I played the Hampton Club (St. Simons Island, GA) last summer during my semi-annual family trip to Jekyll Island and although I was not all that much impressed with the "overall layout" of the course (somewhat tight for my personal tastes), I really enjoyed the tidal marshland stretch of 4 holes on the back nine. The holes that reach out into the tidal marsh are numbers 12, 13, 14 and 15. I am quite sure that when this course was designed and constructed by Joe Lee that he (nor the construction company and heavy equipment operators) did not have to answer to a higher calling, namely the EPA or Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources.
I am sure the Hampton Club is under strict guidelines and legal contraints concerning these four tidal marsh holes as to what they can and cannot do with them.
My question is, do wetlands in this day and age preclude one from designing these types of golf holes and constructing them on or through wetlands areas? Is cost a determining factor as well? Will the EPA and state environmental agencies even allow you to alter wetlands even if you replace them elsewhere on the property? If the developer of the courses insists on wetlands routing will you do it or avoid it because of the likelihood of federal, state and local regulations that are attached with it? I am sure there are other factor dealing with drainage of these types of holes as well...
Here are a few pictures of the holes at the Hampton Club:
