Kiawah Island Golf Resort (The Ocean Course)

Pete and Alice Dye's oceanfront course on Kiawah Island, with ten holes on the Atlantic, a 155 slope rating and the 1991 Ryder Cup and two PGA Championships.

Pete and Alice Dye's Ocean Course debuted in 1991 with the Ryder Cup, the tense match nicknamed the 'War by the Shore.' It runs along the beach on the eastern end of Kiawah Island, south of Charleston, and holds Audubon sanctuary certification. In 2010 Golf Digest named it the toughest course in America, and it remains the resort's flagship, with public tee times alongside four other courses on the island.

Ten holes run beside the beach and the other eight parallel them, so wind is the main hazard; the resort says the same hole can vary by as much as eight clubs from one day to the next. Sandy waste areas, raised greens and long carries over marsh make it one of the hardest courses in America, with a slope rating of 155 from the back tees. It became the fourth course to host all three of the PGA of America's top events: the Ryder Cup, the Senior PGA Championship and the PGA Championship, which came in 2012 and 2021. It also staged the World Cup in 1997 and 2003.

Holes to know

17

Par 3 · 223 yd

An elevated tee shot that is all carry over water lining the front and right of the green; Pete Dye's favorite hole on the course.

14

Par 3 · 238 yd

A long par 3 heading toward the ocean, among the most scenic and dangerous holes on the property.

18

Par 4 · 505 yd

A par 4 of more than 500 yards that ends the round with a long iron or fairway wood into the green.

Championships

• Ryder Cup 1991
• PGA Championship 2012, 2021
• Senior PGA Championship 2007
• World Cup 1997, 2003