Sea Island GC – Retreat (Private/Resort)

100 Kings Way, St. Simons Island
912-634-4460; www.seaisland.com

STAFF: Brannen Veal is the Director of Golf; Chrissy Felton is the Golf Professional.

PAR/YARDAGE: Retreat plays to a par of 72 with fives sets of tees: Championship (7,118 yards); Back (6,735); Middle (6,331); Member (5,905); Forward (5,082).

COURSE RATING/SLOPE: 73.9/135 (Championship); 72.2/131 (Back); 70.2/124 (Middle); 68.0/119 (Member); 68.9/117 (Forward).

ABOUT THE COURSE: Formerly known as the St. Simons Island Club, the original Joe Lee design was renovated by Sea Island resident Davis Love III and re-opened in 2001 as a significantly different course. The layout added some 600 yards from the back tees, the formerly tight fairway corridors were opened up and the putting surfaces were expanded and re-contoured. With the greens now featuring more undulation than previously, the areas bordering them were softened somewhat, with a number of bunkers removed to open approach angles. The greens are considerably larger than they were, and with the constant presence of breezes off the nearby ocean, distance control is vital to avoid some extremely long and challenging putts. Because Retreat is across the road from its sister Plantation and Seaside layouts, it is not quite as exposed to the elements, with almost every hole bordered by trees on both sides to further shield it from the wind, which is still a major factor. Even with the additional yardage, Retreat is not an especially long course, with only two par 4s measuring more than 430 yards from the Championship tees.

The 13th and 14th are the lone par 4s with serious length, and just two others feature hazards, which are primarily a factor on the par 3s and 5s. The 6th is a wonderful short par 4, with water lining the right side of the fairway all the way to a huge, undulating green bisected by a bowl in the middle. The hole is one of the most exposed on the course, with an angular bunker along the edge of the water helping prevent wind-aided tee shots from shooting through the fairway and into the lake. Water hugs the left side of the fairway from tee to green to make the 18th a scenic but potentially hazardous finishing hole. Although water is in play on three of the par 3s, their absence of significant yardage makes them a mostly friendly group, as are the par 5s if you can avoid the water that lines the fairways on three of the four. Not quite as dramatic as its counterparts along the ocean, but still a thoroughly enjoyable and first-rate design.