Kiva Dunes Golf Course

Kiva Dunes opened in 1995 on a barrier-island stretch just west of Gulf Shores in Baldwin County, Alabama, designed by 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate with developer Jim Edgemon. Laid out across coastal dunes, sea oats and wetlands near the Gulf of Mexico, the course was built to play in a links-influenced style, with windswept, rolling terrain and generous but exacting corridors. It earned immediate national attention, ranking near the top of Golf Digest's Best New Public Courses when it debuted and later being cited among the state's finest resort layouts. As one of the flagship courses of coastal Alabama golf, Kiva Dunes anchors a resort community of rentals and homes and has remained a bucket-list stop for visitors drawn to the Gulf Coast's mix of beach and golf.