Kiawah Island Golf Resort

I played this course as part of a Golf Channel Amateur Tour Event. The draw with this tournament was playing the Ocean course, but I found this course to be equally as challenging and enjoyable. Lots of water and sand. Pristine tees, fairways and greens. Unexpected quick pace of play which was surprising given the beauty all around. I look forward to playing it again as course knowledge will help with course management.

Overall a great experience which I’ll share with many of my golfing buddies.

The Ocean Course at Kiawah is a true test of your golf game. The views, from the time you arrive, are spectacular. You'll see plenty of the Atlanic Ocean. I'd definitely recommend a walking caddie. The wind is what makes this course deserving of the title of Americas toughest, and the caddies do a great job helping you navigate your way around the links. Do yourself a favor and check out the Ryder Cup Bar in the clubhouse. The food is fantastic.....I recommended the Bagger burger btw. Can't wait to get back on Kiawah Island.

Many people rate Turtle Point as their least favorite of the Kiawah courses. I rate it 2d only behind the Ocean Course. It challenges every aspect of your game and leaves you wanting to play more. Best value on the Island!

I have had the good fortune of playing many great courses and don’t understand how this course is not ranked in the top 5

Incredibly fair for any level with sensible teeing options

Multiple ways to play most holes that work for long hitters or those who are not so long

Fantastic condition, even more significant considering it’s location and the challenges presented.

I remember the holes because they were all different

Even when playing badly the views and location made it difficult not to thoroughly enjoy a day’s golfing. Not many courses can say this

I'll start off by saying this is an unbelievable golf course. But... It's much different than most golf courses. Reason being there aren't any bunkers. All of the green side bunkers are hard pan. It takes getting used to. Sometimes getting into a green side bunker isn't such a penalty. Here it is. Unless your used to playing muni courses then you won't have any trouble. With that being said it's all around a great course. This is why it is a major in 2021 for the pros. When the wind is up like it was when I played it, good luck. Even when the wind is down it is extremely difficult. All of the greens are raised higher than I've ever played. Even when you hit the green there is a good chance your ball will bounce and fly over the green or spin and come right of the slope. The greens were fast and crunchy when I played it. The grass was dormant when I played it as well. I'm assuming during the spring and summer the greens smooth out and become much more playable.

The only reason I could even give this course a 4 star in the course conditions, value for the money, and course layout is because of the bunker or lack their of conditions. There technically aren't any bunkers on the course as they all play like wastelands. Anyways this is a wonderful track, one of the the best challenges I have ever faced. I'm basically nit picking the conditions and bunkers, but I wanted to provide my honest feedback.

Anyways everyone should play this course at some point in their life. It's a true test and a great course.

This is one of the courses I played for the Golf Channel Amateur tournament. Although I didn't play as well as I would like to but I did enjoy the course layout and scenary especiially the holes around the ocean! Definitely a course worth the money! Will be back again!

Took on the turtle in another great Golf channel amateur event. The course was in great shape. Often considered the hardest course of the resort courses, the turtle flexed it’s muscles. This course will test your mettle. Once you get through some tight challenging holes on the front nine, you find yourself facing some short but wind swept holes along the ocean. I recommend this course to anyone who is looking for a challenging but fair test of golf on a beautiful golf course.

Played a tournament here and boy was it a beast. I have played many tough courses in my life but this was the toughest of them all. Hazard left OB right on almost every hole. Bring your A game or a lot of golf balls. This course brought my single digit handicap to its knees.

This course is extremely challenging. At this time of year (March) the greens are very firm and fast with not a lot of grass. Very difficult to read and get speed correct. The layout is breath taking. I would love to do it again in June when the greens are prime

i played the course in a Golf Channel Amateur Tour tournament on a day that was cool (mid-50's) and 15+ mph of wind (this really makes some of the holes along the ocean quite challenging).

the staff was very helpful and the caddie, Ethan, was great. I walked and that added to the experience. i saw the largest alligator within 30 feet of a tee box that i have ever seen. I thought the course layout was fair, while still being challenging. with the wind, those fairways requiring thinking about how to adjust for the wind. i scored well, so it couldn't have been too tough.

I also took a lesson from Abbie Thomas at the learning center there and the instruction was very helpful and well run. i highly recommend taking a lesson on the short game at Kiawah if you have not played there before. i came from Mass, and since the grass is different, the lesson helped me rapidly adjust.

it was a great experience, the staff was very helpful, and bar and restaurant had great food, great drinks, and great service. Enjoy the experience of dinner while watching the deer and the alligators out on the course.

Very challenging course. Bring your A game. Green rolled very well with decent speed. A caddy is recommended to help you avoid the many water hazards. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Highly recommended

Played a practice round with 2 friends on a Fri before our Golf Channel AM Tour 2 day tournament, then another round Sat during the tournament (final round was on Turtle Point course). Ocean course conditions were tough to say the least with 55 degree high temp, mostly cloudy, winds 15-25 mph. Beautiful and very challenging golf course with all bunkers (hard packed mud) treated as waste areas. Greens were in poor shape during our practice round, but were mowed and much more speedy and consistent for the tournament round.

I played the course on a perfect sunny day in the mid-50's with about 5 mph wind. cool enough to walk, and just low enough temperature and enough wind to challenge me and keep the bugs at bay.

i was playing in the Golf Channel Amateur Tour and it was a terrific experience of challenging golf , fantastic views, great people, and a terrific caddie. When you go, the caddie can make a huge difference.

The course was in great condition. i believe the secret to enjoying a course like this is not only the weather, getting a caddie who knows the course, and playing from the right tees. i scored the lowest score i have ever scored in competition to prove the point.

I have been very fortunate to play Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, Doral, and many other famous courses. i enjoyed the golf here as much as Pebble Beach and the scenery rivals both Pebble and Torrey Pines. the view of the ocean, the flora and fauna were an added bonus. ok, i'm biased. i've been a sailor for 30 years, so playing golf by the ocean is nirvana for me. Nonetheless, this course is a bucket list candidate for any golfer who wants to experience a unique course, without flying to Scotland or the west coast.

Really enjoyed playing this course. It was extremely challenging. Helped a lot to have a great caddie. Thanks Mike.

The course was in great shape with perfect weather. My caddie Alva was fantastic, overall a fantastic day playing golf

Turtle point was in great shape for the time of year. It was a pretty tight course but had lots of great views. I especially liked the few holes on the ocean. Two thumbs up.

Nice course to play for any level. Very fair. Enjoyed the 3 holes on the ocean shore

Played the Ocean Course this morning and was blown away by the beauty of the course and it’s surroundings. I was lucky enough to play on a day that although cool, was pretty benign wind wise (about a 1 club wind). Going in you should know that if you are the average golfer there are just gonna be some shots you can’t make. Especially around the greens. I highly recommend putting off the tightly mown areas. Even if it’s up a steep slope. There were some really elevated table top greens where if you tried to pitch it to hit it high enough you had to swing hard and risk it rolling off the green on the other side, unless you can really flop it. The greens were very smooth and very fast. Especially down wind. They are generally pretty flat and putts don’t break that much. The fairways are very generous but if you miss them there isn’t much rough. They are gone into the waste areas which may or may not be playable. The course itself is beautiful and in perfect shape. As are the areas around the course. It’s just more scenic than anywhere else I’ve ever been. And the holes on the ocean are unbelievable. Trust your caddie. He knows more about the course than you do. There are several holes where Pete Dye tries to trick your eyes and things you think are on one side of the fairway may be in the middle. Or things you think are in the middle are on the right side. He knows his lines. My caddie was Robbie and he was awesome! He quickly learned my club selection and was very helpful with yardage, lines, and the affect of the wind and would suggest a club. He also helps you look for you ball when you hit it in the junk. Take plenty of balls. I’m a bogey golfer and in my two previous rounds I think I had lost 2 balls total. And I lost 6 at the Ocean Course. You’ll find some to replace the ones you lose. I’d say I shot about 10 strokes higher than my handicap but I did make several (4-5) pars. But I didn’t keep score and don’t recommend you do unless you are better than a 10-12 handicapper. Enjoy the walk, enjoy the scenery, and enjoy the company. To make it more affordable boom the Golf and Gourmet Package. $300 gets you a round on the Ocean Course, a night in a condo, and $100 food credit. $200 gets you the same room, a round on any of the other courses and a $50 food credit. I highly recommend it once in your life!

Played this as part of a winter special where the round plus 2 nights as well as a round at Osprey Point was only $250, found this price very reasonable but would have a tough time paying $450 for just 18 holes in prime season to take the beating this course delivers. The course is very demanding especially when the wind picks up as it did for us on the back nine, but if you can keep a driver in play then a respectable score is possible (for the Ocean purse that is). Overall the course was in excellent shape especially for January, and considering when we played it it had recently had a fair amount of rain the fairways were excellent. The greens are a bit fast but nothing terrible and roll very true. The only knock on the course is that it emphasizes target golf a little too much for a course so exposed to the wind. I found the scenery on both sides to be fantastic and don’t understand the complaint that the front isn’t close enough to the ocean, the scenery it provides is even more unique than the ocean and is equal to the backside. Overall an excellent course that will test every aspect of your game but especially your endurance and will to push on, it is an easy course to give up on. If you can play it in the winter for a deep discount and are fortunate enough to have the excellent weather we did then do not pass it up, otherwise save up and play because it is worth it if even only once.