The 1991 Ryder Cup and the 2012 & 2021 PGA Championships have put this course at the top of many golfer’s bucket lists. Some even know it from breathtaking scenes from The Legend of Bagger Vance. But for us, we were most excited to walk in the footsteps of Outer Banks’ John B. John B. famously ruined a wedding at the beautiful Ocean Course clubhouse in the show’s first season. To sit on that patio drinking a beer and know we were in the presence of greatness was hard to fathom.
But, as soon as we stepped on the first tee we knew the golf course was way more special than any show or movie that had been filmed on the property. It was a Sunday in early April that brought perfect weather, clear skies, and the softest sea breeze Kiawah may have ever felt.
Even with that soft breeze The OC (Ocean Course) is a beast that demands perfection from every shot. It was a round of golf where none of us touched a pencil, because we dared not know how high in the triple digits we would shoot. It is indeed never too hot for a snowman at Kiawah.
As the long walk heads down the stretch on the back nine it’s hard to put the experience into words. Meandering along the Atlantic Coast heading east towards the clubhouse the most spectacular orange and pink sunset falls behind you on the west end of the property. A stage light shining against the clubhouse windows as you try to keep your ball dry on a monster par 3 17th.
As the round concludes, you can’t help but smile knowing you had a once in a lifetime experience with some of your best friends. And like a cherry on top you walk off the 18th green right back onto that same patio where John B. once took a spirited stand against The Kooks.
Pogues for life.
