Sea Island (Georgia) golf

[Matthew Lloyd]

How is the Sea Island golf experience these days?  I have great memories of going there as a kid in the late 1980s.  I went three straight years over my spring breaks, following trips to the NCAA tournament.  It was always the best week of my year.  But I have not had the opportunity to go back since 1989, obviously a long drought. 

It's been on my mind to return, but I'm curious to know if I'm applying some revisionist history in thinking so highly of the resort, or whether it still lives up to expectations, in terms of both quality of golf and the experience (i.e. no hassles, price/value, etc.)

Any and all thoughts would be appreciated.

[Mac Plumart]

Matthew, I love Sea Island.

I think the golf is pretty solid and the resort is top-notch.  It ain't cheap, however.

I like Plantation, it is a decent course.  Seaside is really good in my opinion.  And, Ocean Forest (private and not part of the resort) is pretty good too.  That is all the golf I've played down there.

[Jim Tang]

Matthew -

I've only been to the resort once, maybe 15 years ago.  I really enjoyed my time there.  I thought the resort was tremendous.  It offered top notch service.   The golf, while not world class, is very solid.   The southern charm of the island made for a great couple of days.

[Julian Wise]

sea island is still a fun experience. Ocean Forest is a really good course and the seaside course is good as well. The hotel and food are great.

[Carl Nichols]

I go on a golf trip to Sea Island every fall.  We stay at a buddy's dad's house on Sea Island proper.  We usually play Ocean Forest once (on Wednesday as unaccompanied guests), then split our six Thursday-Saturday rounds by playing Seaside three times, Retreat twice, and Plantation once, which is how I'd rank those three courses.  As for Ocean Forest and Seaside I have them pretty close in terms of which I'd prefer -- they are both, IMHO, really good.  In mid-fall, the courses are always in great condition--especially Ocean Forest (which is usually in ridiculous condition) and Seaside.

Because we don't stay at the resort, I can only comment on some of the facilities, and they are really, really nice.  The men's locker room at the Lodge is huge, has its own bar/eating area and is otherwise really cool; the clubhouse at the Retreat is nice; and the clubhouse at Ocean Forest is one of the nicest I've been in (including the locker room, which again has its own eating area).  I can't remember any resort having better practice areas than Sea Island.  And the Beach Club is really nice too.

Bottom line:  I think the place is great.  But as Mac noted, all of that comes with a price--staying in the Lodge or the Cloisters is quite expensive, especially if you throw in 36 holes a day. 

[Dan Byrnes]

One of my favorite places.  They have some golf packages that make it more reasonable but it's not cheap but very well done.

Dan

[Richard Hetzel]

Playing all of these courses is on my short list of things to do soon. How does Frderica GC stack up against Ocean Forest and the Sea Island Courses???

[Tom Ferrell]

Matt - I grew up in South Georgia and played Sea Island et al regularly (still do, occasionally). 

At Sea Island...

Seaside is really good.  Fantastic course for approach shots.  I like Fazio's artificial mini-dunes (an homage to Chandler Egan?).  The course has very few weak holes.

Plantation is a good course but a step down.  I'd rather play Retreat, frankly - Love Design did a great job elevating the old Island Club to Sea Island standards.

Ocean Forest is a wonderful experience with several tremendous holes and spots.  But I feel like it was a design miss.  The bunkering is miserable, IMO.  The first hole is the single worst opening hole I have ever played on ANY golf course, much less one as highly honored as Ocean Forest.  Definitely a beautiful place to spend an afternoon (we had a bald eagle flying above us during our entire round this past January!).

I played Frederica for the first time on that same January trip.  Secluded location.  Unbelievable practice facility!  The golf course is huge in scale, built on an artificially but masterfully contoured site.  Many similarities to ANGC on a lot of holes, especially on the front side.  Single-height mowing throughout.  Huge greens.  The back nine has a beautiful stretch through some marshland with scenic overlooks.  18th hole felt contrived to me.  But again, an incredible experience.  One of my five favorite clubhouses.

If you're in South Georgia, don't overlook Brunswick Country Club.  Old Ross, redone by Love Design.  Just a beautiful old club course.  Well worth the time.

Neighboring Jekyll Island, with 63 holes, may be the best value in golf.  Oleander is the strongest of the three 18-holers, but the don't miss is Great Dunes, the Walter Travis nine-hole course.  With a little TLC, it could be spectacular.

I'll throw in one more plug for my old home course - and a true hidden Joe Lee gem - Okefenokee GC, approximately one hour away in Waycross.  Built on sandy soil on the Satilla River, it really is worth the drive.  A course that, if it were anywhere else, would get attention.

Have fun!

[Jim Hoak]

Just got back from Sea Island.  In my opinion, the Seaside Course is excellent.  Lots of Colt & Allison elements left.  I would rank it in my top 25 in the US.  The routing is very good, there are no over-the-top artificial features, the greens are severe in spots but fair, and the vistas over the swamps are fantastic.  I loved it.

[John Percival]

M,
Had the pleasure, no, the absolute pleasure, of visiting Sea Island a few years ago. Stayed at the Cloisters and loved it. Seaside is a great treat, with a terrific reno that maintains much of the original's ideals. Plantation is solid, but would play Seaside repeatedly, if just for the coastal views. Thought Ocean Forest was a tick askew, design-wise. Almost as if you would just bump everything 5 or 10 yards one way or another and it all would work. Pure conditioning, though.
The Cloisters is a rarity. In these days of pulse and buzz, they have Old Southern charm times 100. If anyone has a high stress job and needs some decompression, there is your cure. They still have/had (?) formal dress for dinners Wed and Sat. Talk about sophistication. As mentioned by others, it aint cheap, but it is a magnificent experience. HIGHLY recommended.

[Jeff Spittel]

I thought the Seaside course was pretty magnificent.  Overall, the exhorbitant prices at the resort are justifiable (if you have the cheese) with the exception of the the Plantation, which is a nice course, but not worth the greens fee for me.