THE OCEAN COURSE

Located on the easternmost side of Kiawah Island, the site of the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 PGA Championship is hosting this year’s PGA Championship as well. The course was designed by Pete & Alice Dye and offers the most seaside holes of any course in the Northern Hemisphere, a fact that makes it among the most beautiful and challenging courses in the world. Ten holes hug the Atlantic, while the other eight run parallel, and there’s not a bad look on the course. It was Alice who suggested raising the entire course so that players would have unobstructed views of the coastline from every hole, and while this gave the site a liberating and thrilling emotional component, it also upped the challenge by bringing the sea breezes into play, which otherwise would have been mitigated by the dunes. As the on-site pros have it, from one round to the next a player can experience up to an eight-club difference on any given hole, depending on the wind’s direction and strength. It’s likely visiting players will be anticipating (gleefully or otherwise) No.17, a beautiful par-3 that gets plenty of press and which gave Mark Calcavecchia fits in the 1991 Ryder Cup; but in fact the par-3 No.14 is harder as it sits at the same height as the dunes and is exposed to potentially ridiculous headwinds. Our advice? Listen to your caddie and leave your ego at home. At No.19, stories of balls that were carried away by the wind gods are as entertaining—if not more entertaining— than tales of your perfect putt. It’s beautiful out there, just enjoy it.