TheVirginia Explorer
Kiawah Island, S.C.
UNDISTURBED BEAUTY
S
Set on a 10,000-acre barrier
reef island 20 miles south of
Charleston, Kiawah is revered as a
1976, was completely refurbished several
years ago and now features a trio of holes
routed beside a tidal marsh. Turtle Point,
a low-profile Jack Nicklaus design, tunnels
through a maritime forest before swinging
to the dunes and sea for a brilliant finale.
The phrase “creature comforts” is
overused in the hospitality industry, but
Kiawah delivers the goods at the Sanctuary,
one of the most tastefully designed resort
hotels in the nation. This Charleston-meetsthe-West Indies-themed property, its pale
yellow stucco exterior accented by antique
brick, copper trim and a slate roof, is a
grand seaside edifice and an ideal place to
contemplate the sea after an outing on the
Ocean Course.
Players face a stern test, but captivating scenery,
at Kiawah’s heralded Ocean Course.
KIAWAH ISLAND RESORT
90-hole getaway, but it is first and foremost
a wildlife sanctuary. Indented by a maritime
band of tidal rivers and marshland, the
island sports a 10-mile stretch of firmpacked beach where loggerhead sea turtles
come to nest. Each of the resort’s courses is
a subtropical nature preserve threaded with
golf holes.
For proof, take a stroll around Kiawah’s
Ocean Course, the most invigorating seaside
layout east of Pebble Beach. Handed a two
and a half mile stretch of tumbling dunes,
Pete Dye built a facsimile links to browbeat
the game’s best players. The land also
serves as a wildlife corridor: alligators, deer,
mink, raccoon, otters, bobcats, turtles and
numerous species of migratory birds and
waterfowl frequent the course.
Endowed with beauty, the Ocean
Course has 10 holes stretched along the
sea, with the balance routed among coastal
marshes. Though Scottish in motif, this is
a highly engineered Dye concoction. On a
typically breezy day, the Ocean Course is a
brazen pirate with a knife in its teeth and
a “Triple Bogey” tattoo on its forearm.
Played from an inappropriate set of tees, this
take-no-prisoners track is a sandy dungeon
designed to subdue the most ardent
attacker and drain the plaid from his
knickers. If you plan to win your own “War
by the Shore” H