Kiawah Island Club - Cassique

Cassique is one of two private courses at the exclusive Kiawah Island Club, opening in 2000 as the club's second members-only layout. It was designed by Hall of Famer Tom Watson, a five-time Open champion, and reflects the links education he earned at Carnoustie, St. Andrews, and Turnberry. The walkable par-72 course runs roughly 7,050 yards through maritime forest and along the marshes where the Kiawah River meets the Atlantic. Because the exposed ground offers little shelter from ocean wind, Watson built holes that can be played several ways depending on conditions, framing them with rumpled fairways and choppy faux dunes. He borrowed favorite links touches too: a burn like Turnberry's, Carnoustie-style Spectacles bunkers, and a Hell Bunker echoing St. Andrews. It has earned lasting places on national top-100 rankings.