Kiawah in February

cubuffs · February 2, 2019

As part of the infamous Golf or Gourmet package, will be heading to Kiawah resort on 2/18 for 3 nights and have the following lineup:

Tuesday: Osprey AM, Cougar PM (Ocean has a tourney that day)

Wednesday: Ocean AM, Turtle PM

Thursday: Ocean AM fly home PM

Curious to get thoughts on this lineup and if you would change any of the courses in order to handle logistics?

hangontight · February 2, 2019

As part of the infamous Golf or Gourmet package, will be heading to Kiawah resort on 2/18 for 3 nights and have the following lineup:

Tuesday: Osprey AM, Cougar PM (Ocean has a tourney that day)
Wednesday: Ocean AM, Turtle PM
Thursday: Ocean AM fly home PM

Curious to get thoughts on this lineup and if you would change any of the courses in order to handle logistics?

Good lineup. Wouldn’t change a thing. Only suggestion would be to make it back to Ocean Course for cocktail at sunset at least one day. Provided weather is fine, no better place to finish your day than on the patio/lawn watching sunset , golfers finishing up on 18, buddies out betting on putting green, families hanging out.

Another tip would be , that if you will be relying on resort shuttle, may want to call a a few holes ahead of finishing your morning round so you can make way over to second course without delay. Sometimes shuttle staff is limited in winter months.. don’t want to be waiting around too long. Depending on your morning tee time, you may be a bit crunched for daylight on PM rounds. Remember,, Ocean course usually takes longer than your average round , especially if taking a caddie.

shadymg · February 2, 2019

would you mind sharing roughly how much this trip costs (besides airfare of course). I dated a girl a few years back whose parents lived on Kiawah, and then i broke my wrist before going so wasn't able to play (they weren't members of the private club anyways). But always wanted to go back and see how i'd do.

cubuffs · February 4, 2019

As part of the infamous Golf or Gourmet package, will be heading to Kiawah resort on 2/18 for 3 nights and have the following lineup:

Tuesday: Osprey AM, Cougar PM (Ocean has a tourney that day)
Wednesday: Ocean AM, Turtle PM
Thursday: Ocean AM fly home PM

Curious to get thoughts on this lineup and if you would change any of the courses in order to handle logistics?

Good lineup. Wouldn’t change a thing. Only suggestion would be to make it back to Ocean Course for cocktail at sunset at least one day. Provided weather is fine, no better place to finish your day than on the patio/lawn watching sunset , golfers finishing up on 18, buddies out betting on putting green, families hanging out.

Another tip would be , that if you will be relying on resort shuttle, may want to call a a few holes ahead of finishing your morning round so you can make way over to second course without delay. Sometimes shuttle staff is limited in winter months.. don’t want to be waiting around too long. Depending on your morning tee time, you may be a bit crunched for daylight on PM rounds. Remember,, Ocean course usually takes longer than your average round , especially if taking a caddie.

Thanks for the feedback. Luckily, we will have a car so hopefully that shouldn’t be a problem. Great recommendation on the after golf round, as my buddy and I were just talking about that yesterday.

hangontight · February 4, 2019

would you mind sharing roughly how much this trip costs (besides airfare of course). I dated a girl a few years back whose parents lived on Kiawah, and then i broke my wrist before going so wasn't able to play (they weren't members of the private club anyways). But always wanted to go back and see how i'd do.

Check out the Kiawah webpage and go to specials. It’s called golf or gourmet special

cubuffs · February 6, 2019

would you mind sharing roughly how much this trip costs (besides airfare of course). I dated a girl a few years back whose parents lived on Kiawah, and then i broke my wrist before going so wasn't able to play (they weren't members of the private club anyways). But always wanted to go back and see how i'd do.

Sorry for the late reply. As mentioned above, it seems every year from around end of October through the end of February, they run a special for $300 per night (staying in the Villas, $400 at the Sanctuary) you get 2 rounds of golf on the Ocean Course (it was $200 in the Villas for the other courses). This of course does not include caddy fees, replay rates, or food but is still a pretty amazing deal.

tiderider · February 6, 2019

it's probably the best deal in golf, anywhere in the world ... legit world top 50ish course for $200/round is great, but you also get a hotel room at a resort ...

PapaJohick · February 7, 2019

Ya it’s a great deal and while weather can be iffy this time of year, it’s typically no issue

Like mentioned above, def go back to the Ryder cup bar around sunset. No better view.

cubuffs · February 7, 2019

it's probably the best deal in golf, anywhere in the world ... legit world top 50ish course for $200/round is great, but you also get a hotel room at a resort ...

Absolutely, was taking a look at some options in the Southeast for a quick golf trip, Streamsong being one of them. Hard to pass up this offer for all the courses, especially given the Ocean Course is an option. We are coming from a pretty tough track in Nashville (Web.com Nashville Golf Open) and appreciate challenging layouts. Very excited to be just more than a week out, will issue a trip report once we get back.

PapaJohick · February 7, 2019

it's probably the best deal in golf, anywhere in the world ... legit world top 50ish course for $200/round is great, but you also get a hotel room at a resort ...

Absolutely, was taking a look at some options in the Southeast for a quick golf trip, Streamsong being one of them. Hard to pass up this offer for all the courses, especially given the Ocean Course is an option. We are coming from a pretty tough track in Nashville (Web.com Nashville Golf Open) and appreciate challenging layouts. Very excited to be just more than a week out, will issue a trip report once we get back.

Have a great time! I think you’ll find thenocean course very playable. Just play from tees that are appropriate (maybe one less than you think depending on wind) and don’t try to overpower the course. Play what it gives you :)

cubuffs · February 23, 2019

Wanted to issue a post trip report/review as my buddy and I were beyond impressed. Hard to believe that there is a better deal in golf given the collection of courses in the resort.

We arrived on Monday in Charleston at 1pm and were able to get bags, car, and get to the resort and the Cougar course by 3pm. We hadn't originally planned to play but called that morning for 9. Course wasn't crowded and we managed to get a full 18 in, playing in 3:25. Really enjoyed the course, as it wasn't long but forced you to really think about what club to hit off the tee. Condition of Cougar was great from tee up to the green, although the green speed was pretty slow. I used the term fuzzy hardpan, as the greens were firm but the length of the grass was long. Great course that was fun to play and we had great weather with 68 and very little wind. Cougar Point are the first two pictures below.

On Tuesday, we had two times - 8:00am at Osprey and 1:00pm back at Cougar. Unfortunately the great weather from Monday didn't carry over and it was 52 with a significant 20-30 mph wind throughout the day. With that said, we really enjoyed the challenge at Osprey and both played well (just missed birdie on 18 to shoot 79). Impression of Osprey was good - much longer than Cougar and some really good (typical Fazio) green complexes that forced you to know where to miss a green. Would have been great to have a second chance, as there are a few shots/holes that I would have played differently. The only knock that I had on the course, it seemed much more flat than the others we played, so it was a bit repetitive in my mind.

In the PM we were back at Cougar with no one around given the weather - cloudy, 55 and constant wind. Getting a second chance at the course only made it more fun for both of us, but we did have 3 holes of steady rain which was slightly disappointing. Still a blast to play and having more local knowledge improved the experience. That night, we ended up at the Ryder Cup bar at the Ocean Course which was a great ending to the day although it was too cold and windy to sit outside.

Wednesday we had planned to play Ocean AM and Turtle in the PM. Given the forecast called for AM rain, we moved our time back to 1pm which was the right call as rain tailed off by 12:45 and had overcast skies, little wind and 65. We took a caddie which proved to be the best $100 per man spent the entire trip. Not only did he have great reads on the greens, but really pushed hard given our 1pm start to ensure we weren't stuck behind 4 groups ahead of us (we were a 2 some and there were 3 4balls ahead). Went as far to call the shop and speak to the director of golf to get us started on the back 9 which was open due to the morning rain. Normally would have wanted to finish on 18, but given we were playing again on Thursday, this was the right call and we had the entire front 9 to ourselves after making the turn as we didn't see anyone. We finished in 3:30 and had a full 1:30 at the Ryder Cup bar before the group we would have been behind came up 18. The course was everything that I expected and more - typical Pete Dye golf - hit the shot or pay the price but was somewhat forgiving that balls hit in the dunes could be found and played. Conditions were good, although the over seeding wasn't quite as thick as Cougar. Greens were good speed but some of the rye grass had sprouted on the greens that interfered with the paspalum. I am Dye course fan and this is one of my favorites that I have played to date.

Thursday we were back at the Ocean again at 8am. We hadn't planned to use a caddie but had such a great experience with Anthony that we decided to use him again which was needed. When we arrived, there was a heavy fog that was with us for the first 7 holes and made it difficult as you couldn't see farther than 150 yards. It thankfully lifted from 8-17 but from the tee shot on 17 to the 18th, rolled in so thick you were lucky if you had 50 yards of visibility. 18 was a complete guessing game but scrambled to save par and wrap up a great 4 days of golf - 90 holes!

Final thoughts - we will be back next year if they run this promotion as it is just an incredible deal! You do roll the dice a bit with the weather, but given you get the Ocean experience, along with a great supporting set of PHENOMENAL resort tracks, I find it almost impossible to think of a better deal. Thanks to all that contributed and shared their experience as it was a great help in planning this trip!

hangontight · February 23, 2019

Fantastic review. I am local, so am out there a few times a year- even doing this deal myself living 20 minutes away is a deal. Really cool to see the fog pictures on ocean. Believe it or not, the fog this time is unusual- looks like it added a cool mystique to the course. Would love to have seen it. RE your comment about Osprey being flat- good observation. Most every course in Charleston NOT named Kiawah is really flat- just the nature of the land. One of my few complaints about Lowcountry golf. . They have done a good job with the other courses out there creating some “elevation”. Next time maybe the weather will cooperate enough for a proper happy hour at ocean course clubhouse- drinks on the lawn , people putting on practice green, beautiful sunset, watching groups come in on 18, on and on. Nothing quite like that sunset over the back 9 from the clubhouse. Sounds like all in all though you did well for February.

cubuffs · February 24, 2019

Fantastic review. I am local, so am out there a few times a year- even doing this deal myself living 20 minutes away is a deal. Really cool to see the fog pictures on ocean. Believe it or not, the fog this time is unusual- looks like it added a cool mystique to the course. Would love to have seen it. RE your comment about Osprey being flat- good observation. Most every course in Charleston NOT named Kiawah is really flat- just the nature of the land. One of my few complaints about Lowcountry golf. . They have done a good job with the other courses out there creating some "elevation". Next time maybe the weather will cooperate enough for a proper happy hour at ocean course clubhouse- drinks on the lawn , people putting on practice green, beautiful sunset, watching groups come in on 18, on and on. Nothing quite like that sunset over the back 9 from the clubhouse. Sounds like all in all though you did well for February.

Yes, the fog definitely made for a different experience from the day before. Would have been disappointed if that was our only round, but great to see the variability in weather and wind over two days (we played 17 against the wind on Wed and with the wind on Thur - roughly same pin position and from 185-190 used a 4 iron and 7 iron respectively). As for the Ryder Cup bar, forgot to mention that we did get time on Wednesday to sit out and watch the groups come in and enjoy some of the nice selection of whiskey that they keep!

DandyDon · March 8, 2019

Question, a bit off topic: I am flying into Charleston late at night, and playing at Kiawah (Oak Point) the next morning...Is there a good area to stay at that night that is in between the airport and Kiawah?

WarEagleGolf · March 8, 2019

Airport or Kiawah. There isn't a whole lot in between. It's back roads to Kiawah unless you go around into West Ashley area, which...well, sucks.

I'd stay airport area to get to bed quick, take your rental car in the AM. About 50 minutes, not much longer than staying in Charleston, but no drive late night, then same drive early AM.

hangontight · March 9, 2019

Question, a bit off topic: I am flying into Charleston late at night, and playing at Kiawah (Oak Point) the next morning...Is there a good area to stay at that night that is in between the airport and Kiawah?

There are a few hotels at the end of I-526 where it meets hwy 17 (all in route to kiawah). But past there it is rural 25 minute drive. Honestly it’s not bad, traffic at night will not be an issue so just make the drive. It will be so much better to wake up and start your day at Kiswahili rather than an airport hotel!