Athlon Sports • July 1, 2026

Kawonu Golf Club Is Becoming One of America’s Most Intriguing New Golf Destinations

The latest construction milestones at South Carolina’s Kawonu Golf Club reveal more than progress; they offer the clearest glimpse yet of a private golf experience rooted in timeless architecture, thoughtful design and an unwavering commitment to the game.


Every now and then, a new golf course comes along that quietly captures the attention of architecture enthusiasts long before a single scorecard is signed.


Kawonu Golf Club is becoming one of those places.


Nestled on more than 290 acres outside Greenville, South Carolina, the private, golf-only club has steadily built momentum over the past year without relying on flashy announcements or celebrity fanfare. Instead, it has allowed the land, the design team and a clearly defined vision to tell its story. Two recent construction milestones—the beginning of course grassing and the unveiling of the clubhouse complex—suggest that story is entering an exciting new chapter.


For golfers who appreciate great architecture as much as great golf, these aren’t simply construction updates. They’re the first tangible signs that one of the country’s most anticipated private clubs is beginning to emerge from the landscape.


Anyone who has ever watched a golf course being built knows the most important work often happens out of sight. Before fairways turn green, countless hours are spent moving earth, shaping contours, installing drainage and laying irrigation. It’s essential work, but it requires a bit of imagination to see what the finished product will eventually become.


That changes once grass begins to take hold.


Since breaking ground in April 2025, Kawonu has completed much of the heavy construction across the property. With shaping and irrigation now largely complete, crews have begun sodding and grassing the championship layout, moving methodically from greens and tees to fairways. The transformation may seem cosmetic to the casual observer, but in reality it marks one of the most significant milestones in the life of any new golf course.


Andrew Green, whose reputation has skyrocketed through acclaimed restoration work at some of America’s most revered clubs, has said grassing is the stage where golfers finally begin to understand the rhythm of the routing. Instead of isolated construction zones, the individual holes begin connecting into a cohesive journey across the property.


That’s particularly exciting at Kawonu, where Green has routed the course through rolling meadows, mature hardwood forests and the Reedy River corridor rather than forcing the landscape to conform to a preconceived design. Everything we’ve learned about the project suggests the land remains the star of the show.


READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.

This article was originally written + published by Athlon Sports on July 1, 2026 — shared here with full credit to the original source.

Andrew Green’s Next Chapter Arrives With Two Very Different New Golf Courses

By Athlon Sports • June 9, 2026
After years restoring some of American golf’s most important venues, Andrew Green is nearing a new milestone with Firefly in Tennessee and Kawonu Golf Club in South Carolina. Andrew Green’s name has become almost shorthand for one of the most important movements in modern golf architecture. When a historic course needs to remember what it once was without becoming frozen in time, Green has become one of the industry’s most trusted voices. His restoration and renovation work has touched major championship venues, PGA Tour stages and some of the country’s most studied clubs. But the next chapter is not about restoring someone else’s original intent. It is about seeing Green’s own intent come to life. Over the next year, two very different projects will move from construction story to playing experience. Firefly, a new luxury golf community in Spring Hill, Tennessee, is preparing to open an 18-hole championship course and 9-hole short course in fall 2026. Kawonu Golf Club, a private, golf-only club near Greenville, South Carolina, is moving through grassing and grow-in toward a 2027 opening. Together, they create one of the more compelling architecture stories in American golf. Same architect. Same belief in land, strategy and restraint. Two completely different assignments. READ FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Kawonu Golf Club reveals clubhouse designs by Architect Joel Newman

By UpstateBizSC • June 9, 2026
First renderings reveal timeless clubhouse architecture rooted in the land that has inspired Andrew Green’s championship course. Kawonu Golf Club, the private golf-only club under construction near Greenville, South Carolina, has unveiled the first renderings of its clubhouse complex. Designed by architect Joel Newman, the facilities represent another milestone in the development of the club and offer members and prospective members a glimpse into the gathering spaces planned for the property. “From the beginning, our goal has been to create a club that feels authentic to the land and true to the traditions of the game,” said Scott Ferrell, founding partner of Kawonu Golf Club. “While the golf course will always be at the heart of Kawonu, these facilities are an important part of the overall experience. Joel has designed spaces that feel timeless, welcoming and perfectly suited to the character of the property.” Designed around the club’s golf-only philosophy, the clubhouse complex will be anchored by a dedicated Golf House positioned behind the practice area. The approximately 5,000-square-foot facility will include a golf shop, indoor teaching bays, a halfway house, golf fitness space and an outdoor patio overlooking the practice facilities. Connected by a breezeway, the 9,500-square-foot main clubhouse will overlook the 18th green and the surrounding landscape, and will include locker rooms, indoor and outdoor dining spaces, a private dining room, and seven individual overnight rooms on the lower level. Together, the two structures are designed to offer a cohesive, purposeful arrival and fitting finish to a round of golf. Among the additional amenities planned for the property is Tuck’s Cabin, a fishing cabin overlooking a 10-acre lake at the center of the front nine. The cabin is named in honor of Barton Tuck, who brings decades of real estate development experience to his role as Founding Partner at Kawonu Golf Club, and his son, Noel Tuck, who serves as the club’s Development Manager. The cabin will feature a fireplace, casual furnishings, an honor bar, and fishing gear, creating a relaxed retreat for members and guests. To bring the clubhouse complex to life, Kawonu partnered with Newman, whose work is widely recognized for its thoughtful approach to club and hospitality design. Based in Beaufort, South Carolina, Newman is a partner at Thomas & Denzinger Architects and has designed facilities at Chechessee Creek Club, Spring Island Club, and Ohoopee Match Club, as well as projects at Kiawah Island and Palmetto Bluff. At Kawonu, he is leading the design of the clubhouse, lodging accommodations, training center, and golf course comfort stations. “Every building on this property should feel like it belongs here – rooted in the land, not imposed upon it,” said Newman. “What makes Kawonu exceptional is that the land itself tells you what to do. The rolling topography, the varied tree species, and the way light falls across the Reedy River corridor – all of it informs how we approach each structure. Our goal is to create spaces that are purposeful and unhurried, where the architecture draws you deeper into the golf experience rather than pulling you away.” Construction on Tuck’s Cabin is projected to begin this year. Construction on the Golf House is slated to begin in 2027, with the main clubhouse to follow. Situated on more than 290 acres of rolling meadows, hardwood forests, and Reedy River frontage, Kawonu Golf Club is the first private golf-only club developed in the Upstate in more than 30 years. The club’s Andrew Green-designed championship golf course is under construction, with grassing underway, and is expected to open in spring 2027.