Johns Island, South Carolina Golf Course

Oak Point
4394 Hope Plantation Drive
Johns Island, SC 29455

Par: 72,  6701 yards
72.4 rating,  137 slope
Architect: Clyde B. Johnson

One fifth of Kiawah Resort's 90-hole golf offering isn't on Kiawah Island at all, but though outside the gates, Oak Point certainly fits the resort's upscale mold. Located just across the Kiawah River on John's Island, less than a mile from the resort entrance, the course was built to be part of a stand-alone residential development, but was purchased by Kiawah Resort in November 1997. Having hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup and 1997 World Cup, Kiawah's popularity as a golf destination was mushrooming and the demand for tee times was growing. With four resort courses, not to mention two private courses, already on the 10,000-acre island, land was at a premium, so management looked outside the gates.

What they found, almost literally at their front door, was a Clyde Johnston design that had been operating as a daily fee course since it opened in 1990. Johnston, a respected young designer who honed his skills under Willard Byrd before striking out on his own and later being elected president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, took a 'hands-on' approach to building what he called a “Scottish-American design,” a course combining elements of Scottish links courses – dramatic contours, mounding and bunkering – with the use of water and wetlands typical of American courses. While the setting is definitely Lowcountry, Oak Point typically plays firm and fast, like a true links course. The par-4 finishing hole plays directly along Haulover Creek and provides sweeping views of the Kiawah River and the resort beyond, where 72 more holes await you.

Wildlife:  
Loggerhead sea turtle, Leatherback sea turtle, American Alligator, Eastern Box Turtle, Common Snapping Turtle, Diamond Back Terrapin Turtle, Black Racer Snake, Yellow Rat Snake, Banded Water Snake, Eastern King Snake, Scarlet Sanke
Bobcat, Coyote, River Otter, Gray Fox, Racoon, White Tailed Deer, American Mink,
Bonnethead shark, Squid, Dolphin, Cannonball Jellyfish, Atlantic Flying Fish, Horseshoe crab

Birds:
Least Terns, Royal Terns, Caspian Terns, Sanderlings, Pelicans, Osprey, Oyster Catchers, Semipalmated Plovers, Great Egrets, Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, Merlin, Wild Turkey, Osprey Bald Eagle, Laughing Gull, Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Southern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebird, Red-winged blackbird, house finch, Turkey Vulture, Snowy Egret, Kingfisher, Wood Stork, Painted Bunting, Blue Jay, Great Crested Flycatcher, American Crow, Great Horned Owl

HOW TO GET THERE:
By Plane: The closest major airport is the Charleston International Airport (CHS), which is serviced from a number of major US cities and airline hubs, including direct flights from Boston, NYC, Washington DC, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, and others. Charleston International Airport is about a 45-50 minute drive from Kiawah Island. Private jets can access Kiawah Island via the Johns Island Executive Airport, a short 25 minute drive from Kiawah.

By Car: From I-26 towards Charleston, take exit 212B toward Savannah. Take exit 212B for I-526 W toward Savannah. Merge onto Interstate 526 W/Mark Clark Expressway. Turn right onto US-17 S/Savannah Hwy. Turn left onto Main Rd/State Rd S-10-20. Continue to follow State Rd S-10-20. At the traffic circle, take the 3rd exit onto Kiawah Island.