Sea Island is nirvana

It’s one of the top golf resorts in the world yet many have not heard of it, Vic Robbie explores the luxurious American hideaway that is Sea Island

FINGERS of gold spread out across the 10th fairway at sunset and a piper in full Highland dress silhouetted by the ocean piped out the remains of the day while children gambolled around him. 

Inside The Lodge in the convivial ambience of the Oak Room guests recounted their day’s exploits in a buzz of conversation fuelled by bartenders pouring generous measures from an extensive Scotch whisky menu. 

As soon as we entered the grounds of the old cotton plantation with its impressive Avenue of Oaks, it was like stepping back in time helped by The Lodge’s exposed beams, hardwood floors and old-style southern hospitality. If Scarlett O’Hara herself had flounced down the grand staircase for dinner it would not have been a surprise. 

First and foremost The Sea Island Resort is a premier golfing destination as proved by the accolades over the years pronouncing it to be the No.1 Golf Resort and the Top Golfing Community in North America. 

Situated on Georgia’s Atlantic coast, it is as much an example of excellence as the state’s other attraction, Augusta. The only difference is you can actually play its courses. While reasonably well known to Americans, it is something of an unknown to the European market which often tends to head for the Carolinas, and Myrtle Beach in particular, or farther south to Florida. Right in the middle is Georgia’s Golden Isles with the resort straddling two neighbouring islands, Sea Island and St Simons, which is the size of Manhattan. 

But all similarities end there. The nearest international airports are almost two hours away at Savannah and Jacksonville in Florida and once you turn off the I-95 the sense of isolation is compounded by miles and miles of great salt marshes with the high grasses resembling a lush prairie. So thick are they that at low tide it is almost impossible to define the various islands, and in winter they die and turn a golden brown hence the name the ‘Golden Isles’. 

There is an appealing history to the area. Exploring Spaniards first sighted these islands in the sixteenth century but they left the building of golf courses to Howard Coffinand Bill Jones. The cousins bought the land in 1926 and hired Walter Travis, Harry S Colt and Charles Alison to lay down holes that were graced by Bobby Jones in 1930. The great man was between the third and fourth legs of his Grand Slam and said it was “one of the best nine holes I have ever seen.” 

The founders planned to set up ‘a friendly little inn’ and imagined a ‘seaside nirvana’. Almost 80 years on it is much grander with three championship courses – Plantation, Seaside and Retreat - surrounding The Lodge on St Simons Island while just down the road on Sea Island there’s The Cloister which caters for the holidaymaker’s every whim. 

Whatever your reasons for visiting Sea Island, golf should be a major one. This is most definitely a one-stop shop for golfers. If your game is more akin to guerrilla gardening and you dream of going somewhere to concentrate on improving your game without distraction then this is it. Sea Island’s Golf Learning Centre is a state-of-the-art facility comprising an indoor studio, 300 yards of teeing area, target greens with practice fairways and chipping and putting greens – and it’s open from 7am to 7pm every day. 

The most impressive point about it is the excellence of its personnel, having accumulated a dream team of professionals who can advise on every aspect of the game. If the mental approach gets you all hot and bothered, sports psychologist Dr. Morris Pickens will put you right. If it’s fitness that’s your problem, Randy Myers will create an individual fitness programme. 

Even the best ball strikers can have difficulties with putting. Mike Shannon’s lasers and cameras will put you on line. If it’s the swing that needs attention, Director of Instruction Todd Anderson, coach to a host of US Tour players, Jack Lumpkin and Gale Peterson will sort you out. 

There’s also a club-fitting section, and at the end of the day you can have a sports massage to ease those aches and pains. 

Now that that’s all sorted, let’s play golf. Sea Island’s courses offer three very different experiences and with a choice of six tees on every hole no one is disappointed. The Plantation is a par-72 resort course of 6,687 yards with relatively wide fairways but there are lakes and tidal creeks to trap the unwary. It’s a good relaxing start to the Sea Island adventure unfolding in a forest of ancient live oaks, draped in Spanish Moss, cedars and long-life pines with azaleas, magnolia bushes and natural gardens. 

Out here the only thing likely to disturb you is a racoon scampering up a tree to get a better view of your swing or the drone of a light aircraft flying in low over the 10th to land at the adjoining McKinnon Airport. 

Ten years ago Rees Jones reshaped the original nine-hole Plantation course and the former Retreat Course into one 18-hole configuration and as you would expect has a plethora of his trademark white sand bunkers. Jones called it the ‘parkland by the sea’ and said of it: “It includes short finesse holes like the second and 17th and risk and reward holes the 8th and 18th, and strong par-4s like the 9th and 10th.” 

And there are some pretty par-3s like the 136-yard seventh to an almost Sawgrass-like island green, and the 205-yard 11th and the 140-yard 15th also across water. 

The back nine is definitely better and the 18th is a classic risk and reward hole as it heads out towards the ocean. A short par-5 at 492 yards it entices the player to go for the green in two but it is a long carry over water. Anything just short will run back into the wet stuff and if over-hit there’s a cavernous bunker at the back. 

The Seaside course on the southern tip of St Simons Island reminds you what this game is all about with sweeping dunes, native grasses, tiny greens and devilish swales. Fifteen of the holes are flanked by the tall swaying grasses of the marsh which it is advisable to keep out of otherwise you could sink up to your knees in the mud.

It was originally fashioned by Colt and Alison in 1929 but seventy years later Tom Fazio extended it to a challenging par-70 of 6,557 yards from the back tees. It has been named amongst the top 100 courses in the United States and is the best of the Sea Island collection. 

A swirling wind plays havoc with club selection and each of Seaside’s short holes plays to a separate point of the compass adding to the degree of difficulty. As early as the fourth there is a taste of what to expect. A par-4 at 421 yards it is the course’s hardest hole and the caddie advised to play it as a three-shotter because even after a good drive the approach faces a long carry over the marsh to a green dominated by a huge bunker. 

The 409-yard 13th is the signature hole and offers a daunting tee shot into the wind. The marsh and the water cut in from the left in front of the tee and it tends to force a drive to the right where an army of bunkers awaits. Find them and it is almost impossible to reach in two an elevated green with steep run-offs. 

The finishing hole is a teaser and the longest par-4 at 439 yards. The landing area for the drive is relatively wide but from there on everything narrows. There’s water cutting in from the left and bunkers right and left of an undulating green. 

Golfing superstar Davis Love III lives on the island and learned his golf here as a boy. Therefore it was natural that as the Sea Island touring pro he along with brother Mark should have been asked in 2001 to redesign the Retreat course, which is a five-minute car ride away and with its own comfortable clubhouse feels like an independent golf club. 

Again this 6,715-yard, par-72 layout is different from the others in that its fairways funnel through avenues of tall pine trees. The greens are bigger but undulating and there’s water on nine holes. The 328-yard sixth simply begs the big hitters to chance their arm by attempting to drive the green 269 yards across the lake. For the more faint-hearted it’s play down the fairway on the left but there’s still a tricky second across water to a roller-coaster green. 

On the back nine there are a couple of short holes where you have to flirt with the water and the 18th curves left alongside a lake. It’s only 368 yards but the farther you go the narrower the fairway becomes and the approach is to a long narrow green with pines on the right and water on the left. 

While there take the opportunity to visit the Davis Love III Grill. I can recommend the Jumbo Dog Chilli with fries washed down with a cold beer. 

Back at The Lodge the perfect way to unwind after a round of golf is to have your own 24-hour personal butler draw a Cedar Soak bath before heading down for dinner at the Colt & Alison restaurant. 

While The Lodge has 40 rooms and has a clubby feel which is ideal for golfing groups or couples, many of Sea Island’s guests don’t come for the golf and just down the road at The Cloister can have the full resort experience. 

The Cloister renovated at a cost of $500 million and the venue for the 2004 G8 Summit has 149 luxurious rooms and suites overlooking the ocean and the Black Banks River. With amazingly equipped fitness rooms and one of the leading spas in the country, beachside pools and seven dining options it is perfect for all the family. 

A five-star resort lives or dies by its attention to detail. One example speaks volumes for this resort which commissioned 120 villages in Turkey to make by hand more than 670 Turkish rugs for The Cloister. 

Sea Island points to its enduring attraction by claiming that children who once played on the shore have returned with their children and even their grandchildren to play on that same beach, and couples who honeymooned here often return to celebrate their golden anniversaries. 

If I were to be cast away on this particular island for the rest of my days I’d be quite happy to say: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” 

ACCOMMODATION 

Prices start from $450 per room per night at The Cloister at Sea Island or The Lodge at Sea Island Golf Club. 

TRAVEL 

Flights to Jacksonville (Florida) and Savannah (Georgia) available with a number of US carriers including Continental and Delta from many international US airports. 

GOLF 

A round of golf starts from $200 at the Retreat and Plantation courses and $250 at Seaside. Every round includes a cart and forecaddie. Junior guests (18 and under) play free, Sea Island’s peak seasons are March 1 to May 31 and Sept 1 to Nov 30 Plantation Championship: 7,058 yards, par 72 Back tees: 6,687 yards Ladies: 5,194 yards Seaside Championship: 7,005 yards, par 70 Back tees: 6,557 yards Ladies: 5,048 yards Retreat Championship: 7,106 yards, par 72 Back tees: 6,715 yards Ladies: 5,142 yards