FERNANDINA BEACH, FLORIDA | The Sea Islands chain of greater than 100 tidal and barrier islands stretches alongside the Atlantic coast from the mouth of the Santee River in South Carolina to the mouth of the St. Johns River in Florida. Golfers are fairly conversant in lots of the islands together with Kiawah, Hilton Head, Sea Island and St. Simons.
Tucked into the northernmost nook of Florida is the southernmost of the inhabited Sea Islands – Amelia Island. It’s a vacation spot extra golfers ought to get to know with its refurbished Pete Dye course (Oak Marsh) and neighboring Tom Fazio gem (Lengthy Level) as the first sights.
The Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa – an oceanfront vacation spot nestled on 1,350 acres and three-and-a-half miles of uncrowded seashore on the southern finish of the island – reopened the Oak Marsh course in Could after a $7.4 million renovation by Beau Welling Design of the Dye course that first opened in 1972, shortly after the completion of the revered Harbour City Golf Hyperlinks at Hilton Head Island.
Oak Marsh consists of many comparable attributes to Harbour City, together with small greens, moss-draped oaks that line inland corridors and a signature closing stretch uncovered to the salt marshes.
“We have been very conscious to protect Pete Dye’s technique and design intent in addition to elevating the enjoying expertise for in the present day’s golfer,” mentioned Welling after the course reopened to resort visitors. “We hope the general aesthetic enhancements, coupled with Amelia Island’s pure magnificence, will actually showcase how particular Oak Marsh is.”
Pre-pandemic, the resort was truly decreasing its golf choices. In 2017, it began tearing up its storm-damaged Ocean Hyperlinks course – which included 5 holes on the Atlantic – earlier than an injunction halted the demolition. The resort mentioned it was “repurposing that land into inexperienced house to allow all golf assets to be devoted to enhancing the Oak Marsh {golfing} expertise.”
Eight years later, these enhancements have come to full fruition. Welling’s crew aimed to modernize the comfy 6,471-yard Oak Marsh course.
Welling’s crew rebuilt all the greens and regrassed them with TifEagle Bermudagrass. All of the generously huge fairways, ribbon tees and inexperienced surrounds characteristic Bimini Bermudagrass, which affords lies on the brief grass few golfers might complain about.
Moreover, all of the bunkers have been rebuilt and repositioned to immediate extra strategic decisions off the tee in addition to method angles, posing fascinating challenges with out being overly taxing on resort golfers. Native areas have been expanded to reinforce the general aesthetic in addition to enhance the turf rising circumstances.
Oak Marsh feels intimate initially because it wends by means of the dwell oaks earlier than it breaks out alongside the tidal marsh on the par-5 ninth. Dye’s fingerprints are everywhere in the par-3 twelfth and sixteenth holes which might be perched on the sting of the marsh with greens propped up by railroad ties. It leaves you with a dramatic end, after the signature one-shotter at 16 segues into a frightening par-4 seventeenth from a again tee that juts out into the marsh and calls for your finest drive of the day. The par-5 18th affords one remaining risk-reward with a spit of marsh in entrance of a inexperienced that calls for a protracted carry to achieve or an exacting wedge after laying up.
Little Sandy is a rollicking different for resort visitors and members of the Amelia Island Membership, that includes 10 holes starting from 30 to 125 yards round a central lagoon. Performed from the fitting tee throughout the water, the sixth gap would possibly even remind you of the twelfth at Augusta Nationwide.
“Our celebrated Oak Marsh is now even higher and offers one of many nice golf course experiences in each Florida and the U.S.,” mentioned Theo Schofield, the managing director of the Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa. “Beau Welling and his crew [maintained] Pete Dye’s authentic idea whereas modernizing the format to be loved by our resort visitors and membership members for many years to come back.”
The undertaking additionally included a bonus on a chunk of the previous Ocean Hyperlinks course nearest the resort’s buying village – an authentic 10-hole brief course and 18-hole placing course designed by Beau Welling. Little Sandy is a rollicking different for resort visitors and members of the Amelia Island Membership, that includes 10 holes starting from 30 to 125 yards round a central lagoon. Performed from the fitting tee throughout the water, the sixth gap would possibly even remind you of the twelfth at Augusta Nationwide.
Little Sandy’s greens are loaded with undulations and character to entertain golfers of all ages and ability ranges with out consuming up a giant chunk of your day on the seashore.
Lengthy Level is the first golf course for the Amelia Island Membership members, but it surely affords some fortunate resort visitors an added deal with – particularly in September and October earlier than the winter residents return and the tee sheet is lighter.
First in-built 1987 and up to date by Fazio in 2022, Lengthy Level weaves by means of various and scenic settings starting from coastal forest to salt marshes overlooking the Amelia River to a pair of consecutive par-3s nestled between the oceanfront villas and the dunes proper on the Atlantic Ocean, the place you might be as doubtless as to not encounter a few the resident gopher tortoises.
Lengthy Level affords a sterner check of abilities (it has performed host to USGA qualifiers in addition to the Florida Girls’s Open) with a par-72 format that stretches to just about 6,700 yards and requires pictures to hold water hazards on at the very least eight events.
Whereas tortoises, deer and herons will boost your rounds on Amelia Island’s golf programs, you might be much less prone to encounter any Florida gators, because the saltiness of the marshes, creeks and ponds have a tendency preserve these hazards at extra most well-liked freshwater haunts of Egans Creek or effectively contained in the mouth of the Amelia River.
Omni Amelia Island affords all of the facilities for households and loads of choices for golf vacationers, together with 402 oceanfront visitor rooms and suites. The Villas of Amelia Island characteristic one-, two- and three-bedroom villas with ocean, golf or resort views. And for nightlife and eating, the charming village of Fernandina Seashore on the northern finish of the island has ample choices together with the energetic Salty Pelican or the historic Palace Saloon, which lays declare to being Florida’s oldest repeatedly working bar because it was transformed from a haberdashery in 1903.
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