Mike, you're dead on, which is why you'd option the land first and find out whether its permitted - something basic to due diligence.
The problem with developing links golf in the US is that coastal protection everywhere - think the California Coastal Commission - is extremely restrictive. In fact, the laws are needed to prevent garish construction of buildings and to limit erosion. Most golf courses would, however, be beneficial to the coastal landforms, proving they didn't develop too lush a model of construction and maintenance. This is one of those many cases where the positive environmental impact of golf gets overlooked or subordinated because of the larger deleterious impact of other, hardscape projects (i.e. big box stores, parking lots, convention centers).