If
ever a golf course architect and a parcel of land were an ideal match, Pete Dye
and the fragile strip of grassy dunes that lines the eastern tip of
Kiawah Island, South Carolina, are it. “When I first walked
the seaside land at Kiawah, I immediately fell in love with the site,” Dye
recalled in his 1995 memoir Bury Me in a Pot Bunker. “The combination of the
beautiful ocean views on one side and the vast saltwater marshes on the other
captivated me.”
Dye
took on the assignment when the PGA of America moved the 1991 Ryder Cup from PGA
West, its original site. An East Coast venue, the reasoning went, would allow
European fans more primetime TV viewing. It was a bet-the-ranch decision, but
Dye and his crew labored overtime to get the job done, setting the stage for one
of the most memorable Ryder Cups in history.
That
was just the beginning for the Ocean Course, the recipient of two major
renovations and countless tweaks by Dye over the years. Like the great links of
Ireland and
Great
Britain, the Ocean Course evokes a sense of
timelessness—even as it creaks and shifts in response to its environment, and to
the finish strokes of the man who crafted it.
Early
on, Dye faced a design challenge that hinted at what an unpredictable golf
course the Ocean Course would be. There is no prevailing wind, meaning the
playing length of holes would change from day to day. Dye came up with a routing
in which the first nine holes would loop clockwise through salt marsh and stands
of gnarly live oak, while the second nine would circle counterclockwise through
oceanfront dunes. This variance in hole orientation, combined with the changing
winds and a wide array of short, medium and long holes, make for a course that
rarely plays the same from day to day.
Another
early challenge was also wind-related: Hurricane Hugo. The 1989 storm that
staggered Charleston also battered the line of grassy
dunes that straddled the construction site. But Dye and his crew prevailed,
commuting to the island via boat while storm-damaged access roads were closed,
and painstakingly restoring the dunes and sea oats.
Dye’s
wife, Alice, herself an accomplished course designer, made a key observation
during construction: “I don’t know what you're thinking,” she said one day after
a walk along the dunes. “You’re building a course right next to the ocean but
not letting golfers see it.”
Using
fill dug from lakes and pockets around the course, Dye raised every fairway by
six feet, which not only improved views, but also exposed the course even more
to the wind. Alice was also responsible for proposing the
eight-acre lake that stretches from tee to green on the par-3 17th, a hole that
would gain instant notoriety during that Ryder Cup.
On
the final day, competitors were hitting long irons and woods into the wind on
the 17th. The most infamous of these splashes was Mark Calcavecchia’s half-shank
en route to blowing a five-hole lead to Colin Montgomerie.
Along
with early accolades for the Ocean Course came plenty of criticism: Some felt it
was too penal, especially for the high-handicapper who lacked pinpoint accuracy
from tee to green. Dye addressed those concerns in 1997, adding five acres of
turf to make the course less of a target-style layout and more receptive to
stray tee shots and run-up approaches.
In
2002 Dye returned to enlarge tees and re-work seven holes, including the par-4
18th, where he placed an elevated, wildly undulating green 40 yards closer to
the Atlantic, creating a more dramatic final approach that plays directly toward
the pounding surf.
It's
a fitting crescendo to an 18-hole trek that is grind-it-out golf. And that's not
even considering the unofficial, way-back tees of more than 7,800 yards. Yet
Ocean Course is plenty of fun, albeit in a sadistic sort of
way.
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,356
Year founded: 1991
Architect: Pete Dye
