Golf came to Jekyll Island, GA., as early as 1924, when the 5,950-acre barrier island became a “testing ground’’ for a lighter golf ball and steel-shaft clubs. Two years later, Walter Travis designed the island’s Great Dunes course, and for the next several decades, thanks to what grew into 63 holes, mild winter weather and affordable rates, Jekyll was one of the more desired golf destinations in the Southeast
Golf remains a prime amenity on the historic island that once attracted business magnates with names such as Rockefeller, Morgan and Vanderbilt, but it’s fair to say each of the courses (Oleander, Indian Mound, Pine Lakes and the nine-hole Great Dunes) have been neglected at times because of maintenance and budget concerns. The Jekyll Island Authority, which operates the island on its own budget away from the Georgia State Parks system, even stopped aggressively promoting Jekyll Island as a golf destination. Those issues, coupled with more competition along Georgia coast, led to a decrease in rounds played from 120,000 annually at its peak to less than 64,000 in 2021.
”We really didn’t have a product we were proud of,’’ said Noel Jensen, the Authority’s straight-shooting deputy executive director.
The pride, however, is on its way back. The JIA is in the midst of a $20 million project aimed at revitalizing and re-energizing golf on the island. The project includes reducing the number of holes from 63 to 54; renovating the Pine Lakes and Indian Mound courses; eliminating nine holes of the Oleander course and combining the remaining nine with the Great Dunes nine to create a new Great Dunes course. The land on which the eliminated nine holes sat will be set aside as preserve.
“We sprigged the greens on Great Dunes in 2019, but nothing had been done to the rest of the turf for 40 years,’’ Jensen said. “It still had a hydraulic irrigation system.’’
Architects Brian Ross and Jeff Stein are leading the restoration of the Great Dunes nine and creating the “Travis-inspired’’ holes, which are basically the back nine of the Oleander course. The course is expected to open in late 2025.
Pine Lakes Golf Course
“There aren’t many Walter Travis-designed public courses in the country,’’ Jensen said. “Who wouldn’t want to advertise that?’
Great Dunes is expected to open in late 2025.
Pine Lakes, renovated by Clyde Johnston, opened this past Fall. It’s the first renovation work on the course – a Joe Lee design that opened in 1968 – since Johnston’s original renovation in 1992.
Renovation of the Indian Mound course is two-to-three years away.
“Something needs to be done with Indian Mound,’’ Jensen said. “Do we renovate it? Eliminate some holes? Make it a nine-hole course and put in a par-three course? There are a lot of options.’’
The project, no doubt, will have positive financial impact across Jekyll Island, particularly at the Jekyll Island Club, the island’s premier resort that includes the Queen Anne-style Jekyll Island Club (125 rooms), which opened as a hunting lodge in 1888, two Newport-style cottages (10-room Cherokee and 13-room Crane), 20-unit Sans Souci condominiums, and the Jekyll Ocean Club, a 40-suite property overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
“We are going to definitely market to golfers and golf groups,’’ said Kevin Baker, director of sales and marketing for the Jekyll Island Club Resort. “The renovated courses are very important. We were a step up from ‘municipal’ golf, but not quite at “resort’ golf. Now, having (the JIA) being the courses up to “resort’ style is going to have a great impact, because not only will we be competing as a resort destination, we’ll be competing as a golf destination.’’
The Jekyll Island Club Resort and each of its cottages recently underwent a $25 million transformation to their guest rooms and public areas. The result, across the board, is a more eclectic, brighter, detail oriented view of life (and power) in the Gilded Age.
For example, Club guests and visitors can walk the same ground floor Hall of Mirrors and sit in the same room where the nation’s financial leaders created what was the forerunner of the Federal Reserve, today’s modern banking system.
On the other side of the island – just a few minutes away from the Club by shuttle – the Jekyll Ocean Club is as ideal a beachfront destination as you’ll find in Georgia. Each of the suites have ocean front views from either a patio or balcony.
A suite at Jekyll Ocean Club
Eighty Ocean Kitchen and Bar – open for breakfast, lunch and dinner – makes staying on the property and ebay decision. Don’t pass on the Fig and Goat flatbread, available at lunch and dinner.
The Club’s Victoran-Age Grand Dining Room is a “must visit’’ for breakfast and Sunday brunch. The Club plans in 2025 to reopen the Grand Dining Room for dinner, which only adds to Jekyll Island’s attractions, which includes historic tours and growing number of restaurants and dining options.
“We’re never going to be Hilton Head,’’ Baker said. “The destination isn’t designed for that. It’s a state park. We’re definitely competitive terms of amenities, but we still maintain a destination that is unique.’’
Feature Photo: Jekyll Island Club
Photos Courtesy of Jekyll Island Club Resort