Kiawah Island Ocean Course

Despite the fact the course plays around, through and over the dunes, there are, technically, no sand traps.

All the sand is treated as a natural hazard and therefore, you can ground your club any time you see fit. Nor is there any out of bounds.

It's a typical Dye design in that there are a lot of visually intimidating elements and hazards - deep, nasty pot bunkers, trees in fairways, elevated greens that fall off the seventh level of hell - and you find yourself cowed, playing to safe spots - Dye has beaten you already.

The raised, rolling fairways, with their sharp edges dropping off to sand and dune vegetation, look like they were sculpted in the mad architect's back yard laboratory and dropped onto the sand, following the contours of the dunes. If you miss the fairway, you pay the price. Still, it's a fair course if you choose your tees wisely, and that involves what I believe is the biggest, recent change to the course. Ocean officials have added another tee box, one that plays 6,400 yards, perfect for your average, decent, resort hacker. Before that tee was added, golfers were forced to choose between 6,000 and 6,800 yards, too short and too long for your mid-handicapper, especially when the winds howl off the Atlantic, as they so frequently do.

Kiawah is proud to have hosted on The Ocean Course the 2007 Senior PGA, the 1991 Ryder Cup, the 1997 and 2003 World Cups, the 2001 UBS Cup and 2005 PGA Professional National Championship. In 2012 Kiawah Island Golf Resort will host the 94th PGA Championship, only the fourth course to host each of the PGA of America's major championships.

Visit their website for more details.