Tucked away in the center of Hope Plantation, just outside of the Kiawah gate, lies Oak Point. This Clyde Johnston jewel, most frequently called a Scottish-American style course, is a par 72 layout. It is challenging to the novice golfer and the experienced professional while providing a fair test. Bordering the historic Haulover Creek and the Kiawah River, Oak Point was built on the grounds of an old indigo and cotton plantation. Finishing along the panoramic Kiawah River, golfers will be delighted at another example of quality golf that Kiawah Island has to offer. Last summer, its new clubhouse opened adjacent to the 18th green overlooking the Haulover Creek. It features a full-service pro shop and a comfortable bar and grill. You must stay at Kiawah Island to play this golf course.

The new Gary Player-designed Cougar Point Golf Course opened in September 1996. Built on the site of the former Marsh Point Golf Course, Cougar Point is a par-72 layout stretching 6,861 yards from the back tees, making it 600 yards longer than the old course. The new course follows the routing of Marsh Point but retains little else from its predecessor. Also designed by Player, Marsh Point was the first resort course in the Charleston area when it opened in 1976.

Cougar Point is known for its three-hole stretch midway through the front nine where holes border the tidal marsh and offer panoramic views of the Kiawah River and miles of adjacent marsh. From these holes, it is not uncommon to see countless wading birds among the acres of needle rush and spartina grass or pelicans and osprey soaring over the river and creeks eyeing a possible meal. Golfers can easily find their attention diverted from birdies to birds. Starting with the par five 15th hole, Cougar Point offers four magnificent finishing holes culminating with the dramatic par four 18th hole. You must stay at Kiawah Island to play this golf course.

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Designed by the consensus pick as the best contemporary architect in golf, Osprey Point is a classic Tom Fazio layout. It's also a classic example of why Fazio enjoys such a lofty professional perch. At Osprey Point, Fazio had a superb natural canvas on which to create a masterpiece in playability and variety. The setting for the course, which was completed in 1986 but allowed two years to mature for opening, features four large natural lakes, fingers of saltwater marsh, and dense maritime forests of century-old live oaks, pines, palmetto palms, and magnolias. Into that backdrop, Fazio blended a par-72 layout that stretches 6,871 yards from the back tees.

While the course features plenty of strong holes - including the 453-yard, par-four ninth and a pair of threes longer than 200 yards - Osprey Point also offers strategic short par fours, long a Fazio hallmark, to tempt the big hitters. In the fall of 1997, the course was renovated to increase the amount of championship play. The course was lengthened to 6871 yards, state-of-the-art cart paths were installed, and several holes were lengthened. An elegant clubhouse now stands overlooking the immaculate driving range. You must stay at Kiawah Island to play this golf course.

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One year before the Ryder Cup Matches were played at The Ocean Course, Kiawah hosted the club professionals' version of the international match-play competition when the 1990 PGA Cup Matches were played at Turtle Point. The PGA of America is just one of many organizations that have selected the Jack Nicklaus design as the site of a premier event. More recently, the course has hosted both the Kiawah Pro-Celebrity Challenge, and the Hootie & the Blowfish Monday after the Masters tournament.

Opened in 1981, Turtle Point is a low-profile design in which fairways and green settings are blended into the existing landscape without the artificial mounding and radical features that became so popular later in the decade. At 6,914 yards from the back markers with five par fours stretching 420 yards or longer, the course offers a tough test for all golfers. And the 412-yard 15th, the middle hole of a spectacular, three-hole oceanfront trio, with its tiny green tucked into the dunes, can be the hardest hole on the course, depending on the wind of the Atlantic. You must stay at Kiawah Island to play this golf course.

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Designed by Pete Dye and opened just months before it hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup, The Ocean Course gained almost instant notoriety and acclaim as the site of the dramatic "War by the Shore." The Ocean Course will forever be famous for a Ryder Cup battle that went down to the last putt on the last hole of the last match on the last day. When Bernhard Langer's six-footer for par slid just by the right lip, the most gut-wrenching Ryder Cup in history came to a dramatic and emotional end with the United States posting a one-point victory.

The course has since hosted the 1997 World Cup, the 2001 UBS Warburg Cup and the 2003 World Cup. In 2002 and 2003, Dye returned to oversee some significant course renovation, which included relaying all the greens and tees, and moving the 18th green 40 yards toward the ocean - creating an even more magnificent closing hole. By 2007, the course will boast a new clubhouse in the footprint of the old 18th green offer lodging for the ultimate golf vacation experience. Also, The Ocean Course will host the Senior PGA Championship in 2007 and the PGA Championship in 2012. You must stay at Kiawah Island to play this golf course.

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