'Dye-abolical' Ocean Course to Test PGA's Finest

Best known as the site of "The War by the Shore" -- or more formally, the 1991 Ryder Cup -- the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort is both breathtaking in its beauty and maddening in its difficulty. And when the 156 players who make up the field for 38th PGA Club Professional Championship set upon its windswept grounds to battle for the Walter Hagen Cup, they will face a test unlike any they have seen before.

By Roger Graves, PGA Magazine Senior Writer

It is one of the most famous and feared battlefields in golf, a reputation it earned during the epic "War By The Shore" –- otherwise known as the 1991 Ryder Cup. It is simultaneously hailed as designer Pete Dye's most majestic masterpiece, and as his most "Dye-abolical" golf course. A Mona Lisa in the eyes of many golf purists, and a grim graveyard from the pages of Edgar Allan Poe in the minds of others.

Yes, The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island (S.C.) Resort has gained a reputation since it appeared on golf's global map of extraordinary courses in 1991.

It has also earned a prestigious pedigree.

The Ocean Course, a minefield of penal pot bunkers, vast waste areas, sand dunes and water hazards that stretches two-and-a-half miles along the Atlantic Ocean just off the South Carolina coast, has hosted an array of international golf tournaments during the past 14 years. The Ocean Course's portfolio includes the 1991 Ryder Cup, the 1997 World Cup, the 2001 UBS Warburg Cup, and the 2003 World Golf Championships World Cup competition. But The 2005 PGA Club Professional Championship June 23–26 will be the first fullfledged national championship conducted at The Ocean Course, serving as a dress rehearsal of sorts for the 68th Senior PGA Championship in May of 2007.

The CPC on Television

Thurs., June 23: 4 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. ET, TGC Re-air 1 a.m. - 2:30 a.m.

Fri., June 24: 4 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. ET, TGC Re-air 1 a.m. - 2:30 a.m.

Sat., June 25: 4 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. ET, TGC Re-air 1 a.m. - 2:30 a.m.

Sun., June 26: 4 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. ET, TGC Re-air 1 a.m. - 2:30 a.m.

Mon., June 27: Round 2 Re-air 11 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET, TGC

Tues., June 28: Round 3 Re-air 11 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET, TGC

Wed., June 29: Round 4 Re-air 11 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ET, TGC

Designed for 1991 Ryder Cup

PGA of America President Roger Warren, the PGA director of golf at Kiawah Island Resort, reveals that The Ocean Course was designed specifically with the 1991 Ryder Cup in mind. The original venue for the '91 Ryder Cup was PGA West, another Pete Dye design in La Quinta, Calif. But The PGA of America and European PGA wanted to televise the matches back to Europe in prime time and needed a course in the Eastern time zone.

"The course opened in 1991, and I think it's unique in that it may be the only golf course that was specifically built to host an event -- in our case, the 1991 Ryder Cup," says Warren, who also notes that Dye had to essentially design The Ocean Course twice. Dye was forced to start over after Hurricane Hugo erased all of Dye's original design and grading work in 1989. He came in with a bulldozer and re-established all the primary dunes along the golf course, and in the process redesigned and built The Ocean Course, which features more seaside holes than any course in the Northern Hemisphere -– 10 directly along the Atlantic Ocean, with the other eight running parallel to those.

"Pete was able to take basically a bland pallet and create this golf course," Warren says with admiration. "He did such a phenomenal job that it will stand the test of time. Frankly, it may be one of the only golf courses in the country that, as it is today, could host a major championship on it tomorrow and you wouldn't have to do anything to the configuration or the length to allow it to be a true test."

Kiawah Island is a long, thin island that runs east to west, with The Ocean Course sitting along its southern coastline. Because of its unique geography, there are no prevailing winds on the course. Dye took this into account when designing the course, actually designing two courses on the tract of land -– one for an easterly wind direction and one for a westerly direction.

Dye intentionally designed The Ocean Course with tremendous flexibility, building numerous teeing areas on each hole and providing numerous landing areas to accommodate all wind directions and velocities. For this month's PGA Club Professional Championship, the course will play between 7,100 and 7,356 yards. But it could be stretched to more than 7,900 yards if all back tees are utilized, a frightful thought for the 156 PGA club professionals who will tee it up in pursuit of the $500,000 purse and their name on the Walter Hagen Cup.

Kiawah Island, South Carolina USA 7,296 yards / Par 72
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	OUT
395	543	390	453	207	455	527	197	464	3631
4	4	4	5	3	4	5	4	3	36
10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	IN
439	562	466	404	194	421	579	221	439	3725
5	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	4	36

"The wind is a constant factor here, but The Ocean Course is a little more golfer-friendly than it was for the 1991 Ryder Cup. It has undergone some fairly dramatic changes in the past 10 years," says Brian Gerard, PGA head professional at The Ocean Course.

"When Pete (Dye) built The Ocean Course, he was asked to build the most challenging course he possibly could for the Ryder Cup (in 1991). The course was originally built with the Ryder Cup in mind, but Pete has been making modifications ever since. He has come in and built new tees over the years, and in 1997 we went in and changed all of the approaches."

When Dye originally designed the course, he had Tifdwarf Bermuda (grass) in the fairways that were cut at green height, and if you missed a green it would run into the dunes or marshes. Dye has since changed the approaches to 419 Bermuda, the type of grass that is in the fairways. It's more roll-resistant and the ball sits up on top of that grass.

"He also added collection areas around most greens, so you can miss a green and chip it back on, rather than those balls running off into the dunes," says Gerard. "The golf course today is in prime condition and it's more manageable. It remains extremely challenging, but it's fair."

Since its grand opening before the Ryder Cup in 1991, Dye has continued a perpetual renovation of The Ocean Course, which features panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean from all 18 holes. The ever-present winds and shifting tides are continually reshaping the land and dunes around the course, and certain grasses have not been able to flourish amid the constant spray of saltwater from the adjacent Atlantic.

Windy Conditions Expected

How will The Ocean Course hold up in a 72-hole stroke-play competition? Better yet, how will the 156 finest PGA club professionals in America fare against the multiple minefields and unpredictable winds of The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island? Will the 2005 CPC turn into a four-day series of "Survivor," with America's most talented PGA club professionals fighting to stay on the windy island for 72 holes? What survivalist skills will be paramount to tame the lion which is The Ocean Course?

"People ask me why The Ocean Course is so hard, and the answer is the wind," says Gerard. "To reach most of these greens, you have to hit the ball up in the air. You can only bump-and-run it onto the greens on a couple of holes. When the wind is blowing 25 to 30 miles per hour, it can play pretty tough, especially if you are against the wind or have a strong crosswind. Even if you're downwind, it can be a guessing game because if a gust of wind catches your ball it can take it in a hurry."

When Dye built the course, he built it so the setup could adapt to the wind direction. There are five or six tee boxes on each hole, allowing the golf course to be set up to provide a fair test no matter what direction the wind is blowing.

"Pete is a master at making it look like you have to hit a tight landing area off the tees, but when you get out in the fairways you see that it opens up and the landing areas are quite generous," says Gerard. "He has built different landing areas for different wind directions and conditions, which is part of the genius of the design. We could play it back on every hole at 7,900 yards, and if we had a strong wind out of the southwest, (holes) five through 13 would play directly into the wind and it would be almost impossible. That's why we have different sets of tees on every hole.

"I'm sure The PGA won't use the very back tee on several holes during The CPC, but on some of the holes playing downwind in June, you might see the back tee put into play."

If there is such a thing as a sure thing, it is that there will be wind at The Ocean Course during The CPC. Gerard, who has worked in the Kiawah Island community since 1986 and has been the PGA head professional at The Ocean Course for the past 10 years, doesn't recall four successive windless days in June for as long as he can remember. But even with the wind, he expects some highly competent scores to be posted by the PGA club professionals.

"It was pretty quiet wind-wise during the 1997 World Cup (played in November), and there were some great scores shot," recalls Gerard. "I remember Alex Cejka (of Germany) shot 63, which is still the competitive course record. Colin Montgomerie shot 65 and for the week was 22- under-par on his own ball. So that shows you what can happen.

"I think you'll see some good scores from the club professionals, because there are some great players in the club professional ranks. It might be hard to go low for 72 holes, however. I'm not sure you'll see anyone get to that 12-under-par score that won it last year (at Longaberger Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio) because the wind is so unpredictable. The wind is liable to change directions and velocity a time or two during the course of a round, and that can make this golf course extremely challenging. It's hard to predict what it might take, but I'd say four or five under (par) would be awfully good for the week. And if it's really windy, even par will be a good score for 72 holes."

After the 1991 Ryder Cup, which featured a litany of disastrous holes by some of the game's greatest players, Scotland's Colin Montgomerie called The Ocean Course "a nightmare course; the most difficult golf course in the world," with a few expletives mixed in with the characterization. He vowed never to return after his '91 Ryder Cup experience. Yet, Montgomerie sang The Ocean Course's praises after the 1997 World Cup competition, which saw him card a 65 en route to taking home low individual honors with a 22-underpar 266 aggregate.

"This is nothing like the same course as 1991," Montgomerie commented after the first day of the 1997 World Cup. "No one shot 63 on this golf course six years ago (during the Ryder Cup), I can assure you. It is a much softer golf course, a lot easier and a lot fairer as well. I never thought I'd return after playing here in the Ryder Cup. But I must congratulate everyone involved with the changes that have been made. I would say it is the finest resort course I know of in North America."

Ongoing Course Renovations

Since the 1997 World Cup competition, numerous changes have made the course more golfer-friendly for competing professionals and resort guests. Most notable are the bunkers in the fourth fairway, a wider approach on the par-5 11th hole, and the 18th green has been moved 40 yards back-right to be closer to the ocean. But the most significant changes have been to The Ocean Course's putting surfaces.

The greens were converted to Tif-Eagle Bermuda grass in 2002, but the Bermuda grass failed to flourish. In preparation for the 2003 World Cup, the course was closed on June 17, and all 18 greens were resurfaced with a special strain of salt-resistant paspalum grass that Dye brought in from the University of Georgia Turfgrass Department. The course reopened on Sept. 1, 2003, just two months before the World Cup competition. The special grass is even named after The Ocean Course and the year it was installed -- OC03. In addition to a blade size comparable to Tifdwarf, the OC03 paspalum grass can be mowed to the length of one-tenth of an inch, providing fast green speeds while eliminating the "grain" of Bermuda grasses.

Warren was an advocate of the change to paspalum grass on the greens, even though it came just months before the 2003 World Cup.

"The changes we have made weren't merely done for the (2003) World Cup; they were for the longterm future of the golf course," emphasizes PGA Director of Golf Warren, who was instrumental in attracting the 2007 PGA Senior Championship to The Ocean Course. "We needed a more salt-tolerant grass that holds its color and can be cut lower under all weather conditions. Now we have perfect greens every day, whether a national championship is being contested or for the everyday resort guest. Now, we have consistent putting surfaces on every green that our maintenance staff can care for properly under any conditions."

Adds Gerard: "One of the great things about the paspalum grass is that it holds its color in the summertime; it's always a vibrant green. There is virtually no grain, so you can keep the putting surfaces quick if you need to, and without much water. Everyone who putted on our previous surfaces has nothing but great things to say about the new greens. It has made a world of difference."

During the 1991 Ryder Cup, on a course playing at more than 7,300 yards, the players from both teams practiced under a typical fall weather pattern with winds generally coming from the southwest, and that's the way the course was set up.

Prior to the tournament, Raymond Floyd noted, "This course is perfect. Everything just fits and flows perfectly. It's hard but it's fair. Fair is not hard. Fair is when you're rewarded with good shotmaking. We (the professionals) appreciate a challenge as long as it's fair. Pete has created a course that is hard. It's a challenge, but it's fair. And most of all, this golf course looks like it was born here. It fits right into the natural terrain." But the wind switched 180 degrees, blowing out of the northwest, and combined with the most pressure-filled Ryder Cup ever, The Ocean Course wreaked havoc.

"I'm not sure the golf course wasn't the real winner this week," said Lanny Wadkins, after compiling a 3–1 record for his U.S. Team. "What happened was the wind shifted from what it was doing when we practiced earlier in the week, and since none of us had played the golf course before, it made everyone become very creative with a lot of shots. If you weren't hitting the ball solidly, you had no chance."

Padraig Harrington, who teamed with Paul McGinley to give Ireland the 1997 World Cup team title, recalled watching the '91 Ryder Cup and called it "a spectacular disaster." But Harrington also praised the course he saw in 1997.

"The golf course was very different when we were there," Harrington said. "First of all, we got very nice weather for the week. Some of the tee boxes weren't the same as the ones used in the Ryder Cup. It is one of the top golf courses in the world, one of the toughest golf courses out there, but it was set up very fairly for the World Cup."

When the 1997 World Cup was played at The Ocean Course, the players experienced virtually no wind and balmy conditions on a course set up at an inviting 6,800 yards. It was a birdie-fest. Sweden's Per-Ulrik Johansson shattered the course record with an 8-under-par 64, only to have his record eclipsed later in the day by Cejka, who shot 63. Twenty-three of the 64 players in the '97 World Cup shot in the 60s during the opening round.

The Ocean Course was stretched to just over 7,200 yards for the 2003 World Cup, which was played as a team championship under the World Golf Championship banner in November. Reverting to a "survivalist" mentality in the final round, South Africans Trevor Immelman and Rory Sabbatini put together a best-ball 1-over-par 73 to secure a fourstroke victory over England's Paul Casey and Justin Rose with a 13-under 275 total.

"We had to be a bit careful and conservative on this golf course," noted Immelman. "We knew what can happen after watching tapes of the (1991) Ryder Cup. It's a tremendous honor for us to win an event of this nature on such a renowned golf course. I thought the golf course was in magnificent condition. We had heard some horror stories about a year ago, but I've never seen new greens in such fine condition. It is a credit to the greenkeeper and his staff. Nothing but good things to say about this golf course."

The 156 players competing in The 38th PGA Club Professional Championship hope to speak so glowingly about The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Resort. After all, it took two players -- Immelman and Sabbatini -- to sculpt a 13-under-par aggregate in a team format during the 2003 World Cup. Will the kinder, gentler battlefield that is The Ocean Course allow such success in a 72-hole stroke-play competition, or continue to claim more casualties? The answer comes June 23-26 on Kiawah Island.

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