Wild Dunes - Links Course (Isle of Palm, SC)

Wild Dunes is the real deal! After playing the Ocean Course, I was expecting a complete letdown. The first four holes were not changing my mind, but then the fifth caught my attention, a cool par five with a punchbowl green atop a slight rise. The sixth and seventh followed with a couple strong par fours. At the turn, the short par four tenth climbed a massive sand dune with heaving rolls reminiscent of the pounding surf. It was a genuine “cool” moment, and began a four hole stretch that showcased the talent of Tom Fazio. The final three holes arrive at the ocean and are fantastic. Kiawah would kill to have this sequence at Turtle Point. 

#73 World Top 100 (Golf Magazine)

#91 Top 100 USA Public (Golf Digest)

#93 Top 100 USA Public (Golf Magazine) 

The Links was designed in 1980 and was Tom Fazio’s first solo effort. (Just this fact makes Wild Dunes architecturally significant) It was a very innovative design at the time, and brought people back to the fundamentals of designing in the sand and by the beach. It’s not a surprise that the original 18th hole graces Ron Whiten’s book The Golf Course. Unfortunately, everything changed when Hurricane Hugo wiped out the 17th and 18th holes, and striped all the property of the old oak trees that gave it its cool character. The Links is no longer the course that received all those accolades, the seventeenth was rebuilt, and par five eighteenth had to be abandoned and made into a par three. (Mike Strantz is the one responsible for these new versions. Not that I’m an expert, but the eighteenth does remind me of his work at Monterey). 

(The 508 yard par five fifth ends at a saddled hill with two bunkers carved into each mound. Proper positioning off the tee is the only way to reach the green in two. Cool third shot since only the top of the flagstick is visible.) 

The Isle of Palm is nothing like Kiawah. It’s a crush of people and condominiums. I noticed a lot of younger golfers in their 20s and 30s. The course has a cool vibe because of it. It’s neat to think that Wild Dunes started as one of the best in the country, lost its shine due to forces beyond its control, and has found its place among a group of people that isn’t just a bunch of old dudes. 

(The 192 yard par three twelfth is an optical illusion. All the sea grass and mounding makes it look tight but there’s plenty of room to hit your shot.) 

(The 427 yard par four thirteenth is a slight dogleg left that plays to a high back left to low front right green.) 

Wild Dunes makes me want to go back and look at the old Top 100 lists just to see what’s fallen off. It’s still a really good golf course. For golfers going to Charleston and Kiawah, this is a fine addition. It’s comparable in price to Osprey and Turtle ($205). The setting on the last two holes is second only to the Ocean Course. I give it a 6 (very good)(worth driving two hours to play). 

(The 185 yard par three eighteenth plays into the wind with the white sand dunes and ocean in the background. I love how the fairway comes in at a slight angle. A low shot on that line will be scuttled away to a difficult up n down. The optimal shot is over the sand with a slight left to right bias. This is the best par three finishing hole I’ve seen since Pasatiempo.) 

[We played the 6002 yard white tees. Check out the course and slope rating from both the black and white tees. The course is only a par 70. It was a great way to end our Charleston/Kiawah golf trip!)