Celebrity Travel
Kiawah Island Went From a Kuwaiti Land Holding to One of Golf's Most Exclusive Old-Money Retreats
A barrier island south of Charleston that was briefly owned by Kuwait's sovereign investment arm before becoming a resort, Kiawah Island now pairs a major-championship golf course with a residential side that stays deliberately out of the spotlight.
Sep 26, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Kiawah Island, a barrier island on South Carolina's coast south of Charleston, takes its name from the Kiawah people, a Cusabo subtribe who inhabited the area before English settlers arrived in the 1670s. Its modern identity as an exclusive retreat dates only to the 20th century and took an unusual turn in 1974, when the family that had owned the largely undeveloped island sold it to the Kuwait Investment Office for a reported $17 million, a sale that predated its transformation into a golf resort by more than a decade.
From Kuwaiti holding to golf destination
Kiawah Resort Associates bought the island from its Kuwaiti owners in 1988 for around $105 million and built out the golf infrastructure that now defines it. Jack Nicklaus had already designed the Turtle Point course in 1981 under the previous ownership, and Tom Fazio's Osprey Point followed in 1988, but the signature addition came in 1991, when Pete Dye completed the Ocean Course specifically to host that year's Ryder Cup.
A major champion twice over
The Ocean Course has since hosted the PGA Championship twice, in 2012, when Rory McIlroy won by eight shots, and in 2021, when a 50-year-old Phil Mickelson became the oldest player to win a men's major golf championship. A third PGA Championship is scheduled for 2031, which will make Kiawah one of only a handful of courses to have hosted the tournament three or more times.
Quieter than it looks on a leaderboard
Despite its major-championship pedigree, Kiawah's residential side runs deliberately low-key: private, gated communities with strict architectural and landscaping covenants, and a resident population that skews toward long-established East Coast families who treat the island as a discreet retreat rather than a scene. Its beaches also serve as a nesting ground for loggerhead turtles, and alligators are common enough in the resort's lagoons that they've become something of a local mascot rather than a hazard to avoid.
Traveller tips
- Charleston International Airport is around 40 minutes' drive from Kiawah Island.
- Public beach access exists at Beachwalker Park on the island's western end, separate from the resort's private beachfront.
- Alligators are a regular sight in the island's lagoons and ponds; resort guidance is to keep a clear distance rather than approach.
- Golf tee times on the Ocean Course are heavily booked and best reserved well ahead of a visit.
Where this is
Kiawah Island, South Carolina