Jekyll Island has been a golf destination since 1898, when members of the Jekyll Island Club added the first course on the island near the present-day airport. Since that original course such designers as Donald Ross, Walter Travis, Dick Wilson and Joe Lee have used the natural landscape in creating classic course designs with spectacular scenery.
The absence of any homes or development on Jekyll's four golf courses is a unique experience for today's golfer. Be immersed in nature, and focus on every shot with only occasional disruption from deer, alligator, osprey or other wildlife.
Jekyll Island is Georgia's largest public golf resort with 63-holes on four courses, each offering something a little different. From the historic links design of Travis' Great Dunes to the family tees added to Pine Lakes by Clyde Johnson, to the competition-ready Oleander, home of the Georgia state high school championship and several collegiate events, Jekyll Island golf offers something for everyone.
In difficult economic times, anything that offers comparable value for its cost is something to be treasured. From a golf standpoint, you won't find many better bargains than that offered on Jekyll Island, where $45 will get you 18 holes and a cart on any of its three quality, well-conditioned courses, all year round.
The three 18-hole courses are Pine Lakes and Indian Mound, which are located side by side just across the road from the clubhouse, and Oleander, which is in closer proximity to the clubhouse and abuts the venerable Great Dunes nine on its perimeter.
All three courses have their advocates as to which is the best on the island, with all three used as sites for the many tournaments hosted by the facility. “It just depends on the group,” says Jekyll Island head PGA professional Rob Ellis. “People like the natural setting of all three courses, and I think that's what stands out on all three.”
Because of their side-by-side setting, Pine Lakes and Indian Mound share several attributes, with Pine Lakes a little more modern on terms of its bunkering, and Indian Mound getting much of its challenge from undulating greens.
Both courses are on the open side off the tee, with water not a serious factor on either with the exception of a handful of holes. However, the tree lines are dense in spots, and errant tee shots on the wrong holes will not be treated kindly. At 6,700 yards from the back tees, Pine Lakes is the longest of the trio, but is by no means a lengthy course, at least not until you reach the 18th hole.
As you would expect on courses this close to the ocean, both Pine Lakes and Indian Mound have several holes with overhanging trees requiring some precision to avoid them off the tee and making the seemingly generous landing areas a little less inviting.
With Joe Lee having a hand in both layouts (he collaborated with Dick Wilson on Pine Lakes and did Indian Mound several years later on his own), you know sand will be a serious factor. Fairway bunkers are generally a modest concern off the tee, with Clyde Johnston’s renovations on Pine Lakes making them more in play for longer hitters. Lee mixes up his greenside bunkering pattern on both designs, with some approach shots having to challenge the sand to go at a pin and other bunkers gobbling up shots that come up short and usually to the right.
Indian Mound is the shortest of the trio at 6,469 from the back tees, but is comparable length-wise from the next set at 6,221. The par 5s are a tougher group than their modest yardage and only one of the par 3s can be considered a soft touch, with the par 4s offering a number of scoring opportunities to those able to take advantage of their lack of length if you position the ball with relative precision from the tee.
With some exceptions, Pine Lakes’ name is not a thoroughly apt one, as the tree lines are only occasionally a serious concern, with the water even less of a factor. The two glaring exceptions regarding the latter are 9 and 18, a pair of demanding holes with water lurking dangerously down the left side on 9 and all along the right edge on the long and perilous 18th.
Apart from those two holes, the par 4s are not an especially difficult group, with only one other two-shotter over 390 from the back tees. Both back nine par 3s have some length, with the 17th teaming with the finishing hole to make for a demanding closing duo that can make it difficult to continue a successful run on the more inviting holes preceding it.
Pine Lakes measure 6,300 yards from the white tees and is a nice fit for midhandicappers, with the 18th the only hole with serious length. Part of Johnston's renovations involved installing several kid-friendly tees, and families who play golf together will find few (if any) courses anywhere that are more accommodating to youngsters who are new to the game.
Oleander is the oldest and generally the highest regarded of the three, serving as the host course the four years the Georgia Open was played on Jekyll. Designed by Wilson, one of golf's most respected architects, Oleander is the oldest and most distinctive of the three, with its tight tree lines and abundance of water in play making it the testiest of the three layouts, despite its absence of length. Oleander measures a modest 6,521 yards from the back tees and 6,177 from the whites, but if you don't keep it in the fairway, the yardage numbers are irrelevant. One of the few holes where length is a concern is the par-4 12th, one of several holes that are exposed to the breezes coming off the ocean, with water very much in play for the distance challenged among us.
The 12th is frequently included on lists ranking the best or toughest holes in the state. The 12th is just one of a handful of holes on Oleander where length is a prized asset, but there are several holes that will not treat shots that are struck poorly very kindly. Slightly off-target tee shots are likely to encounter some of the overhanging branches or moss that line many of the holes, and approach shots have to be precise to find their relatively small targets, which are mostly well protected by bunkers that pinch areas of the putting surfaces, typically near the front.
From the fairway, Oleander is not a particularly difficult layout, but keeping it in the short grass is a real task in itself, with the ability to shape shots from the tee a handy skill to possess.
For those who visit Jekyll with their golf clubs, a stop at the Great Dunes nine is something not to be bypassed. The course features several holes with some of the smallest greens you will ever encounter, and the nine holes include one of the most unique par 5s in existence, along with one of the toughest-to-hit short par 3s without water you'll ever play.
Great Dunes represents what's left of Jekyll's original layout of 100-plus years ago and is a real treasure because of the glimpse it provides to golf from a distant era.
The annual Georgia-Florida Classic is set for Oct. 27-29, with golfers and football fans descending on the state's southeast coast en route to the game. It's a combination golf tournament/social event that has become an enduring tradition of Georgia-Florida week. Jekyll Island golf still among state's best deals.