Criminal Defense Attorney inKiawah Island, SC

Ah, golf in the Southeast United States.

Where to begin?

With the holy lands that are Augusta National and Seminole? With bold, brawny major venues like Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course or Quail Hollow in Charlotte? Or with what becomes the center of the golfing universe every March: the iconic Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass? And don’t even get us started on the wonders of Pinehurst No. 2, which just last summer showed out as the U.S. Open host site.

The region’s offerings are vast as they are diverse, which made ranking the top 50 golf courses in the Southeast no small task our team of expert raters.

So, how did this magnificent list of courses come together? To produce more detailed local portraits of golf across the country, GOLF created rankings within our rankings by carving the U.S. into four regions and identifying the top 50 courses in each, based on votes cast by our raters in 2024.

We first conducted this regional ranking in 2020, and we liked it so much — as did you — we decided to do it again.

Below you’ll find the top-50 rankings for the Southeast region. To browse the list, keep scrolling.

MORE TOP 50 REGIONAL LISTS: West | Heartland | Northeast

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1. Augusta National, Augusta, Ga.

2. Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst, N.C.

3. Seminole, Juno Beach, Fla.

4. Old Town Club, Winston-Salem, N.C.

5. Peachtree, Brookhaven, Ga.

6. Kiawah Island — Ocean, Kiawah Island, S.C.

7. Ohoopee Match Club, Cobbtown, Ga.

8. Yeamans Hall, Hanahan, S.C.

9. TPC Sawgrass — Players Stadium, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

10. Old Barnwell, Aiken, S.C.

11. The Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tenn.

12. Wade Hampton, Cashiers, N.C.

13. Harbour Town, Hilton Head Island, S.C.

GOLF’s other course rankings: Top 100 in the World | Top 100 You Can Play | Top 100 Value Courses in the U.S. | America’s Best Municipal Courses | America’s Best Courses for $100 or Less | Top 100 in the U.K. and Ireland | Top 100 in Asia-Pacific | Top 100 Short Courses in the World

14. Pinehurst No. 10, Pinehurst, N.C.

15. Streamsong — Red, Bowling Green, Fla.

16. McArthur — Backyard, Hobe Sound, Fla.

17. Streamsong — Blue, Bowling Green, Fla.

18. Palmetto, Aiken, S.C.

19. Congaree, Ridgeland, S.C.

20. Pinehurst No. 4, Pinehurst, N.C.

21. Calusa Pines, Naples, Fla.

22. Tobacco Road, Sanford, N.C.

23. Mountain Lake, Lake Wales, Fla.

24. Tree Farm, Batesburg-Leesville, S.C.

25. Cabot Citrus Farms — Karoo, Brooksville, Fla.

A miniature golf course with an onsite restaurant and bar has been proposed for a busy corner on James Island.

The lot at Folly Road and Grimball Road Extension is currently empty and surrounded by a chain-link fence. It's across from Spyglass Seaside, a resort-style apartment complex.

Plans have been submitted to transform the property into a development called Community Corner, which would include a miniature golf course with a restaurant, bar and retail space on nearly three acres. The applicant is Grimball Corner Investments LLC.

The developer is looking to incorporate 114 parking spaces, most of which would be on another parcel across Grimball Road Extension. There is an existing traffic signal at the intersection, and sidewalks would be added to both sides of the property, renderings show.

The area is zoned for limited business, which allows for a variety of commercial uses and services that are compatible with residential areas.

Charleston’s Technical Review Committee, a staff-level look at site plans, considered Community Corner on Jan. 16. The city asked the owner to revise and resubmit plans based on concerns about stormwater runoff, flooding, traffic and other issues.

Charles Wilson of Grimball Corner Investments declined to comment about the development.

Pop-up no more

Think pink. Lots of it, in every shade.

That's what shoppers of Freshfields Village can expect when LoveShackFancy transitions from a pop-up to a permanent boutique at the Kiawah Island retail center.

New York City-based lifestyle brand was founded in 2013 by stylist, designer and creative director Rebecca Hessel Cohen who wanted to revel in the beauty of a rose-colored world.

The new Charleston area store offers an expanded selection of its uber-feminine women’s fashion and accessories, as well as perfume bedding and a children's collection.

In 2018, Cohen opened opened her first Charleston storefront at 218 King St. She now operates 20 stores throughout the U.S., from California to New York, and the United Kingdom.

Nearby in Freshfields Village, Café Eugenia, a to-go café and gourmet market, is expanding to a space next door and will be offering cooking classes and specialty workshops.

StretchLab, an assisted stretching studio, also opened 164 Gardeners Circle in the outdoor retail center. The studio offers help with increased mobility, improved posture and injury prevention through one-on-one stretch sessions for all fitness levels.

The franchise previously held a popup at the shopping center offering 15 minute demonstrations.

Another StretchLab is currently open on 151 Market St. in downtown Charleston.

Bank note

An Alabama lender has cut the ribbon on a new branch at 319 North Cedar St. in Summerville.

The site is the second in the Charleston area for Birmingham-based ServisFirst Bank, which for years has had an office in The Cigar Factory at 701 East Bay St. on the peninsula.

The Flowertown outpost will have 10 employees and features a drive-thru.

Coast-to-coast

Southern California lifestyle brand Jenni Kayne is making its Palmetto State debut on Charleston's busiest retail corridor.

The West Hollywood company said it plans to open its first retail location in the state on April 12 at 364 King St., between Calhoun Street and Burns Lane.

The 2,340-square-foot parcel will stock a full range of Jenni Kayne's coastal-inspired products, including apparel, accessories and décor. The store will also carry Oak Essentials, the founder's clean skincare line.

Drink up

A New Orleans-style restaurant in North Charleston is angling to add beer and liquor to its menu offerings.

The Seafood Pot recently applied to the S.C. Department of Revenue for on-site consumption of adult beverages in its Gas Lite Square location at 5629 Rivers Ave.

Taco 'bout Nexton

The Mexican-style restaurant El Patron Nexton is preparing to open and recently submitted an application to sell beer, wine and liquor at its at future Marketplace at Nexton space at 422 Cross Park Lane.

Premier Building Construction posted a sneak peek of the progress with floor-to-ceiling glazed overhead doors. The 2,900 square-foot restaurant will have indoor and outdoor bars and dining space.

A new chapter

A dark academia-inspired coffee shop and bookstore will officially open April 12 in Mount Pleasant.

Patrons of The Archive can buy a book, sit at the bar and enjoy a cocktail or mocktail, coffee, pastries and more in its corner spot at 700 Shelmore Blvd., near Mathis Ferry Road and the I'On neighborhood.

The store tailors to a subgenre of romance books and thrillers typically set in schools or secret societies, but will have something for everyone, owner Amanda Badeau said.

Enviro-outlet

Tanger Outlets in North Charleston will hold an Earth Day event April 19 from noon-3 p.m. with live music, native plant and bouquets sales, and a free gardening class. There will also be critters from the S.C. Aquarium, local vendors and hands-on workshops about protecting the environment.

South Carolina has seen orange mud gators, ice gators and giant gators … but what about a pollen gator?

Turns out this year’s pollen season is covering more than our cars in a blanket of yellow.

The latest spotting of this “rare yellow alligator” was on Kiawah Island at the Cassique Golf Course.

This gator was completely covered in pollen and spotted by a nearby golfer who snapped these photos:

This year’s pollen season has no doubt felt worse than normal for Lowcountry residents.

“This year has been an aberration weather-wise,” said Dr. Thomas Beller of the Hilton Head Allergy & Asthma Center. “With the influx of warm and cold weather this year, it makes sense that some tree pollen has been more active than normal.”

South Carolina is often ranked as one of the worst states for allergies. The combination of warmer climates and plants blooming earlier results in higher concentrations of pollen, making for a treacherous allergy season.

In the Lowcountry, it’s generally pollen from oak and bayberry trees that cause the most misery for people with allergies.

The marker of the season comes from pine pollen, which is notorious for covering our cars, porches, sidewalks and even gators in a blanket of yellow.

Alligators are cold-blooded creatures, which means their immune systems are easily affected by the temperatures outside.

“We don’t have much research right now that would indicate that pollen affects alligators,” South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Alligator Project Leader, Morgan Hart, said. “But the pollen will stick to them and washes off like normal once they get to the water.”

Springtime is when most alligators become active again. As temperatures steadily warm up, they are more likely to be seen out and about.

According to the SCDNR, young alligators can be seen moving into bodies of water, females enter their breeding period in April and adult alligators are likely to be seen basking in the sun or eating.

With alligators venturing out, more of these pollen gators might be spotted around the Lowcountry soon.

This story was originally published April 5, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

The Island Packet

(843) 626-0211

Anna Claire Miller is the Service Journalism Reporter for The Island Packet. Originally from Georgia, she has experience in magazine writing, non-profit communications and city government. Anna Claire has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, legal studies and English from High Point University.

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island is among the most famous golf courses in America and golfers fork over an arm and a leg to play it with tee times going for $600 per golfer. With that, golfers get the chance to play the same course which has hosted PGA Championships won by Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, and it will host again in 2031, but Kiaway golfers also get to cross paths with prehistoric alligators.

I’m a born-and-raised Floridian. Alligators don’t phase me. I see gators quite literally every day as there is either one in the lake in my backyard or if it’s not there it’s in the pond across the street and I pass it while walking my dog. And I’ve seen some MASSIVE alligators in Florida, don’t get me wrong, it’s just rare to see anything as large as this alligator walking across the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.

The viral video below was shared by @Top100Rick aka ‘Rick Golfs’ who maintains a very popular list of the ‘Top 100 Courses’ across America. He says a friend shared this video of the Kiawah Island alligator walking across the Ocean Course right in front of them like it owned the place.

Insane crocodile at the Kiawah Ocean Course! Props to the cameraman for getting close.

For a $600 green fee, you not only get to shoot a 103, but you get to meet this specimen!

My buddy sent me this. They literally walked right by him and then he crossed over the tee box… pic.twitter.com/YDaCAcQ63k

— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) April 2, 2025

Many have pointed out that he mistakenly called the animal a ‘crocodile’ and crocodiles only exist in the United States in South Florida, most certainly not in South Carolina. This true. It is an alligator. But you can look at the snout to see that.

As a Floridian, it is a little comical how many times over the years I’ve written about alligators in South Carolina in and around the Kiawah Island area. But over the years I’ve come to realize that the ‘low country’ is home to some of the largest alligators in the country. Whatever they’re putting in the water there (small sharks, redfish, turtles, etc) is keeping those gators nice and plump.

That alligator above reminded me of another one from nearby Fripp Island, just a little south down the coast, that is (was?) locally known as ‘General Sherman’ due to its massive size:

A 12-foot-long alligator was spotted crossing hole #4 at the Ocean Point Golf Links at Fripp Island–making its way to a nearby pond pic.twitter.com/tYKKhj4HyA

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) June 4, 2017

The Kiawah Island alligators will bite too, if provoked. A woman was killed by an alligator a handful of years ago when she tried to pet the gator while visiting a friend on Kiawah.