Great Dunes Program

On behalf of the Jekyll Island Authority, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the newly restored Great Dunes Golf Course.

When the course was completed in 1927, it stood as the final design of famed architect Walter Travis and quickly became known for both its beauty and its challenge. Over the years, it became a landmark for the game in the South, leaving a legacy that endures in the island’s history and in the memories of those who have played here.

Now, after a thoughtful restoration, Great Dunes reclaims its place as a destination for golfers of every level. This course reflects the timeless Golden Age of golf while offering a modern playing experience that is as challenging as it is rewarding.

We are honored to share this milestone with you. As you explore the course and Jekyll Island, I hope you find not only a place to play, but also a story to carry with you—a story of history preserved, and golf reimagined for the next generation.

Sincerely,

Mark Williams Executive Director Jekyll Island Authority

JEKYLL'S HISTORY Jekyll Island’s story stretches across centuries. The island was first home to Native American communities, later becoming a site of Spanish and English colonial settlement. By the late 1800s, the exclusive Jekyll Island Club became a private retreat for America’s most influential families, including the Rockefellers, Morgans, Pulitzers, and Vanderbilts.

After falling into disrepair at the end of World War II, the State of Georgia purchased the vacated island and opened it to the public, turning the former millionaire’s retreat into a state park for all to enjoy. Much of Jekyll is now protected from development through state legislature, preserving its expansive beaches, dense maritime forests, and historic treasures.

Today, Jekyll Island is defined by this balance of humans and nature. Visitors can tour the cottages of the National Historic Landmark District, walk beneath centuries-old live oaks, or encounter conservation in action at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Recreation is at the core of the island’s character, too, creating conservation-sensitive activities for people of all ages.

Golf remains carefully woven into that heritage, with challenging and scenic courses shaped by the island’s landscape. With the restoration of Great Dunes, Jekyll continues its tradition of honoring the past while creating new opportunities for discovery and play.

GOLF ON JEKYLL Jekyll Island’s rich golf history dates back to 1899, when the Jekyll Island Club built its first course as a leisure activity for its wealthy winter members.

The game quickly took hold, and by the 1920s, the island was already making its mark on golf history. In 1924, the USGA conducted equipment tests on Jekyll, introducing steel shafts and new golf ball standards that forever changed the game. Just a few years later, the Club commissioned a new course, which would become Great Dunes.

In the decades that followed, the golf club expanded with Oleander (1963), Pine Lakes (1967), and Indian Mound (1975). While Oleander has since closed to make way for today’s expansion, the Jekyll Island Golf Club remains one of the largest public course operations in the southeast at 54 holes.

Jekyll Island golf also played a role in history beyond the fairways. The 1964 Southeastern Golf Tournament, organized by Earl Hill, marked an important step toward integration in Southern golf. The island also continues to shape the game for future golfers as home to the longest-running U.S. Kids Golf Tournament and the largest collegiate golf tournament, the Oglethorpe Invitational, in the country.

Today, Jekyll stands as one of the oldest and most storied golf destinations in the Southeast, where history and innovation continue to define the game.

GREAT DUNES GOLF COURSE Great Dunes made its opening debut in 1928 as a stunning, 18-hole course that combined sweeping ocean views, natural dunes, and strategic contours that rewarded precision and creativity.

Nature, however, reshaped the course. Between 1942 and 1954, storms and erosion along the beachfront claimed the original back nine holes. The front nine endured, allowing Great Dunes to remain in play, but only as a nine-hole course. When the State of Georgia acquired the island in 1947, the course reopened the following year as the “Jekyll Island Golf Course,” where a round cost just $1.

In October 2024, Great Dunes closed, and its restoration began. Today’s course honors Travis’ legacy of true links-style play, while bringing in modern design elements and improvements for playability.

WALTER “OLD MAN” TRAVIS Walter Travis was one of the most influential figures in early American golf. Born in Australia in 1862, he moved to the United States as a young man and quickly rose to prominence in the game. Though he didn’t start playing golf until the age of 35, Travis became one of the era’s most talented amateurs, winning the U.S. Amateur Championship three times and the British Amateur once.

Beyond his career as a golfer, Travis left a lasting mark as a golf course architect.

His courses—with bold bunkers, ample hazards, and contoured greens—challenge golfers to think carefully about every shot, making them engaging for both experts and beginners.

Great Dunes, constructed in 1927 and opened in 1928, was the final course designed under his guidance. Though Travis passed away before its completion, the course carried forward his vision and stands today as a rare surviving example of his work.

THE RESTORATION Honoring the legacy of Travis, the restored Great Dunes Golf Course has undergone a multimillion-dollar restoration, reinvigorating its Gilded Age character with modern golf course design. The nine historic Great Dunes holes restored to Walter Travis’ original design meet nine reimagined holes from the former Oleander course, creating an 18-hole Great Dunes course that blends history with modern playability.

The restoration, led by Brian Ross of Ross Golf Design and Jeffrey Stein of Stein Golf Design, takes golfers on a one-of-a-kind journey through the dunes, out to the ocean and back, in a wide-open, natural environment surrounded by a conservation-sensitive maritime forest—just as Travis originally intended.

A COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY As part of its restoration, Great Dunes is the only golf course in Georgia to use a brackish water irrigation system—a pioneering sustainability feature that reduces reliance on freshwater, curbs chemical use, and minimizes environmental impact. The salttolerant seashore paspalum grass, paired with a precision-controlled irrigation network, exemplifies how golf can thrive in harmony with coastal ecosystems.

The restoration also provided an opportunity to return the remainder of the former Oleander golf course to a more resilient

wildlife habitat. Using data from key plant and animal species, this protected space was carefully curated to connect natural habitats across the island, supporting the movement of native species between dunes, forest, and marsh. Upon completion, the wildlife corridor will also serve as a hub for low-impact recreation activities that give visitors a glimpse into the island’s ecology.

Great Dunes stands as both a recreational and ecological milestone—bridging Jekyll Island’s Golden Age legacy with the standards of today’s game.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Jekyll Island Authority extends sincere thanks to the many partners and staff whose dedication made the restoration of Great Dunes Golf Course possible. Their combined effort reflects a shared commitment to preserving the island’s legacy, keeping Jekyll a place where history, nature, and recreation thrive together.

COURSE ARCHITECTS

Jeffrey Stein Stein Golf Design

Brian Ross Ross Golf Design

JEKYLL ISLAND AUTHORITY

Mark Williams Executive Director

Noel Jensen Dep. Executive Director

Yank Moore Director of Conservation

Aaron Saunders Director of Golf Course Maintenance

Brad Ballard Sr. Director of Amenities

Doug Ballenger Director of Golf

Alexa Hawkins Director of Marketing & Communications

Lauren Buie Marketing Communications Manager

JIA BOARD OF DIRECTORS Glen Willard Chairman

Robert “Bob” W. Krueger Vice Chair

Dale Atkins

William “Bill” H. Gross Secretary/ Treasurer

Joseph B. Wilkinson, Jr.

Walter Rabon

Dr. L.C. “Buster” Evans

Joy Burch-Meeks

George Ruel Joyner, Jr.

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