JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. – If you’re following the new course boom closely, you know the numbers.
About 95 percent of them are high-end resort courses – Rodeo Dunes and the Scarecrow at Gamble Sands, for example – or really exclusive and expensive private clubs like those sprouting like weeds in south Florida or near the South Carolina border in close proximity to Augusta.
Of all the incredible selling points of the new Great Dunes at Jekyll Island Golf Club – and there are many – the $120 peak price tag is its strongest. That public golfers can play a fully restored Golden Age classic with views of the ocean for that green fee is downright shocking in today’s golf climate.
The Jekyll Island Authority, which manages the island as a Georgia State Park, has completed a bold and imaginative $21-million, two-year project at the Jekyll Island Golf Club that renovated the Pine Lakes course, shuttered its Oleander course and expanded the historic nine-hole Great Dunes course into an 18-hole sandy tribute to Walter Travis, its original architect who won three U.S. Amateurs at the turn of the 20th century.
Walter Travis won the U.S. amateur three times and was a respected Golden Age architect. Courtesy photo
Once a southern vacation getaway for the nation’s richest families – the Rockefellers, Pulitzers, Morgans and Astors to name a few – Jekyll Island eventually blossomed into an affordable destination after the exclusive Jekyll Island Club was bought by the state in 1947. Golf on the island dates to 1899 and continues today by hosting the largest collegiate tournament in the country.
The island, an hour north of Jacksonville, delivers the perfect juxtaposition to the adjacent St. Simons Island, home to the luxurious Sea Island resort and all those PGA Tour pros. Jekyll Island’s laid-back lifestyle, natural beauty, historic hangouts and fun golf feel like a different planet compared to the country club life on the more famous island next door.
The transformation of Great Dunes
The 7,014-yard Great Dunes, which is essentially a municipal course owned and managed by a government entity, unfurls upon one of the southeast’s most unique landscapes, a sandy site pocked with dunes, forest and wetlands, plus ocean views. It reopened Nov. 1 after a year-long rebirth.
Architects Brian Ross and Jeff Stein collaborated to integrate land from nine holes of the old Oleander Course into the surviving front nine of a Travis routing dating to 1928. The back nine was lost to storm damage and weather erosion decades ago in the 1950s with parts of it redeveloped into a Holiday Inn of all things.
Ross and Stein scoured through the Jekyll Island Authority archives to dig up old photos and documents to understand what’s been lost over the years. They even toured and played other Travis courses to fully immerse themselves in his style of architecture. His most famous works remain New York’s Garden City Golf Club and New Jersey’s Hollywood Golf Club. Check out his architecture profile here.
The new routing features four crossings almost like a figure eight loop where golfers move in and out of different ecosystems. “The way that you move across the landscape here from the maritime forest straight out to the dune plain into the dunes themselves back to the coastal lakes and then into the forest is really unique in the world of golf,” Stein said.
Rounds now start near the clubhouse with three holes in the Oleander footprint that head into the forest. To bring that dunesy, linksy feel to these holes, miniature sand piles that look like the chocolate drop mounds prevalent in the 1920s were planted in random spots in the fairway. I’m officially calling them white chocolate drops due to their sandy texture.
The green on the par-3 third hole became an homage to Garden City’s wild 12th green. A wall of trees and overgrown of vines was removed beyond the hole to open up views out to the dunes to ensure a smooth transition to the original Travis holes.
The old fifth hole (pictured left) is the new fourth hole (pictured on the right) at Great Dunes. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass
The par-5 fourth hole brings the course’s signature dunes into play with the green tucked behind them. It’s honestly one of the coolest holes I’ve ever played. The par-3 fifth follows the shore in a corridor of the most exposed dunes. The ocean shimmers in full view from this stretch albeit across the road. Power lines were buried to enhance the views and soon the telephone lines will be, too.
The sixth and 12th holes are par 4s that spray in different directions starting from the same elevated tee box on a dune ridge. This spot two begins and ends the wonderful run through the recreated sandscapes framing the next six holes.
Roughly 19 original Travis bunkers were restored thanks to aerial photographs. More than 70 acres of turf grass was removed to create the sandy areas that play like natural waste bunkers. These hazards also promote sustainability, keeping water usage low. Great Dunes is now the only course in Georgia using a renewable brackish water system to care for its new salt-tolerant Platinum Paspalum grass. This pioneering sustainability effort reduces reliance on freshwater, curbs chemical use and minimizes environmental impact. Several osprey nests have popped up on the course as a result.
Another nod to Travis includes six holes where bunkers sit directly in the middle of fairways. Golfers must find a way around or over them.
“Travis was a great golfer, so he didn’t mind building courses that were a little more difficult, (including) centerline bunkers and making you think about if driver is the play or not,” Ross said.
The final six holes return to the Oleander land, where water adds drama and strategy to the long par-5 13th, tricky par-4 16th and demanding par-3 17th. The heavily contoured 13th green was built to mimic the tumultuous 14th green from the original Travis back nine.
“I truly think it is a one of one golf course,” Ross said. “I don’t think there’s anything else like it.”
The Great Dunes project eliminated the back nine of Oleander, which will become a nature park. That leaves 54 holes on the island, down from 63, including Indian Mound, the newest course built in 1975, and Pine Lakes, a Dick Wilson/Joe Lee original that was renovated after a 2024 return by architect Clyde Johnston (he also updated it in 2002).
Playing Pine Lakes reminded me why Jekyll Island golf is so affordable. There’s nothing flashy about the architecture. The allure is solid conditions, plus the natural beauty and wildlife of the island. Golfers travel through the woods, encountering all species of birds and potentially alligators in the ponds. Thankfully both days the wind was up, so the bugs and nats were down.
The Jekyll Island lifestyle
Jekyll Island’s main building is a historic building. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass
State laws ensure that Jekyll Island will never be overdeveloped. Building can only occur on the roughly 30 percent of the island that is already developed. The residential homes all reside on leased land from the state. Ten hotels attract tourists, although staying within the National Historic Landmark District at the Jekyll Island Club Resort, a Noble Hotel, remains the coolest way to stay and play.
I slept in one of the historic Island Cottages that used to house apartments transformed into spacious suites with multiple sitting areas, fireplaces, mini fridges, modern bathrooms and shared balconies. Guests can rent bikes to explore, relax at the pool or take a trolley driven by a guide who shares stories of wealthy visitors from a bygone era.
Evenings can be spent dining at the Founder’s Social, an outdoor bar where I watched the beloved Georgia Bulldogs win, or The Wharf, where live music attracts a crowd on weekends. The Pantry serves casual breakfast, lunch and all you need for a beach picnic.
Speaking of beaches, you can’t go to Jekyll Island without visiting Driftwood Beach. It was the most fascinating beach I’ve ever seen. Like Great Dunes, it is truly one of one.
Driftwood Beach is a sight to be seen on Jekyll Island. Jason Scott Deegan/GolfPass
GolfPass does offer a golf package to Jekyll Island. Remember that GolfPass members can receive a $100 discount on certain packages.
I’d be accused of being a homer if I didn’t mention an unbeatable new offer for golfers who stay at the more modern Jekyll Ocean Club’s all-suites, beachfront hotel. Guests who stay through March 2026 get a free round of golf for two at either Indian Mound or Pine Lakes, plus a Bridgestone Golf gift bag. Upgrading to play Great Dunes costs extra, but whatever you pay, it will still be one of the best golf bargains ever.