scgolfclub.com • April 11, 2024

Press Mention: New private golf club announced for Greenville


Future location of Kawonu Golf Club's clubhouse

It had been over 30 years since a new private golf club was opened in Greenville. The new Kawonu Golf Club is moving from planning to construction in the next year. The new golf club is located near Fork Shoals Road and Highway 418. (Ferrell Photo)

Over the last few months the rumor in clubhouses and golf courses around the Upstate has been about a new course being developed in Greenville.


Rumors had the new course being more demanding than the Ocean Course and more exclusive than Augusta National.


The rumors did not set a date for the new course to host a US Open, but if Scott Ferrell had not publicly announced the plans for Kawonu Golf Club in March, plans for a major in the Upstate certainly would have been added to the rumor mill.

Scott Ferrell, Founding Partner, and Andrew Green, Golf Course Designer, at Kawonu Golf Club

It had been over 30 years since a new private golf club was opened in Greenville. The new Kawonu Golf Club is moving from planning to construction in the next year. The new golf club is located near Fork Shoals Road and Highway 418. (Ferrell Photo)

“Hopefully our announcement will settle down the rumors,” offered Ferrell.

A long time executive with the Gary Player Golf Group Ferrell moved to the Upstate with the company around 16 years ago.


With Player he managed the development of golf properties for the company all over the world, but a few years back decided Greenville would be home.

“We love Greenville and with my background I wanted to see if we could bring a new course here,” he said.


After a great deal of planning and with some help from noted Greenville golf developer Barton Tuck as an advisor the idea of an exclusive club on the order of Congaree in Ridgeland and Sage Valley in Aiken took hold.


Kawonu Golf Club will be the first new course in the Upstate since The Cliffs at Mountain Park opened,


It will be the first new private club to open in Greenville since Thornblade Club over 30 years ago.

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By Kiplinger October 12, 2025
Young country club members expect more from their fees than access to a golf course. Scott Ferrell is an industry veteran who is helping lead the creation of Kawonu Golf Club outside Greenville, South Carolina. While they will feature golf only, Ferrell says the pressure to provide top-notch facilities away from the course is real and imminent. Aside from golf simulators that can be used as teaching bays — a must-have in the market these days — the amenity Ferrell is focused on is food and beverage, as, he says, "historically private clubs have had mediocre dining outlets.” Because Kawonu will have a mix of local and national members traveling from afar, Ferrell says they will make dining a primary focus of the experience.
Kawonu Golf Club Taking Shape in Southern Greenville County — via Greenville Journal
By Greenville Journal September 23, 2025
Kawonu Golf Club is taking shape in southern Greenville County. Course architect Andrew Green gave a tour of the progress. Originally published by Greenville Journal