From the Ocean Course on the Atlantic to the moss draped Seabrook parklands, ranked with our verdicts and the reasons to play each one.
01
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island
Kiawah Island · Pete and Alice Dye · seaside links
The undisputed number one and one of the great public access courses in America. Built by Pete and Alice Dye for the 1991 Ryder Cup, the famous War by the Shore, it went on to host the 2012 and 2021 PGA Championships, stretching to a record 7,876 yards as the longest course in major history. Alice's idea to raise the whole layout gives ocean views from every hole, ten of them hugging the Atlantic. The wind decides everything. The defining round of the Lowcountry.
02
Cassique, Kiawah Island Club
Kiawah Island · Tom Watson · links
Tom Watson's Scottish inspired links opened in 2000 as the Kiawah Island Club's second members course. Rumpled fairways, blind shots and firm turf make it the closest thing to a British links on the South Carolina coast, and a complete change of character from the resort parklands. Private, but the standout design among the island's non Ocean courses.
03
Bulls Bay Golf Club
Awendaw · Mike Strantz · par 72, 7,220 yards
Mike Strantz's final original design, completed in 2002 just north of Charleston, and his bold farewell to the game. Around two million cubic yards of earth were moved to lift a flat Lowcountry site into 75 foot elevation changes and a clubhouse with 360 degree views. Dramatic, strategic and unlike anything else in the region. Private, and worth every effort to play.
04
The River Course, Kiawah Island Club
Kiawah Island · Tom Fazio · parkland
Tom Fazio's members course for the Kiawah Island Club winds along the Kiawah River through marsh and oak, with several holes playing right to the water's edge. Beautifully conditioned and quieter than the resort tracks, it is the polished parkland counterpoint to Watson's links at Cassique. Private to club members and guests.
05
Wild Dunes, Links Course
Isle of Palms · Tom Fazio · resort links
Tom Fazio's first solo design, opened in 1980 on the Isle of Palms and still one of his favorites. Rolling fairways framed by palms and oaks lead to a dramatic finish on the Atlantic, where the 17th and 18th run right along the beach. The most accessible seaside golf near downtown Charleston and a resort staple.
06
Turtle Point, Kiawah Island
Kiawah Island · Jack Nicklaus · par 72, 7,061 yards
Jack Nicklaus opened Turtle Point in 1981 and it remains the pick of Kiawah's resort parklands, with three superb oceanfront holes on the back nine. A fair, classic Nicklaus test threading through maritime forest, and the resort course most golfers rate just behind the Ocean.
07
Osprey Point, Kiawah Island
Kiawah Island · Tom Fazio · resort parkland
Tom Fazio's 1988 design weaves around four natural lakes, dense forest and saltwater marsh, with water in play on most holes. The most relaxed and scenic of Kiawah's resort eighteens, and a favorite for mixed ability groups who want a beautiful, fair round.
08
Cougar Point, Kiawah Island
Kiawah Island · Gary Player · resort parkland
Reopened in 2017 after a full Gary Player Design renovation, Cougar Point now plays firmer and more open, with marsh views and reshaped greens. A strong value round on the island and an easier walk than the Ocean, rounding out the resort lineup nicely.
09
Crooked Oaks, Seabrook Island
Seabrook Island · Robert Trent Jones Sr · par 72, 6,780 yards
Robert Trent Jones Sr's Crooked Oaks winds inland through marsh, maritime forest and century old live oaks draped in Spanish moss. The more sheltered of Seabrook's two courses and a classic of its era, full of the gentle strategy that defined Jones at his best.
10
Ocean Winds, Seabrook Island
Seabrook Island · Willard Byrd · par 72, 6,765 yards
Willard Byrd's Ocean Winds is the breezier companion at Seabrook, running out toward the Atlantic between dunes and salt marsh. Exposed, honest and a fine partner to Crooked Oaks for a two course Seabrook day that rounds out our Charleston ten.
