Tom Watson's unique Cassique golf course shines at The Kiawah Island Club in South Carolina

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. -- The Cassique golf course at The Kiawah Island Club is really three private courses in one.

Holes 4 through 6 can be reconfigured into three different loops -- named Nip-N-Tuck, Pulpit and Due East -- depending on the day. This flexibility shows off the uniqueness of this linksy Lowcountry layout designed by Tom Watson in 2000. The five-time Open Champion really knocked it out of the park with his solo design debut.

The fourth hole plays in two directions: Up the left side to a 360-yard par 4 that can be drivable from forward tees or up the right side through heavy mounding to a 370-yard par 4 ending at an elevated green. If you play up the left, the par-3 fifth hole climbs uphill to the other fourth green. If you play up the right, the par-3 fifth hole falls downhill to an entirely new green complex of kick points, bunkers and mounding. The par-5 fifth hole then tees off from either elevated tees or a set sunken near the marsh, providing two completely different looks and attack angles.

There are so many unique moments at Cassique. The ninth green is part mad-scientist, part genius. The front section slopes severely downhill, essentially acting as a wall. It repels any shots that don't carry the ridge line, spitting them back into the fairway. The scenic par-5 15th hole dives deep into the marshes.

Club legend says that Sergio Garcia drove the 17th green with a three-wood. As the crow flies over the marsh, the 430-yard par 4 plays much shorter, so it seems believable, although quite remarkable.

Finish a fantastic day at Cassique with lunch or dinner at The Pub, a cool hangout on the second story of the clubhouse.