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The
Ocean Course at Kiawah is one of the most spectacular
courses anywhere; the superlatives available to endorse
its greatness are virtually endless. With a setting
that Pete Dye was thrilled to design in, it is no surprise
that the Ocean Course has become one of the most revered
courses anywhere.
When Hurricane Hugo dramatically affected the land in
1989, completely changing the landscape that had been
staked out for the design, Dye and his crew set to work
with a looming Ryder Cup as a deadline. The layout
is a figure-eight shape, which makes for an interesting
design when the wind blows (which is often). One of
the unique features is that the wind can change directions
so frequently that Dye had no ability to design the holes
with the usual knowledge of prevailing wind.
Drawing its name from the dramatic Atlantic Ocean that it
is built alongside, the spectacular vistas are thanks to
Alice Dye. During construction, Alice plainly stated
to Pete and his crew that they were building a course on
the ocean which you could not see the ocean from.
With that the fairway were raised and the views became not
only dramatic, but defining. Ever the designer,
Alice did not stop there. It was her idea to build a pond
in front of the 17th hole, creating a perilous par three
which will live in the nightmares of many golfers who
played it from the tips. Most who saw the 1991 Ryder
Cup will remember the 17th as the hole which ate up Mark
Calcavecchia. Calcavecchia put two balls in the water as
part of a four-hole closing stretch that he played in
8-over par to throw away a 4-up lead in his Sunday singles
match. The hole plays 197 from the back tees, a brutal
task into the wind.
17 is only one part of this outstanding course. Highlights
from the front nine include the second hole, where the tee
shot plays across the marsh and trouble is hard to avoid.
The fourth hole is an interesting one as well. Rated
in the top 500 holes in the world, it is a hole that Pete
Dye is rallying to have redesigned, as it now demands two
carries over the marsh. The ninth is a tremendous
par four to finish the front nine, a 464-yard monster that
puts a premium on shotmaking.
The back nine highlights begin at the 13th, a perfect
'cape' hole where your tee shot can bite of as much of the
water as you choose. Water continues to guard the
right side of the hole all the way down, making the
approach with a bunker left a challenging proposition.
The 14th takes a chapter from the past as well with a
'redan' hole, which offers many distractions especially
the ocean behind. Make sure to take plenty of club
into this difficult par three as the valley short helps
add to the deception. The 16th is another
spectacular hole, a long par five that can either make or
break the golfer's round. The 16th demands quality
shot placement, especially to avoid the large deep bunker
on the front left. The panoramic view from behind
the green is one of the nicest on the course. After
the aforementioned 17th comes the dramatic finishing hole,
playing to 439 yards from the back tees. The 18th has no
water trouble, but the lurking sand will prevent plenty of
challenge. If you can muster a big drive you will
catch the down slope in the fairway and significantly
shorten the approach. In our opinion a great, yet
underrated finishing hole.
The Ocean Course often stirs fear in golfers, yet this
should not be the case. While the course could play
from 7,772 yards, from the whites it is only 6,031. The
best players in the world were heard complaining about the
difficulty of the course following the 1991 Ryder Cup, so
much so that the World Cup (held here in 1997) played to
only 6,600 yards. With all the talk of technology
changing the game, one might feel there is a long way to
go before someone could conquer the Ocean course on a
windy day. Odds are you will never conquer it yourself, so
it would be easier to simply enjoy one of
the great public courses America has to offer. |
