Kiawah Island set to test EMC World Cup field
BY iseekgolf.com | US PGA Tour | 2003 World Cup | General | 07 Nov 2003
The stunning setting of The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort and the dramatic wind changes from day-to-day set the stage as a world-class field converges on a course built for world-class competition.
The 2003 World Golf Championships – World Cup, Nov. 11-16, could not have selected a more exciting venue. With 10 holes situated right along the Atlantic Ocean and the remaining 8 running parallel to those, course architect Pete Dye used the natural beauty of Kiawah Island to create a course that can change almost instantly depending on the ocean winds.
Although the original idea was to sit the course back behind the dunes, Dye’s wife, Alice, suggested raising the entire course to allow players unobstructed view of Kiawah’s magnificent coastline.
“With two-and-three quarter miles of pristine oceanfront property, there’s no other golf course in the Northern Hemisphere that has as many sea-side holes,” Dye said.
Dye built as many as six tee boxes on each hole to allow flexibility in setting hole length dependant on the ever-changing winds. Players have been known to have as much as an eight-club difference when the wind changes from east to west.
Dye returned to The Ocean Course in 1997 to make numerous, yet subtle changes to the course. Dye returned again and over the past two years has been fine-tuning his course by bunkering and resurfacing the greens. He added fairway landing areas to holes while shaving the fairway on others. He also relocated the 18th green 40 yards closer to the Atlantic Ocean, making on of the most dramatic closing holes in golf even more challenging.
In the summer of 2003, Dye resurfaced every green with a unique strain of paspalum turfgrass specifically designed for seaside environments. Additionally, Dye changed the fairway bunkering on holes 9, 11, 13 and 18, reclaiming the courses bunker areas that had changed over the years with the shifting of the dunes.
“The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort will give the 24 teams from around the world a great test,” said World Cup Executive Director Todd Rhinehart. “This course was built to test the world’s greatest players. Fans will enjoy watching an exciting week on this beautiful golf sanctuary.”
The Ocean Course hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup and the 14.5-13.5 victory by the United States team put it on the world golf map. The Ocean Course also hosted the 1997 World Cup and the 2001 UBS Warburg Cup.
