Reader Elliot de Bear visited Kiawah Island recently and played the vaunted Ocean Course (see his review below) and Cougar Point. His Cougar Point review follows, along with his photos.
Cougar Point, designed by Gary Player, is a 6,875-yard par 72 gem and the oldest of the Kiawah Island resort golf courses. We played the Cougar tees at 6,503 yards with a 127 slope and 71.6 course rating (just short of the tournament tees). The track carries a 4 star Golf Digest rating and should be a solid 4.5 stars when compared with other similarly rated tracks.
Conditions were terrific all around. Cougar Point is very well bunkered throughout, providing great visual frames from the tees and fairways. The course delivers terrific views of the salt marshes and Kiawah River, with generous landing areas on most holes. Cougar has a good variety of long par 4's framed with large southern tree varietals that give the appearance of wide tunnels to hit through. The par 3's are all stunners with distances ranging from 158 to 201 yards from the Cougar tees. The three closing holes, all par 4's, are terrific, with a wonderful 388-yard par 4 18th that is a slight dogleg over water to a long, tiered lima bean shaped green.
This course is a real winner and one Gary Player made sure would be a crowd pleaser among the many courses in the Charleston area. Cougar Point is a perfect resort course, challenging when played from the correct tees and with beautifully laid out holes.
Photos by Elliot deBear
