Domestic

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The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island was barely finished when the 1991 Ryder Cup arrived. The fairways hadn't settled. The greens were firm, fast, and unforgiving. And over three days in September, the United States and Europe played out what became known as the War by the Shore — one of the most emotionally charged moments in the history of golf, decided by a single Bernhard Langer putt on the 18th green that slid past the hole and handed the cup to the Americans.

Beyond the Ocean Course, Kiawah Island is a 10,000-acre resort of five public courses, pristine Atlantic beaches, Lowcountry cuisine, and a natural landscape of marshes, live oaks, and tidal creeks that makes every hour between rounds feel as good as the rounds themselves. Tom Fazio's Osprey Point winds through four distinct ecosystems of lakes, marsh, and ancient forest. Jack Nicklaus's Turtle Point closes with three consecutive holes directly along the Atlantic beach. Gary Player's Cougar Point plays through interior marshland and tidal creeks with views that regularly stop play. And Oak Point, tucked into the maritime forest of the adjacent Cassique property, offers the most intimate and naturally beautiful round on the island.

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In 1979, PGA Tour Commissioner Deane Beman purchased 415 acres of North Florida swampland for the sum of one dollar and hired Pete Dye to build a golf course on it. The check is still in the clubhouse. So is the placemat on which Dye sketched the original design. What they built became the permanent home of The Players Championship and the most recognisable tournament venue in America outside of Augusta National.

The Stadium Course demands precision from the first hole to the last, no two consecutive holes playing in the same direction, no single style of player given an advantage over another. The Players Championship has been played here every year since 1982, its field and prize fund earning it a reputation as golf's unofficial fifth major. The 17th island green was never part of the plan — Alice Dye suggested filling a construction crater with water and surrounding the green entirely. Pete built it and created the most replicated hole in modern golf. More than a hundred copies exist worldwide. None of them carry the weight of the original.

Seven years later, Pete Dye returned with Bobby Weed to build the Valley Course on the same property. More measured than its famous neighbour but no less demanding, water comes into play on every hole in a layout built entirely around angles and course management. Consistently rated one of the finest resort second courses in America and a regular host of PGA Tour developmental events, the Valley Course is the round most golfers wish they had made more time for.