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An Overview Of The Kiawah Island Club

Courtesy of The Kiawah Island Club

Amid Kiawah Island’s uncommon beauty, The Kiawah Island Club is an exclusive private membership club for property owners that offers an unmatched collection of amenities and distinctive venues. Whether dining, golfing, or just relaxing, Members may savor what nature has provided and create memories with family and good friends which last a lifetime.

 
The second hole on the Cassique Course will play to 535 yards during the U.S. Mid-Amateur. (USGA Museum)  

Among the most notable amenities of The Kiawah Island Club are its two award-winning golf courses. Few courses engage the senses and stir golfers’ souls like Cassique and The River Course.

Cassique

Named for the Kiawah Indian chief who once hunted these lands, Cassique ranges over former agricultural fields, through maritime forest and along marshes where the Kiawah River meets the Atlantic Ocean.

The clubhouse, reminiscent of a 19th-century English country manor, offers commanding views of the golf course and the tidelands of the Kiawah River. Designed by Tom Watson in 2000, Cassique showcases the flair for dramatics that has punctuated Watson’s playing career.

In creating his first solo design in North America, the Midwesterner drew upon lessons learned en route to five British Open championships. With its walkable layout, Cassique is a links-style course reminiscent of seaside layouts found in Scotland and Ireland. Like those classic settings, Cassique offers little protection from ocean winds, so Watson fashioned holes that could be played in numerous ways depending on the conditions and the creativity of the golfer.

The River Course

Designed by Tom Fazio, The River Course opened in 1995 as The Kiawah Island Club’s first golf course. With its clubhouse nestled on an ancient bluff surrounded by large live oaks, The River Course overlooks the Kiawah River to the north and Bass Pond to the southeast. For golfers, The River Course provides a challenging and aesthetically pleasing test. It boasts six holes that play along the river’s edge, with the other fairways and greens playing along picturesque marsh savannahs, ponds, and the Island’s incomparable maritime forest.

 

 

 
Championship Facts

U.S. Mid-Amateur

ARCHITECTS – The Kiawah Island Club’s Cassique was designed by Tom Watson and opened in 2000. The River Course was designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1995.

COURSE SETUP – There are two setups at Cassique – Pulpit and Nip Tuck. During stroke play, the Pulpit setup will be used with holes 4, 5 and 6 playing at 370, 148 and 525 yards, respectively. With the beginning of the second round of match play, the Nip Tuck setup will be used and holes 4, 5 and 6 will play at 360, 155 and 565 yards, respectively. The Pulpit and Nip Tuck setups may rotate during the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds.

The USGA Course Rating® and USGA Slope Rating® for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at The Kiawah Island Club’s Cassique are 75.2 and 146 for the Pulpit setup and 74.5 and 145 for the Nip Tuck setup. The USGA Course Rating® and USGA Slope Rating® for The River Course are 74.7 and 147. The grass heights in the various areas of the course for the championship should be as follows:

Cassique
Putting Greens – Prepared firm and fast to measure approximately 12 feet on the USGA Stimpmeter
Approaches collars around greens – .400 inches (30 inches in width, or one mower width, on collars)
Fairways, teeing grounds – .450 inches Intermediate Rough – 1 inch (6 feet in width)
Primary Rough – 2.5 to 3 inches Practice Tee – .450 inches

The River Course
Putting Greens – Prepared firm and fast to measure approximately 12 feet on the USGA Stimpmeter
Fairways, approaches, collars around greens – .350 inches (30 inches in width, or one mower width, on collars)
Teeing Grounds – .250 inches
Intermediate Rough – 1 inch (6 feet in width)
Primary Rough – 2.5 to 3 inches
Practice Tee – .450 inches

USGA AND SOUTH CAROLINA – The 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur will be the 14th USGA championship conducted in the state of South Carolina. The last USGA championships in the state were the 2005 Men’s and Women’s State Team Championships, held concurrently at Berkeley Hall in Bluffton.

It is the first USGA championship for The Kiawah Island Club. The U.S. Mid-Amateur is making its second appearance in the state; the 1991 U.S. Mid-Amateur was held at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island.

CHAMPIONSHIP WEB SITE – Visit www.usmidam.org or www.usga.org for the latest news and scores during the championship.

ADMISSION – Admission is free. Tickets are not needed for this USGA championship, and spectators are encouraged to attend.

 

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