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Play and stay like The Legend of Bagger Vance

You can play and stay where the fictional Rannulph Junah and real-life golf greats Walter Hagan and Bobby Jones teed it up in the hit feature film, The Legend of Bagger Vance.

Robert Redford and DreamWorks chose the Charleston area’s Kiawah Island Resorts as the film’s backdrop, including the dramatic finale hole built specifically for the production. Mere golf mortals can stay and play there anytime.

The complete story

Directed by Academy Award-winner Robert Redford and starring Will Smith, Matt Damon, and Charlize Theron, The Legend of Bagger Vance is the film version of the 1995 Steven Pressfield novel of the same name. Kiawah Island’s setting and golf also turned out to be stars.

A major challenge in filming at Kiawah Island Resorts’ famed Ocean Course was being able to make it available, in the 1991 Ryder Cup and 1997 World Cup have made it one of the most popular layouts in the country. Since the book’s final hole is specific to the novel, a very distinctive hole was needed to coincide with the author’s description. The solution was to collaborate on a custom-built oceanfront hole between the two nines of the Ocean Course.

Other locations that made their way into the film include the 2nd and 9th holes of The Ocean course and the 11th hole of Kiawah’s Cougar Point layout. In addition, the resort’s Turtle Point course was featured in a number of scenes, including the memorable ‘park bench’ exchange. The Pete Dye course at Colleton River Plantation in Bluffton was also used for golf course backdrops.

Conveniently located just a half-hour from historic Charleston, Kiawah Island Resorts consists of the 150-room Kiawah Island Inn and the Villas of Kiawah Island Resorts (nearly 600 villas and luxury homes). A $100 million luxury oceanfront hotel and spa is scheduled for completion in 2003. Situated along 10 miles of pristine beach, the resort includes five golf courses, two award-winning tennis complexes, a variety of restaurants and lounges, and a host of resort amenities.