleston National Golf Course in Mount Pleasant is a marsh-heavy round with ultra-forgiving fairways .
Nearby Dunes West ( no relation to Wild Dunes ) is cut from the water stemming from the Wando River .
BEFORE YOU GO !
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP TICKET OPTIONS With limited tickets available for the Championship — they sold out real fast , by the way — that doesn ’ t mean you ’ re necessarily shut out from viewing the tournament in person .
The resale market is expected to be quite lively in the coming weeks , as those who got in early look to get rid of them for myriad reasons and probably make a few extra bucks along the way . Those can be found directly through the PrimeSport ticket exchange via the PGA Championship website :
pgachampionship . com / 2021 / tickets .
LARRY LAMBRECHT
GETTING TO CHARLESTON The ease of I-95 down Virginia and into the Carolinas is going to be your best bet here . Even from the D . C . suburbs , you ’ re looking at under 8 toll-free hours start to finish — with a significantly shorter drive from the Richmond area and points south .
However , there are multiple non-stop flights each day for those so inclined to avoid the roadways . Anyone taking that route is looking at roughly an hour in a rental from Charleston International Airport to Kiawah Island .
vsga . org M ARCH / A PRIL 2021 | V IRGINIA G OLFER
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