Ocean Course Clubhouse above par, picturesque

Click here to view Photo Gallery Robert A.M. Stern Architects faced a big challenge with the new clubhouse for The Ocean Course on Kiawah Island: Design a building worthy of the course, considered one of the nation's best. These images give a sense of how the building measures up. KIAWAH ISLAND — Somewhat lost in the excitement of the Senior PGA Tournament earlier this summer was that the event also served as a coming-out party for one of the Lowcountry's best new buildings. The Ocean Course — the golf links that hug the northern shore of this island —finally has a clubhouse as picturesque as its coastal setting. It didn't come easy. It took years of planning and design work before the owners agreed on exactly what to build, eventually dispensing with plans for 20 guest cottages. While the building was open for the Senior PGA, it closed immediately afterward before reopening again. Hill Construction is putting the finishing touches on the building this month. But it's already clear that unlike the original, purely functional clubhouse built when the course first opened in 1991, the new clubhouse is an icon, visible from most holes. Roger Warren, past president of the PGA of America and the president of Kiawah Island Golf Resort, says the building puts the capstone on the experience of playing the course, which recently was named one of the 100 best in the world. Architect Gary Brewer with Robert A.M. Stern Architects says the owners wanted a traditional building but also wanted to maximize views of the water and course. As a result, the clubhouse's wrap-around piazza and its Chinese Chippendale pickets perform a neat trick other than providing an outdoor spot for golfers to trade lies. The piazza obscures the large, modern panes of glass that enable those inside the pro shop, bar and dining room to soak up the ocean scene. Brewer says they chose the shingle style for a number of reasons, partly because it's flexible enough to adapt to the building's odd footprint, partly because the style matches nicely with much of the island's existing architecture and partly because the style's origins roughly mirror the years when golf began to take root in America. (While Charleston had one of the nation's first golf courses, the nation's first 18-hole course was established in Chicago in 1892) He calls the shingle style "the mud of architecture." "There are so many different ways to combine things," he says, adding that you can twist it and turn it and respond to views from the building and to views of it. Part of the building's success stems from the site plan developed by DesignWorks of Charleston. Not only was a huge amount of dirt transported to the site to elevate the building above the flood plain (without putting it up on stilts), but the parking lot, loading zone and golf cart storage spaces are nicely concealed by new dunes. A series of dunes and native plants also line the drive in, creating a sense of drama. Often, a golfer won't get his first glimpse of the ocean until entering the clubhouse lobby. Inside are many nice touches, including hammered copper, woven leather, miles of fine wood trim and a large ceiling fixture in the bar that shows which way the weather vane on top is pointing. "And it works," Brewer says. "Our biggest fear was that it wouldn't." The 24,000-square-foot building also was designed to fit into the flat, windswept beach. Its roof features a series of parallel ridges, emphasizing its horizontal look. Brewer notes the clubhouse has modern features, such as impact-resistant glass and portions designed to break away so a hurricane's storm surge can pass underneath without much harm. "It's a blend of traditional looking and modern techniques. In a way, it's as modern as any building today." The ultimate compliment might be that the building is good enough to lure people who aren't particularly interested in battling the course. "I've seen people out here eating dinner for their third or fourth time," Warren says, "but I've never seen them golf here."

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