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Kiawah Island Golf Resort
Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Situated off the Atlantic Coast 21 miles south of Charleston,
the Kiawah Island Golf Resort occupies virtually all of the 10,000-acre island
from which it takes its name. Charles Fraser, famous his sensitive development
of Sea Pines Resort, laid the original plans for the resort, which opened
in 1976. Roughly half of the island is to remain in its original state, and
the variety of vegetation, some native, some planted, is impressive. Much
of the development clusters near two resort villages—dubbed East Beach
and West Beach—at the narrower western two-fifths of the island. Each
of these villages contains restaurants, shops, a tennis complex, and a golf
course, while the island's eastern end embraces many private houses and the
two most famous golf courses, Osprey Point and the Ocean Course. An on-property
shuttle makes going from place to place easy, so does an extensive network
of bike lanes. The resort itself is close enough Charleston to make forays
into the historic city easy—driving time is about 45 minutes—yet
far enough removed that the island feels like a complete sanctuary.
Nearly a quarter century after the first condominiums went
up on Kiawah, the island's glorious 10-mile-long beach remains a nesting
ground for endangered loggerhead turtle and its protected wilderness still
provides a home for deer, raccoons, and more than 200 species of birds. But
make no mistake about it: civilization has arrived in a big way. Though planned
to be unobtrusive, two resort villages, five golf courses, two racquet clubs,
a new 255-room hotel, and more than 1,000 villas and some 1,300 private homes
now trail through a landscape where once there was only woods and marsh.
There are in fact two racquet clubs on the island—East
Beach and West Beach—both of them overseen by former touring pro Roy
Barth, who has been there since the resort opened. The East Beach Racquet
Club was the site in April 1998 of the Fed Cup match between the U.S. and
the Netherlands, and has taken on new life and activity since the opening
of the Sanctuary, just a four-minute walk away.
Tennis Features
Pro Shops: East Beach, 843-768-2838; West Beach, 843-768-2820
Kiawah has two racquet clubs, East Beach and West Beach,
which ensures that none of its hotel or villa guests will be very far from
a court. Both are under the direction of former touring pro Roy Barth. West
Beach lies half hidden by trees just across the road from the now closed
Kiawah Island Inn. It has 14 Har-Tru courts, one of which can be used as
a stadium, and 2 lighted hard courts. East Beach, farther down the island,
sits amid a halo of tennis villas four minutes on foot from the beachfront
Sanctuary hotel. It has an even dozen courts altogether, 9 Har-Tru and 3
hard. It was here that the Fed Cup matches were played in the spring of 1998,
as were the U.S. Clay Court Championships in 1990. It has the larger pro
shop and is further distinguished by having one of its hard courts dedicated
to a self-feeding ball machine capable of spewing balls at a rate of 1,200
per hour. At both clubs, however, the courts form a semicircle around the
weathered wood pro shop, whose decks provide a comfortable place to watch
the action. Winding paths through pine trees lead to courts variously bordered
by palmettos, pampas grass, oleander and flowers. Each pair of courts has
access to a awning-covered patio offering shade, benches, and an electric
water fountain.
Tennis Staff. One of the founding members of the ATP
Tour, Roy Barth has directed tennis operations at Kiawah Island since the
resort opened in 1976. During his career, he ranked as high as No. 8 in the
nation in singles and No. 2 in doubles. He is anything but a figurehead at
the resort, however. He personally oversees the day-to-day operations of
the two racquet clubs. That includes stepping on court to teach clinics,
camps, and private lessons. After more than two decades of teaching and coaching,
Barth is a master at analyzing weaknesses and then explaining the cure in
simple terms.
Tennis Programs. During the busy March-to-October
season, both clubs offer a weekly menu of programs including instructional
clinics, drill sessions, adult and junior singles and doubles round robins,
parent-child doubles round robins, and private lessons (from November-February
activity slows, to the point that the West Beach club closes for part of
December and January). Activity reaches its zenith in summer when the resort
adds a weekly pro doubles exhibition at East Beach as well as three-day junior
camps, junior tournament tough workouts and a Tiny Tots program. On selected
weekends during every month except July and August, the resort adds a 3-day
doubles mini camp, which consists of 8 hours of instruction covering all
aspects of the game, including basic strokes, strategy, angles, visualization,
and supervised doubles play. Participants also receive a copy of Barth's
instructional manual, "Tips for Better Tennis."
Personalized Programs. Apart from those camps, however,
Barth has made it a minor specialty to put together ad hoc programs for as
few as three people. These can be anything you want—group clinics, drill
sessions, matches—and they are very popular with teams. Add a couple
more people and you can get a discount on the entire package: "For stays
of at least three days, we typically give them a 15 to 20 percent break on
clinics prices even if they have only four or five people," notes Roy
Barth. "If they have at least 8 then we can negotiate something even
more attractive, including discounted rates on lodging."
Court Fees. $22/hour for those who book accommodations
directly through the resort or stay at the Sanctuary (packages with unlimited
court time are also available); others, $32/hour.
Reservations:
Kiawah Island Golf Resort
12 Kiawah Beach Dr.
Kiawah Island, SC 29455
843-768-2121
Toll-free: 800-654-2924
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