I always enjoy playing Turtle Point, as it is a quintessential Jack Nicklaus design. Jack is fair: He seems to have no ill will toward players and offers open fairways and large greens so you have a good chance of playing your best game. Don’t be fooled, however, as there are always those “Nicklaus trouble areas” including ponds, lagoons and high dune grasses. Let’s not forget the alligators, too; I am not sure what the Kiawah team does to encourage proliferation, but there are more alligators of every size all over the course.

As far as I can research, there has not been a significant alligator attack since 2020 when Cynthia Covert, 58, got a little too close to a 10-foot alligator who pulled her into a lagoon, and she drowned. The account of the attack is quite gruesome, with the alligator resurfacing several times while bystanders tried to beat off the gator with shovels. It was finally killed by a police officer’s bullet, releasing Covert. Golfers need to think twice before searching for balls by the water’s edge. Kiawah Island suggests people stay 60 feet (four car lengths) away from alligators. The annual count estimates 254 alligators in every 100 acres of water, with an estimated 700 animals in Kiawah, many tagged and studied.

The course takes the Nicklaus approach but suggests players carefully choose landing areas and use more mind over muscle as they play through various topography, some marshes and other areas lying along the Atlantic Ocean. Still using my rental clubs since Kiawah Island and ShipSticks successfully lost my clubs for a week, I teed up with Neil Curran (Palm Gardens, Florida) and Gerry Gallagher (Dallas, Texas) for a threesome to race through the course.

Hole 14 © Francis X. Gallagher

HOLE 2
523 yards, par 5
The day started off gloomy and overcast — we were wearing jackets — but by the time we made it to the eighth hole, the sun was shining for a perfect day of golf. You have to clear the water from every tee box on the second hole to get into position to score. Not sure if we were not warmed up or what, but this hole proved difficult, with all three of us scoring double bogeys. After you clear the water, a large bunker awaits on the left … which I conveniently caught. Big hitters can reach the green in two, but not our threesome.

We struggled to stay on pace, reaching the difficult green featuring water on the right side. Not one for the record books!

HOLE 8
474 yards, par 4
As every golfer can appreciate, we had a nice pace of play on the course, and when we reached eight, we had to giddy-up a little as the foursome ahead was already walking off the green. Following “Hit when ready,” I teed up and slammed a whopper down the left side of the fairway. In the zone, I tried not to focus on the calamity from Gerry and Neil as balls bounced off of trees left and another sailed right out of bounds.

Nicklaus lengthened this hole about 30 yards, making it nearly impossible to reach in regulation, though a good tee ball offers a chance. I was in a good position, not good enough to reach the green but close enough to chip and putt for par.

HOLE 14
171 yards, par 3
It’s always nice to come to the next set of holes which signal the start of the closing of 18 at Turtle Point. Golfers intersect with beachgoers walking or riding their bikes with their beach chairs to enjoy the fine beaches at Kiawah. This green, sitting just above the beach dunes and the Atlantic Ocean, can play with or against the wind depending on the day; we did not have to deal with much.

You usually hit downwind to this small green, and a bowl shape in the center makes putts more challenging. Gerry was the star player, landing just short of the green but puttable for par. Neil and I got a little busy, but he still pulled out his recovery shot for a par while I took a bogey.

HOLE 15
375 yards, par 4
This is a famous hole; when we played one year, Bob Hancock slammed a drive with the Atlantic Ocean gusting it into the houses right. He blamed me for misdirecting him; false! Today, with relatively little wind, we could hit away. We had decent drives, all but Gerry who had the misfortune of steering his ball a little too left toward the high dune grass.

Dunes blanket the hole’s entire left side, protecting the fairway from the mighty Atlantic. Views from the green are worth a snapshot. A foot wedge got Gerry back into play, and not one of us hit the green in regulation. Considered the signature hole on the course, 15 offers the option of playing the dunes on the left — with the best view of the punch-bowl green — or staying on a safer right trajectory but with the dune to the green semi-blinding you. Beware of the bunker on the right of the green, which collects balls of those fearful of overshooting the green into thick grass.

Hole 18 © Francis X. Gallagher

HOLE 18
426 yards, par 4

The closing hole can prove challenging; the fairway wraps around a long stretch of water to a green tucked into the left corner. To play 18 well, you need a strong drive right center followed by a spectacular shot to the green over the water. This results in a lot of lost balls, and the day we played there were guys on the condo balconies on the left betting on which of us would make it over the water. I felt that was not very sporting of them! Gerry took the bailout shot right of the green and then chipped up for bogey. Neil’s ball made it over but found the bunker in the front.

Even with the boys betting against me, I took a rescue from my Titleist rentals and launched a ball high and strong to the green — to the cheers of the doubters — ending a fun-filled day at Turtle Point.

TURTLE POINT GOLF COURSE
Kiawah Island Golf Resort
1 Turtle Point Lane
Kiawah Island, SC 29455
tel 843 266 4050