Kiva Dunes Golf Course

The course let out a group of 14 ahead of us in 2 groups of 5 and a group of 4. Said they play fast and not to worry. By the end of the round there were 2 holes opened. Round took almost 5 hours. There were no Marshall’s monitoring this so everyone had to suffer. I have played here several times and will play again but will be more aware of the situation. They should not let 14 guys have 3 tee times ever.

1st time in the Gulf Shores area and we played all the courses in a 40 mile range. This was the best by far. I shot 73 from the tips so I am very good at golf and know what a good course looks like. Over seeded fairways, perfect greens and wonderful pace of play. Felt more like a private club. only negative might be the routing. A little to back and fourth for my taste. Hole variety was solid with a nice mixture of length on the par 3’s. Par 4’s had some nice mixtures as well. The par 5’s were a let down with not a ton of variety but you can’t have everything! It was also great to hear the waves crashing the whole time, but it’s a shame the design never lets you see the water. This would have brought this course into another level. That being said anyone who plays here will have fun and enjoy the experience.

I like this course and will play it again.
But, there were multiple five-somes on the course today and no marshal. When I asked about it after the round in the pro shop my comments were dismissed with an annoyed look, saying the pace of play is under five hours so it’s ok, which is a comment I expect at a $30 municipal, not a $150 per round resort after I had just spent another $200 in merchandise.

Nothing bad to say. Course was top notch

Course is challenging but very well kept. Staff is great. Good food in clubhouse.

Interesting layout with some really unique holes. They recently aerated and the greens are not healing particularly well, though. Really bouncy and slow.

I could have tolerated that if not for an incredibly slow and loud group in front of us, who single handedly added an extra hour to the round. It seems like the marshals knew how slow they were playing and didn’t do anything to make them push their pace.

I wanted to enjoy the round but the pace of play, in addition to the aerated greens, really marred the whole experience.

Kiva Dunes is one of the best public courses in the entire Southeast. Greens were very well maintained and rolled true, very large landing areas and tricky undulated greens with lots of break if ball is not in ideal landing area based on pin placement. The course design is not difficult to manage for a first time player and practice facilities are top notch. Will return again next time in Gulf Shores.