Cougar Point at Kiawah Island Golf Resort

I think Cougar Point is the second-best course in the Kiawah Island group, behind only the amazing Ocean Course. Cougar is exactly what you would want in a resort course – a challenging but fun time. The conditions were great. The greens were lush but almost shaggy, and you really had to hit putts to get them to the hole.

The second hole is a little par-3 that is right next to the road that brings you onto the island. The pathway is busy with walkers, bikers and car traffic but nothing distracting. In fact, the alligator patrolling the lake caught our attention more. The third is a beastly par-5 but very picturesque that bends around a lake. After that hole, you have to drive through a tunnel that brings you to the most beautiful holes on the course. The fourth takes you to the edge of the river, and No. 5 plays right by the marsh. The green at five sticks out into the marsh and is a great place to take a picture. The par-3 sixth is also scenic with an easy carry over scrub brush.

The track turns back inland but nine and 10 play around a nice lake. The 11th hole is notable as the opening scene in the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance”. Unfortunately for me, just like Jack Lemmon in the movie, I hit a snap hook into the trees on the left!

The rest of the back nine is solid with some tight fairways, nearby houses and water in play. The course gets tough on 15 and 17 with difficult angles to reach the green. The closing hole is challenging with a long approach shot over the corner of the lake, as the green sits near the clubhouse.

Like all the Kiawah courses, Cougar Point is pricey. If you can, try to avoid the peak times or try and get a package deal to reduce costs. But if I could only play one course at Kiawah Island that wasn’t the Ocean Course, I’d choose Cougar Point.

Played nine holes late in the day on Cougar Point. Perfect time to play. Nice to have the nine-hole option any time during the day, especially if you are on a family beach vacation.

As always at Kiawah, the course was in perfect condition. Greens were almost perfect, marred only by inconsiderate "golfers" who fail to repair their ball marks. Greens putted true and surprisingly slow compared to other courses I've played recently. Good shots checked up quickly on these lush greens. Fairways, traps, tee boxes were perfect.

The beauty of Kiawah Island is revealed by all the courses. Some courses take you out near the ocean, others into the marsh, but always surrounded by the wonders of nature. It's easy to be distracted by the beauty of the course and it's surroundings. Errant shots are subject to out of bounds or into natural hazards.

Love the these courses; love the whole place for that matter. Can't wait to go back.

Pros: The golf course is in excellent shape and this is reflected in the fairway uniformity, bunkers were in great shape and the greens rolled extremely smoothly if not a little slowly. The personnel working at the course are very friendly and helpful and want to make this a great experience for you.

Cons: All that said, there are really only 3 scenic holes on the golf course (4, 5 and 6 that are on the Kiawah River) and Holes 7 (90 degree dogleg right) and 8 (completely unmemorable straight ahead par 4) are more bad than good. Then a host of fairly average holes until 17 and 18 kind of wake you up. The rest of the course is hemmed in by trees and/or houses. Also, the price tag on this course is exceptionally high for what you get but there is not really an affordable option nearby.

Summary: High-end resort style experience, conditioning and price tag with a less than stellar layout and design.

This place was spectacular! First Kiawah Course I’ve played other than the Ocean Course. Fairways were lush and greens were like carpet. Very fun and challenging course and the holes had great variety. Staff was excellent and made sure you had a great day out. Can’t wait to return to Kiawah, it truly is golfer paradise. Only downside is the pro shop was still closed due to COVID.

Played Cougar Point today in my first trip to Kiawah and came away very impressed. Booked a package deal for the winter and feel like it’s a great deal for what I got. The course is in great shape. Can’t imagine a course being in better shape than this. Everything was bright and green and even though it was rainy in the morning the course drained exceptionally well. This course is very player friendly. Pretty open with not a ton of forced carries. There are 3 really scenic holes right on the river and the rest of the course is beautiful as well. The greens were a little slow due to the rain but rolled great and were very smooth. Again, I can’t say enough good things about the course and can’t imagine a course being in better shape in January. If you get a chance play this course!f

we were here for a week playing most of the courses on the Kiawah estate. My review is based on the courses we got to play. Of course Ocean is the premier outfit, but in my humble opinion Cougar point is a very close second, if not actually the no1. great looking and playing holes, with true and great speed greens .No hole appeared to be a duplicate of others and Then you go into the club house to be greeted and served by friendly and efficient staff and cold beer and delicious chicken wings!!
I was always told that the measure of something good is if you would return and I am hoping in my life time I get to go back and play this wonderful track.

This might be a contrarian opinion to many, but I think I liked the overall round at Cougar more than Turtle Point at Kiawah Island. Turtle has the ocean holes and a Nicklaus challenge to it, but I think what Gary Player has done at Cougar is a really wonderful example of a course that looks and plays great for a wider range of handicaps. There is more shaping and roll to the land, all the bunkers are huge and raised (they won't sneak up on you). There are some really fun doglegs and holes that wind around big, eye-popping oaks. The highlight actually comes in the middle of the front nine with three Kiawah River holes that are very scenic and fun to play.

It helps that I walked with two members and another visitor who raved about the playability. I think low-handicappers will still be challenged here but for seniors and higher handicaps, the greens are very large and receptive.

The big news at Kiawah is that Cougar will open a brand new clubhouse by Spring of 2019. So until then, the overall experience suffers with just a temporary trailer. The course's new turf suffered a little bit from winter storms and a few greens were in tough shape, but I get the sense that when the paspalum pops for the warmer months it'll be a distant memory.

We had the unique opportunity to play Cougar Point during tropical storm Bonnie and as you could imagine we had the course to ourselves. I will say that the course handling the water in amazong fashion. Other than a couple of spots on the greens late in the round this course took the 2-3 inches of rain like a champ. As for the course itself, last time we played it was in the 90's when it was Marsh Point and the changes to the course are fantastic. There are a lot more houses on the course now but they are well hidden by the trees and brush along the course. The one thing to be away of though is the vast amount of OB on the course, I felt like there were white stakes everywhere on this course which obviously changed my thought process playing this course and took the driver out of my hands more than once. The course conditions were A- to B+ with the draw back being some damage to a few of the greens but the tee boxes and fairways were perfect. The price, which I understand is the standard non-Ocean Course pricing for the island, is a little high for this course considering it's more than we are going to pay to say as we trek down to HHi to play Harbour Town but the experience, even playing it in a tropical storm, was a lot of fun.

Course in very good condition, greens rolled true. Starter and cart staff excellent, guy in pro shop was rude and unfriendly

I love golf in South Carolina and this is definitely at the top of my list... a must-go-back