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South Carolina’s coast is famous for “orange alligators” and now a yellow one has been seen at an 18-hole golf course along the coast, photos show.

It’s not exactly what it seems.

Just as the orange gators carry the tint of coastal clay, the “rare yellow alligator” on Kiawah Island is a wearing a thick layer of seasonal pollen. The island is about a 30-mile drive south from Charleston.

“Yellow season is hitting hard here in the Lowcountry,” the Town of Kiawah Island wrote in an April 1 Facebook post.

“Rod Buscher ... was playing golf on Cassique when he came across the pollen covered gator.”

The Facebook post had many expressing sympathy for the alligator’s “southern camo.”

“Oh the reptilian indignity!” Michael Bengtson wrote on Facebook.

“That’s how I know I’m in the Carolina’s in the spring! Everything outside is yellow,” Bruce Gardner posted.

Cassique is a 7,050-yard course with plenty of creeks and ponds to accommodate South Carolina’s native alligators.

Trees (oak, pine, willow, and birch) are “the main culprit” at this time of year for pollen, which remains an issue until Mother’s Day, according to the Medical University of South Carolina.

Climate change is making the situation worse, experts say. Warmer temperatures prompt “growing seasons (to) start earlier and last longer – leading to longer and more intense pollen allergy seasons,” the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America reports.

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March 18, 2025 4:23 AM

This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 4:26 AM.

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Kiawah Island Real Estate has announced phase one of its new luxury condominiums in Kiawah Island’s West Beach community.

The first phase of Ocean Pines will offer 30 condos to purchase across three buildings, according to a news release. When all buildings are completed, the Ocean Pines campus will offer 69 two-, three- and four-bedroom condos designed with inspiration from the coastal land they are built on, the release said.

“By maintaining our long-standing relationships with award-winning partners, we are reaffirming our commitment to excellence in design within sensitive coastal ecosystems,” said Chris Randolph, managing partner at South Street Partners. “This new offering on Kiawah’s West Beach is perfectly positioned, with walking distance to both the Kiawah River and the beach, as well as convenient access on and off the Island.”

With units starting at $2.4 million, the buildings include a rooftop deck, central lagoon views, walkways and community spaces, according to the release. Owners will also have parking under each building and elevators to each level.

Related: Historic Ravenel home on Charleston Battery sells for record price

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Additionally, a Kiawah Island Club membership is available with the purchase of any Ocean Pines residence, providing access to the Club’s newest oceanfront amenity, The Cape Club, which is a short walk away and features a pool, fitness center, and an oceanfront restaurant and bar. The Club’s other amenities include the Tom Watson-designed Cassique and the Tom Fazio-designed River Course as well as the Golf Learning Center; the Robert A.M. Stern-designed Beach Club, with restaurant concept by James Beard winner, Chef Mike Lata; and the Clodagh-designed Sasanqua Spa.

Amanda Mole, chief of architecture and design for Kiawah Partners, led the project and Mark Permar, master land planner of Kiawah Island was the architecture of Ocean Pines. Other architects and engineers included LS3P, Thomas & Hutton and Hart Howerton Architects, with landscape architecture led by wertimer + cline.

Despite being one of the smaller states in the country, South Carolina has plenty of distinct golf destinations: Myrtle Beach, Kiawah Island and Charleston are all worth their own trips. And then there’s Hilton Head Island, which in many ways is a fusion of all the other Palmetto State golf destinations.

The island is best known for the historic Sea Pines Resort, with its three top courses including Harbour Town, host of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage. You can also find courses with decent value on the island and just off, in the neighboring town of Bluffton. Combine the solid golf with the island’s relaxing vibe, great seafood and miles of beaches, and it's one of the best destinations for a golf trip.

Scroll on for the complete list of the best public golf courses in Hilton Head, and be sure to click through to each individual course page for bonus photography and reviews from our course panelists. We also encourage you to leave your own ratings on the courses you’ve played … so you can make your case for why a course should be higher or lower on our rankings.

The best public golf courses in Hilton Head Island

Explore Golf Digest's new Course Reviews section where you can submit a star rating and evaluation on all the courses you’ve played. We've collected tens of thousands of reviews from our course-ranking panelists to deliver a premium experience, which includes course rankings, experts' opinions, bonus course photography, videos and much more. Check it out here!

Discover Charleston-area favorites and lesser-known oceanfront communities.

The South Carolina coast is full of laid-back beach towns with wide stretches of sand, palm-lined bike paths, quaint boardwalks, and restaurants cooking up fresh-caught Lowcountry fare. I’ve spent much of my life frequenting the Palmetto State’s beach towns—visiting Kiawah Island every year and even living in Charleston for a period. Using my own experience and the expertise of a few locals, we narrowed down the list to the 10 best beach towns in South Carolina. See if your favorite made the cut below.

Isle of Palms

I’ve spent countless days on Isle of Palms, a small barrier island about 15 miles from downtown Charleston. It's one of the more family-friendly beach destinations in the area, and many visitors opt to stay at Wild Dunes Resort or rent a roomy oceanfront home. No matter where you are on the island, though, its leisurely pace, wide beach, and classic small-town vibes will entice visitors of all ages. One of my favorite things to do on “IOP,” as the locals call it, is to grab dinner at Islander 71 and watch the boats come in and out of the marina. I’d also recommend checking out the live music schedule at The Windjammer—or picking up a frosé (frozen rosé) to-go from The Co-Op.

Kiawah Island

In South Carolina, a beach town should evoke a nostalgic mix of humidity, salt water, and the distinctly earthy smell of pluff mud emanating from the salt marshes. Kiawah Island meets all of these criteria—and then some. A majority of the island functions as a gated private community, accessible only to residents, their guests, and those with reservations. However, there are a couple of areas open to the public if you want to do a day trip, namely Kiawah Beachwalker Park and the shopping center Freshfields Village. At the latter, you can load up on all your vacation essentials: groceries, beach reads, bathing suits, and more.

Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach may technically be a city, but it has all of the trappings of your classic beach town. There’s a bustling boardwalk, golf courses, go-karts, souvenir shopping, and, of course, a number of public beaches. “I’ve always been drawn to the nostalgia that you can find on Myrtle Beach,” says Betsy Fuller, owner of A Maker’s Post, a gift shop on Sullivan's Island. “One of my favorite movies, 'Shag,' is set there, and whenever I watch it, I daydream about going back to visit the beach town in the 1950s.”

While it might be synonymous with spring break crowds and families on summer vacation, this is a destination that always delivers beach fun—whether you’re hoping to spend the day by the water or keeping your schedule full from sunup to sundown.

25 Best Things to Do in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Pawleys Island

Relaxation is paramount when you’re visiting Pawleys Island, a barrier island beach town located between Myrtle Beach and Charleston. This is the type of place where time slows down, you’re encouraged to log off and enjoy the natural splendor of South Carolina’s coast. Spend your days crabbing, surfing (if the waves permit), fishing, golfing, or dining on classic Lowcountry staples like okra soup or shrimp and grits; just don’t forget to save time for the art of doing absolutely nothing. For a particularly romantic getaway, book a room at The Pelican Inn, an eight-bedroom bed-and-breakfast with a charming wraparound porch.

Folly Beach

"As someone who lives 10 minutes from Folly Beach, I certainly feel like I'm on vacation where I live,” says Katie Hirsch, the former director and chief curator of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. One of the closest beach towns to Charleston, it’s a great option for a day trip if you’re visiting the Holy City; just be sure to arrive on the earlier side if you want to beat the crowds and have an easier time parking. Plus, “if you're an early riser,” says Hirsch, you might want to “try finding shark teeth during a morning beach walk.” She also recommends grabbing some food at local favorite Jack of Cups Saloon for “unexpected bites inspired by Asian cuisine.”

Hilton Head Island

"Hilton Head Island is one of the best places to escape to if you want to be near a beach town but want a different environment from Charleston,” explains Hirsch. “It has modern touches but still keeps its Southern charm, appealing to both tourists and locals alike.”

The historic island is known for its golf courses and bike trails, but offers a wide variety of things to do. Gullah heritage tours, boat rides, paddleboarding, and birding are all itinerary contenders, and Hirsch also says the destination has “some of the best thrift stores.” If that’s up your alley, save an afternoon for exploring the goods at The Bargain Box, My Sister’s Closet, and The Church Mouse.

Sullivan’s Island

Sullivan’s Island continues to be a favorite South Carolina beach town—especially for Charlestonians. “The beach is very relaxed, and the marsh views are second to none,” says Fuller. “If you’re visiting, I’d recommend taking a long beach walk [and exiting] at Station 22.5, so you can head into ‘town,’ aka Middle Street, to do a little shopping.” This part of Sullivan’s Island is popular for its various eateries; there’s everything from Mexican and barbecue to burgers and seafood. Fuller recommends getting a table at High Thyme or The Obstinate Daughter, then grabbing a nightcap at Dunleavy’s Pub.

12 Best Beach Towns on the East Coast, According to Locals

Beaufort

The second-oldest city in South Carolina, Beaufort is often compared to Charleston; it’s historic, beautiful, and filled with oak trees and amazing architecture. Its proximity to the water is also a perk. Like Charleston, you’ll have to drive a bit out of the main hub to get to the beach. If you don’t mind parking your beach chair by Battery Creek, rather than the Atlantic Ocean, make your way to the Sands Beach on the southern end of Port Royal. The beach is free to the public, and there’s plenty to keep the whole family entertained, including a boardwalk, an observation tower, and shark-teeth-hunting opportunities. For a true oceanfront spot, you’ll need to drive half an hour to Hunting Island State Park, where five miles of beautiful beaches live alongside marshes, a saltwater lagoon, and maritime forests.

Murrells Inlet

Murrells Inlet, or the “Seafood Capital of South Carolina,” makes this list for a few reasons. For starters, the historic fishing village has a feature known as MarshWalk. Spanning a half-mile along a natural saltwater estuary, the wooden boardwalk is home to several restaurants, including Bovine’s, Wahoo’s Fish House, and The Claw House. Head five minutes down the road and you'll arrive at the far-from-crowded Huntington Beach State Park, where you can find three miles of pristine sands to lie on. If you have some time, stop by Brookgreen Gardens, a 9,127 site that also includes a zoo and sculpture garden.

Edisto Beach

Located on Edisto Island, Edisto Beach isn’t your typical, buzzy beach town—and that’s the beauty of it. There are no stoplights, high rises, or chain restaurants on the island, and the town wholeheartedly embraces the magic of slow living. Visitors can explore the 4.5 miles of coastline, take a dip in the ocean, and search for shells, shark teeth, and other fossils that may wash up on shore. Biking, kayaking, and dolphin tours are also popular vacation activities. But if there’s absolutely one thing you can’t miss while visiting Edisto Beach, it's the glorious sunsets. Bring a blanket to Edisto Beach State Park, sit back, and enjoy the show.

South Carolina has seen orange mud gators, ice gators and giant gators … but what about a pollen gator?

Turns out this year’s pollen season is covering more than our cars in a blanket of yellow.

The latest spotting of this “rare yellow alligator” was on Kiawah Island at the Cassique Golf Course.

This gator was completely covered in pollen and spotted by a nearby golfer who snapped these photos:

This year’s pollen season has no doubt felt worse than normal for Lowcountry residents.

“This year has been an aberration weather-wise,” said Dr. Thomas Beller of the Hilton Head Allergy & Asthma Center. “With the influx of warm and cold weather this year, it makes sense that some tree pollen has been more active than normal.”

South Carolina is often ranked as one of the worst states for allergies. The combination of warmer climates and plants blooming earlier results in higher concentrations of pollen, making for a treacherous allergy season.

In the Lowcountry, it’s generally pollen from oak and bayberry trees that cause the most misery for people with allergies.

The marker of the season comes from pine pollen, which is notorious for covering our cars, porches, sidewalks and even gators in a blanket of yellow.

Alligators are cold-blooded creatures, which means their immune systems are easily affected by the temperatures outside.

“We don’t have much research right now that would indicate that pollen affects alligators,” South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Alligator Project Leader, Morgan Hart, said. “But the pollen will stick to them and washes off like normal once they get to the water.”

Springtime is when most alligators become active again. As temperatures steadily warm up, they are more likely to be seen out and about.

According to the SCDNR, young alligators can be seen moving into bodies of water, females enter their breeding period in April and adult alligators are likely to be seen basking in the sun or eating.

With alligators venturing out, more of these pollen gators might be spotted around the Lowcountry soon.

This story was originally published April 5, 2025 at 6:00 AM.

The Island Packet

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Anna Claire Miller is the Service Journalism Reporter for The Island Packet. Originally from Georgia, she has experience in magazine writing, non-profit communications and city government. Anna Claire has a bachelor’s degree in journalism, legal studies and English from High Point University.