After a comprehensive nine-month renovation led by Jack Nicklaus and members of his architectural team, Turtle Point reopened in late 2016 to rave player reviews.
Jack Nicklaus once said that his number one goal in golf course design was to “make the player use his mind ahead of his muscles – to control his emotions sufficiently to really think through his options before drawing a club from the bag.” To that we say, welcome to Turtle Point Golf Club at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, one of Jack’s early designs and steeped in the finest traditions of classic golf course architecture.
Because of its traditional design, many of the better players visiting Kiawah Island Golf Resort would rather play Turtle Point than any of the other courses on the island. With narrow fairway corridors, small greens, strategically placed water hazards and plenty of out-of-bounds, Turtle Point calls for great accuracy and intelligent strategies. Players not driving the ball well will struggle for par. Since it is one of the longest courses on the island, proficiency with fairway woods and long irons is a must. So is the ability to scramble.
Like many of Jack’s early courses, the greens on Turtle Point are small. So players need to be able to hit shots high if they want them to stop. The course calls for players to be able to shape their shots both left-to-right and right-to-left. They will need to be proficient with every club in the bag and won’t necessarily hit a driver on every hole. And true to Jack’s playing philosophy, Turtle Point plays best hitting to specific landing areas to get the best angles into the greens.
Turtle Point experiences a lot of wind, as do all of the courses on Kiawah Island. The wind blows in different directions throughout the day. Trees protect many areas at Turtle Point so players won’t always sense how the wind might affect their shots. Local knowledge is very important in dealing with these phantom winds.
This exciting course was selected to hold many important championships, including the Carolinas’ Amateur, the Carolinas’ PGA, the South Carolina Amateur and the 1990 PGA Cup Matches, the club professionals version of the Ryder Cup.
Turtle Point rated a near perfect “4 Stars” in the 2006 Golf Digest “Best Places to Play” golf course guidebook.
When players go down the list of what makes a great golf course, whether it’s shot values, memorability, design variety, resistance to scoring, aesthetics or any other criteria they may use, Turtle Point is sure to score high.
