In his 23 years at Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Roger Warren has watched the South Carolina barrier island develop into one of the world’s more desired golf destinations. For example, he’s seen the luxurious Sanctuary hotel open in 2004; he’s seen the resort host two PGA Championships (2012, 2021); the 2007 Senior PGA Championship; and the 2003 World Cup.
In 2031, Kiawah Island Golf Resort – located 30 miles south of Charleston – will again host the PGA Championship. Its most famous event, however, remains the 1991 Ryder Cup Matches, known as the “War by the Shore,” on Pete Dye’s Ocean Course. That event put the resort – and the Ocean Course – on the world map of great golf destinations, and elevated the Ryder Cup to the status it enjoys to this day.
Warren arrived as director of golf at Kiawah Island in April of 2003 after 12 years as general manager at Seven Bridges in Woodridge, Ill. That was about 10 years after his first look at the Ocean Course.
“I was a guest at the resort,’’ said Warren, who will retire at the end of this year after 20 years as the resort’s president. “I really didn’t like (the Ocean Course) experience very much. The course was too hard.
“But over time, I had the opportunity to work with Pete Dye on the number of times he and Alice (Dye) came back to the resort and course and make minor changes. I had the opportunity to watch two geniuses work. I don’t know that Alice gets as much credit as she should. They wanted to improve the course and make it more playable for the everyday player – and for the professional players they wanted something that would be memorable and challenging. I got to look at it through their eyes. That was a great experience.’’
To say that the Dyes succeeded on all counts would be an understatement of epic proportion. Regardless, that leads into what Warren believes has been the most notable change in his 23 years at the resort. No, it’s not the Five Star/AAA Diamond Sanctuary with its highly-acclaimed spa; or the four luxury cottages on the Ocean Course; or the 32-ounce Tomahawk Ribeye steak at the Ocean Room restaurant. It’s the paspalum grass that Pete Dye championed in 2003 following a botched regrassing of the greens (with Bermudagrass) that forced a brief closure of the Ocean Course prior ot the ‘03 World Cup.
“Bermuda is a great turfgrass,’’ said Warren, who served as president of the PGA of America from 2004-2006. “But, particularly on the Ocean Course, it was challenged by the environment out there – the wind and the salt air. All of that made it difficult to provide high quality turf conditions year around.’’
Enter Pete Dye and paspalum – a saltwater-tolerant grass the legendary architect used for the first time in 2000 on his Dye Fore Course at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic.
“Our ownership made the decision to put on that grass – and it’s probably been the single most important decision made in the past 23 years to provide a first-class golf experience here at the resort,’’ Warren said. “We’ve had a lot of championships since then – the comments by every one of the players has been that it was some of the best conditions they had ever played on.
“So, I’m very proud of that decision and what we’ve done over the years to provide a year around experience. Pete was instrumental in that.’’
Feature Photo: Roger Warren
Photos Courtesy of Kiawah Island Golf Resort
