Pete Dye's wind-blown ocean-front course — built for the 1991 Ryder Cup and home of two PGA Championships.
About the Course
The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort runs along 2.5 miles of South Carolina Atlantic shoreline. Pete and Alice Dye designed it on a tight deadline for the 1991 Ryder Cup, and it has since hosted two PGA Championships. Wind off the ocean is the great defender — the same hole can play three clubs different on consecutive days.
History
Built specifically to host the 1991 Ryder Cup — the famed War by the Shore — the course had to be ready in just over two years. Alice Dye insisted on raising the course to give every hole an ocean view.
Signature Features
Constant ocean wind, sandy waste areas in place of formal bunkers, and the dramatic par-3 17th over a lagoon and the par-4 18th finish along the Atlantic.
Notable Events & Championships
1991 Ryder Cup (War by the Shore), 2007 Senior PGA, 2012 PGA Championship (Rory McIlroy), and 2021 PGA Championship (Phil Mickelson, oldest major winner in history).