KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. -- I had just arrived at the Ocean Course's 19th hole, where I tiptoed along the edge of a freshwater marsh, heeding a companion's caution to keep my eyes peeled for alligators and rattlesnakes.

From the tee box, merely the thought of a 230-yard carry to the fairway -- above the unforgiving marsh, surrounded by sand dunes and guarded oh-so-closely by the sea -- evoked shivers. And though this particular morning was quiet and calm and bright, I could imagine golfing greats Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen and fictional local hero Rannulph Junuh competing here 70 years ago as if on a battlefield, with the winds howling and with automobile headlights guiding them through darkness toward a green 485 yards in the distance.

No, I wasn't drunk or hallucinating. This wasn't that kind of 19th hole.

This was the Bagger Vance Hole.

"With the sun beneath the horizon and thunderclaps booming out over the Atlantic, it loomed beyond awesome to apocalyptic," author Steven Pressfield described the setting in The Legend of Bagger Vance (Harper Torch), a novel as much about life as about golf.

When director Robert Redford and production designer Stuart Craig began to adapt Pressfield's book into a motion picture (starring Matt Damon as Junuh and Will Smith as Vance, a caddy with mystical powers), they determined that no existing golf hole did Pressfield's words justice. Or at least none was available to satisfy a month-long film scheduling.

So the Bagger Vance Hole was built from scratch. And not at any run-of-the-mill location either. It was created on sand dunes adjacent to the practice tees at the vaunted Ocean Course on Kiawah (pronounced KEE-a-wah) Island, an idyllic resort about 33 kilometres south of Charleston, S.C. (In the book and movie, it's known as Krewe Island and situated near Savannah, Ga.)

Even leading professionals likely would agree that this was an appropriate choice for the film's dramatic climax. Months after its opening in 1991, the Ocean Course hosted an epic Ryder Cup -- pitting the premier golfers from the United States against the best from Europe -- heralded as the War by the Shore. That confrontation, won by the Americans, came down to a missed putt on the last hole of the last match; afterward, players on both sides called the layout unplayable.

In the interim, the course -- designed by architect Pete Dye so that every hole offers a panoramic view of the Atlantic -- has earned the admiration of most early critics, hosted the World Cup (1997) and gained considerable acclaim, including recognition as 2000 Course of the Year by the National Golf Course Owner's Association.

With multiple tee boxes that allow the overall length to vary from almost 7,800 yards to as short as 4,800 yards, the Ocean Course also is popular with vacationers. A Certified Audubon Co-operative Sanctuary, it's home to a recorded 202 bird species and other wildlife, and man-made dwellings are kept well in the distance.

Although the Bagger Vance Hole is visible from the clubhouse patio -- and understandably a favourite topic of conversation here -- it's not currently open for play. Its future remains undecided. And that was fine by me; even the Vance-prescribed Authentic Swing couldn't rescue my game.

For more information about Kiawah Island, call (800) 654-2924 or access http://www.kiawahresort.com.Houston Chronicle