Featured Golf Trip: Sea Island Resort

This piece originally ran in the GTG newsletter. Subscribe here for free.

Let’s stick with the theme here and dive into an exquisite golf experience in Georgia, albeit a good three and a half hours from the azaleas of Augusta.

Set on Saint Simons Island, Sea Island Resort meanders you through the lowlands and the coastline across 54 holes. The headliner is ​Seaside​, coming in at 36th on the ​composite top 100​ public golf courses in America, and set to get some touch-ups this summer (so, file this one under 2027 golf travel).

Its architecture history is rich, dating to an original 1929 design by famed architects Harry Colt and Charles Hugh Alison (the latter is generally believed to have done most of the real work). But it didn’t take its current shape until Tom Fazio came through in 1999, pairing the original 9 Seaside holes with a Marshland 9 built in 1974 by Joe Lee. “But in keeping with the resort’s heritage,” Golf Digest ​explains​, “Fazio styled his new course in the design fashion of Alison, with big clamshell bunkers, smallish putting surfaces and exposed sand dunes off most of the windswept fairways.” Davis Love III’s design team will take the next swing, refining the track as it closes down May 1 through October 18.

And then there’s the ​Plantation​ course, “one of the most interesting designs in the southeast,” GD ​says​. Its history is just as convoluted—Rees Jones stitched together two 9s in the 90s, one from Walter Travis in the 1920s, the other built in the 1960s by Dick Wilson. In 2019, Davis Love III and brother Mark Love got their hands on it, leading significant renovations to play into the course’s Golden Age roots, providing a fun contrast to the visually stunning Seaside track. The ​Retreat​ course rounds out the offerings, another Joe Lee design that got an early-2000s redesign by the Love brothers.

Alongside the golf options, Sea Island steers into the experience. The resort is 5-star in a distinctly southern way, refined without being stiff. When it comes to ​accommodations​, you’ve got your choice between The Cloister, leaning more into the coastal luxury side of things, and The Lodge, a more intimate, golf-first setup where you’re hand-delivered fresh baked cookies and milk each night. Pair those options with bagpipes at sunset and several great spots for food and drink.

This isn’t a budget trip, of course. Peak-season rounds on Seaside push north of $300 and rooms can easily land in the $1,000 range depending on time of year. But it’s a trip that blends great golf architecture with oceanfront surroundings and a polished, full-service experience—about as complete a package as you’ll find.