Kiawah Island Club: River

Johns Island, SC Private

Overview

Built half a decade before the club’s other 18, Cassique (ranked 166th on our latest rankings), The River Course at Kiawah Island Club features an exquisite river setting. The course flows gently through forest and along lagoons the first six holes, then becomes truly great from seven to nine, with two holes playing around big Bass Pond and the ninth running along the marshy edge of the Kiawah River. The back nine repeats the rhythm, with play again beginning in forest and along ponds before a dunesy stretch scattered with live oaks and vast expanses of sand. The River Course concludes appropriately with 17 and 18 along the tidal wetlands of the Kiawah River. There’s nothing particularly original in the architecture of The River Course, as Fazio has done variations of these holes before. It some ways, it’s The Greatest Hits of Tom Fazio.

About

Holes 18
Length 7119
Slope 148
Facility Type Private
Year Opened 1995
Designer Thomas Fazio, ASGCA

Awards

100 Greatest the Second 100
Best Courses in Every State

Ranking history:

Second 100 Greatest: Ranked from 2017 to current.
2023-'24 ranking: No. 200.
Previous ranking: No. 193.
Highest ranking: 175th, 2017-2018.

Best in State: Ranked third, 2011-'12. Ranked inside the top 10, 1997-2003, 2007-'09, 2013-'14, 2017-'24. Ranked inside the top 15, 2005, 2015-'16.
2023-'24 ranking (and previous): 9th.

Panelists

Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists

4.2

100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES

Shot Options
7.3086
Character
7.4662
Challenge
7.321
Layout Variety
7.1735
Fun
7.1584
Aesthetics
7.4024
Conditioning
7.2047

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