;)
JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. – Great Dunes, a long-forgotten Golden Age golf course designed by Walter Travis, has reopened to the public following a restoration that aims to recapture the spirit of its 1928 origins. The Jekyll Island Authority unveiled the reimagined layout, which features modern improvements alongside a preservation of Travis’s original design elements.
Originally built shortly after the island’s historic hotel opened in the early 1900s, Great Dunes was known for its towering dunes, sandy blowouts, and ocean views. The course fell into disrepair over the decades, but a recent restoration led by Ross Berlin and Stein Hayes sought to revive Travis’s vision using ancient photographs and consultation with the Walter Travis Society and local historians.
“From ground level today, the land can seem flatter than it was,” Stein said. “But the old photographs,shot from the dunes and bridges,revealed the undulations and green shapes Travis originally laid out.”
The restoration isn’t a precise replication of the 1928 design, but designers say it bears an unmistakable travis imprint. Great Dunes is one of only three public courses designed by Travis, an Australian who also won the British Amateur, the others being Potomac Park East in Washington, D.C., and a layout in Buffalo, N.Y.
The renovated course incorporates a brackish-water irrigation system-a first for Georgia-designed to reduce freshwater use,curb chemicals,and minimize environmental impact.A new wildlife corridor, built along a former rail line, has also been added to the property.
The layout plays 7,014 yards from the back tees and 4,818 from the forward markers, a par-72 that mirrors travis’s original intent for the oceanside course.
“We want to host college tournaments, community events, public play and local island memberships,” said Mark Williams, the Jekyll Island Authority’s executive director. “We feel like we’ve gone back to the future with this layout.”
