FERNANDINA BEACH, FLORIDA | The Sea Islands chain of more than 100 tidal and barrier islands stretches along 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 quite familiar with many of the islands including Kiawah, Hilton Head, Sea Island and St. Simons.
Tucked into the northernmost corner of Florida is the southernmost of the inhabited Sea Islands – Amelia Island. It’s a destination more golfers should get to know with its refurbished Pete Dye course (Oak Marsh) and neighboring Tom Fazio gem (Long Point) as the primary attractions.
The Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa – an oceanfront destination nestled on 1,350 acres and three-and-a-half miles of uncrowded beach at the southern end of the island – reopened the Oak Marsh course in May 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 Town Golf Links at Hilton Head Island.
Oak Marsh includes many similar attributes to Harbour Town, including small greens, moss-draped oaks that line inland corridors and a signature closing stretch exposed to the salt marshes.
“We were very mindful to preserve Pete Dye’s strategy and design intent as well as elevating the playing experience for today’s golfer,” said Welling after the course reopened to resort guests. “We hope the overall aesthetic improvements, coupled with Amelia Island’s natural beauty, will truly showcase how special Oak Marsh is.”
Pre-pandemic, the resort was actually reducing its golf options. In 2017, it started tearing up its storm-damaged Ocean Links course – which included five holes on the Atlantic – before an injunction halted the demolition. The resort said it was “repurposing that land into green space to enable all golf resources to be dedicated to enhancing the Oak Marsh golfing experience.”
Eight years later, those enhancements have come to full fruition. Welling’s team aimed to modernize the cozy 6,471-yard Oak Marsh course.
Welling’s team rebuilt all of the greens and regrassed them with TifEagle Bermudagrass. All the generously wide fairways, ribbon tees and green surrounds feature Bimini Bermudagrass, which offers lies on the short grass few golfers could complain about.
Additionally, all the bunkers were rebuilt and repositioned to prompt more strategic choices off the tee as well as approach angles, posing interesting challenges without being overly taxing on resort golfers. Native areas were expanded to enhance the overall aesthetic as well as improve the turf growing conditions.
Oak Marsh feels intimate at the start as it wends through the live oaks before it breaks out along the tidal marsh on the par-5 ninth. Dye’s fingerprints are all over the par-3 12th and 16th holes that are perched on the edge of the marsh with greens propped up by railroad ties. It leaves you with a dramatic finish, after the signature one-shotter at 16 segues into a daunting par-4 17th from a back tee that juts out into the marsh and demands your best drive of the day. The par-5 18th offers one final risk-reward with a spit of marsh in front of a green that demands a long carry to reach or an exacting wedge after laying up.
Little Sandy is a rollicking alternative for resort guests and members of the Amelia Island Club, featuring 10 holes ranging from 30 to 125 yards around a central lagoon. Played from the right tee across the water, the sixth hole might even remind you of the 12th at Augusta National.
“Our celebrated Oak Marsh is now even better and provides one of the great golf course experiences in both Florida and the U.S.,” said Theo Schofield, the managing director of the Omni Amelia Island Resort & Spa. “Beau Welling and his team [maintained] Pete Dye’s original concept while modernizing the layout to be enjoyed by our resort guests and club members for decades to come.”
The project also included a bonus on a piece of the former Ocean Links course nearest the resort’s shopping village – an original 10-hole short course and 18-hole putting course designed by Beau Welling. Little Sandy is a rollicking alternative for resort guests and members of the Amelia Island Club, featuring 10 holes ranging from 30 to 125 yards around a central lagoon. Played from the right tee across the water, the sixth hole might even remind you of the 12th at Augusta National.
Little Sandy’s greens are loaded with undulations and character to entertain golfers of all ages and skill levels without eating up a big chunk of your day at the beach.
Long Point is the primary golf course for the Amelia Island Club members, but it offers some lucky resort guests an added treat – especially in September and October before the winter residents return and the tee sheet is lighter.
First built in 1987 and updated by Fazio in 2022, Long Point weaves through diverse and scenic settings ranging 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 right on the Atlantic Ocean, where you are as likely as not to encounter a couple of the resident gopher tortoises.
Long Point offers a sterner test of skills (it has played host to USGA qualifiers as well as the Florida Women’s Open) with a par-72 layout that stretches to nearly 6,700 yards and requires shots to carry water hazards on at least eight occasions.
While tortoises, deer and herons will spice up your rounds on Amelia Island’s golf courses, you are less likely to encounter any Florida gators, as the saltiness of the marshes, creeks and ponds tend keep those hazards at more preferred freshwater haunts of Egans Creek or well inside the mouth of the Amelia River.
Omni Amelia Island offers all the amenities for families and plenty of options for golf travelers, including 402 oceanfront guest rooms and suites. The Villas of Amelia Island feature one-, two- and three-bedroom villas with ocean, golf or resort views. And for nightlife and dining, the charming village of Fernandina Beach at the northern end of the island has ample options including the lively Salty Pelican or the historic Palace Saloon, which lays claim to being Florida’s oldest continuously operating bar since it was converted from a haberdashery in 1903.