Sea Island Golf Club Seaside Course: The Ultimate Golfer's Guide

Countless golf courses are so good, so breathtaking, that they make you forget your score.

The Seaside Course at Sea Island? It's one of those types of courses.

Back in the 1920s, developer Howard Coffin wanted to build a luxury retreat on Georgia's coast. Enter Walter Travis, who laid out the first nine holes, but the real magic happened in 1928-1929 when Harry S. Colt and Charles Alison showed up. These guys (who'd designed courses all over the world) created the back nine and completely reimagined what Travis had done, weaving tidal marshes and coastal elements into something that would last and become the Seaside Course.

Then in 1999, Tom Fazio took it on. Big job — modernizing the course without destroying what made it great. He worked with Davis Love III, who lives at Sea Island and knows the place inside out, to merge the classic Colt and Alison nine with Joe Lee's Marshside holes. Love said they transformed "18 holes that didn't match into 18 matchless holes." And honestly? The course gets ranked in the top 100 in the U.S. pretty much every year, so they did something right.

Two rounds at Seaside are never the same. The wind doesn't just blow — it decides what kind of day you're having. Some days it's helping you out, nudging your ball toward the green like a friend. Other days? It's laughing at you while you're gripping a 5-iron on a hole where you'd normally hit a comfortable 7. This is proper links golf, where you spend as much time reading the wind as you do reading putts.

The course plays 7,005 yards at par 70. But those numbers don't mean much. What matters is the sweeping dunes, the native grasses and wildflowers everywhere, the bunkers that show up exactly where you didn't want them. The fairways are gorgeous — beautifully maintained, giving you hope right up until the wind reminds you it's in charge.

Never played Seaside before? Get ready for this: instead of flags, they use wicker basket markers on the greens. It's a throwback to Scottish links golf, but it's also kind of devious.

No flag means you can't cheat and check the wind from 150 yards out. You've got to trust yourself, read what's happening, make your best guess. Old-school stuff.

Since 2015, Seaside has co-hosted the RSM Classic with the Plantation Course — it's a PGA TOUR FedEx Cup event that Davis Love III hosts every November. The tournament record is absurd: 27-under-par by Ludvig Aberg in 2023.

That score tells you something about how good these pros are, but also that the course isn't trying to embarrass anyone. It's tough but fair. And you know what's cool? The same course that tests PGA TOUR pros is available to play for regular golfers.

In 2026, Seaside will turn 25, and they're doing a restoration — Love Golf Design is leading it. The course will be closed from May through October, preserving what Fazio created while making some subtle improvements. Shows you how serious Sea Island is about keeping things world-class.

It's hard to describe Seaside without sounding like you're overselling it. But I'll try: it's a beautiful course that mixes natural beauty with links championship golf. Challenging enough to keep you honest, fair enough that you're not miserable.

And when you're surrounded by tidal creeks, dunes, salt marshes, and the breezes from the Atlantic? Pretty tough to have a bad day.

PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on R.org and his stories on Athlon Sports. To stay updated on his latest work, sign up for his newsletter and visit OneMoreRollGolf.com.