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If you only play one round at Kiawah, play the Ocean Course. It's majestic. Forget the golf -- just for a minute -- and you realize what is so special about this delicate strip of land on the northeastern tip of the island. The layout offers panoramic views of the Atlantic, golden saltwater marshes, sea oat- and sweet grass-covered dunes, and refreshingly, very few homes (though some of the grandiose homes that do spot the course take the space of what two or three modest abodes might fill). None, however, are visible on the front nine, which blends in wonderfully with its natural surroundings.
What is most magical about the Ocean Course, however, is what you can't see -- the unpredictable gusts of wind frenziedly dancing overhead. Because there are no prevailing winds, each hole and each shot can play differently from one day to the next.
Give Dye his due. He did a masterful job in crafting the course to make it playable in these conditions -- even for the less gifted player. The generously sized greens are large enough to hold low-trajectory shots when the wind forces a long-iron approach, and the fairways for the most part are wide enough to accommodate a less than perfect tee shot. But if you do miss the fairway just slightly -- and this is part of why the course is sloped a whopping 152 from the tips -- locating your ball in the thick clumps of sea grass is often a futile chore. The Ocean Course is the only Kiawah track that offers forecaddies -- their trained eyes can provide priceless assistance, so make use of them.
After a fairly benign opener, the examination begins
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