Having watched the infamous ‘war on the shore’ Ryder Cup on this South Carolina links I was eager to see what Kiawah Island was all about for myself.

I arrived into Kiawah straight from The WGC in Akron and my first impression was it was pretty spectacular. The best way to describe it is a links/marshland/inland Pete Dye mish-mash. It’s quite simply a very unique course. It was also in great condition.

Interestingly the grass the resort uses is a type I have never come across before. Researching the matter further I found out the resort had switched to a little known seashore paspalum grass in 2003 because of upkeep problems caused by its next-door neighbour, the Atlantic Ocean

Paspalum was believed to be perfect for course, because normal Bermuda grass had trouble withstanding the waves and ocean spray that continually carried salt water onto the course and into the irrigation system. Paspalum can survive in either salt water or fresh water equally as well. The grass also provided great putting surfaces this week with very little grain.

On the Monday I spent some time with Thomas Bjorn on the putting green while on the Tuesday I walked the back 9 holes with Michael Hoey. On the Wednesday I walked the front 9 holes with Branden Grace and then spent some time with Michael on the putting green afterwards.

It was great to see the entire course over the practice days and help the boys prepare. The course has a lot of false fronts and steep run offs which will test your short game. However, because the grass rolled so well, you could use your putter a lot off the green. So it played like a links in terms of some of the short game shots required.

In all fairness all my players were in ‘good nik’ in practice and happy, so there wasn’t a lot of work to be done, just prepare in terms of pace and green reading and keep a check of each players key technical points.

The weather will play a role this week I’m sure, as the practice rounds were interrupted daily by thunder storms. So as well as testing all elements of the physical game it will also be a big mental test as well, as /all majors are.

Who will take ‘glories last shot’?……….it will be interesting viewing!

 Images from the USPGA at Kiawah Island