Experiencing Ocean Forest

I have an agreement with my wife. Some golf invitations aren’t a discussion; they’re an FYI. Meaning: if I get an invitation to an incredible golf course, then we’re going to do what is necessary to make it happen. She has the same freedom when she gets a similar invitation (Palm Beach, Florabama, etc.).

As you Substack readers know, Ocean Forest was #1 on the bucket list. I got a TON of questions about that ranking… ‘Why not ANGC/Cypress/Pine Valley’? The answer is pretty simple: of course I would love to play at any of those courses, but the calories burned to obtain an invitation don’t seem worth the effort. If it’s meant to be, it’ll happen. My list accounts for obtainability, and I know a few Ocean Forest members. We were planning to take the boys to Sea Island for Fall Break, and the invitation came. Tuesday morning at 8:50. Just my friend DB and me. The answer was an immediate yes.

What I love about Ocean Forest is that it feels like it has been there forever, even though it’s relatively young by great-golf-course standards. The property sits at the northern end of Sea Island on land the Sea Island Company had owned since the 1920s. For decades, it was largely left alone; a beautiful stretch of live oaks, marsh, dunes, and ocean that guests would visit for picnics and trips to the beach. In 1993, Bill Jones III decided the property deserved something special and brought in Rees Jones to build a golf course that took advantage of everything the land had to offer. Ocean Forest opened in 1995, with the first round including President George H. W. Bush, Jones, Griffin Bell, Davis Love III, and Rees Jones.

It didn’t take long for people to realize how special the place was. Ocean Forest hosted the Georgia State Amateur in 1998 and the Southern Amateur the following year, but the big moment came in 2001 when the club hosted the Walker Cup—only six years after opening. That’s pretty remarkable. That same year, the club established the Jones Cup Invitational, which has become one of the great events in amateur golf. There’s something very cool about walking the same fairways knowing how much serious golf has been played there in such a relatively short period of time.

Playing Ocean Forest is a treat from the minute you pull through the extremely nondescript gate. Then you see the clubhouse, and it’s a sight. Absolutely stunning. I wanted to be somewhat respectful and not be the guy walking around the grounds with my phone out snapping pictures, but there was plenty I wanted to capture. DB and I had been out to dinner with our significant others the night before and were moving a little slowly that morning. We downed some water, headed to the range, and tried to get ourselves ready for what was ahead.

The history is obviously a big part of Ocean Forest, but what makes the place so special is the property itself. The course moves through live oaks, pines, dunes, and marshland before eventually revealing the Atlantic. It never feels forced. The holes simply seem to fit where they’re supposed to, and somehow each one is memorable. There aren’t many throwaway holes. Beau Welling’s 2023 renovation enhanced all of that without changing the soul of Rees Jones’s original routing. The result is a course that feels completely natural to its surroundings.

And it’s tough. The rough is thick and unforgiving. The bunkers are toll-booth operators for the greens. You’re going to have to pay if you end up in one. And the greens…wow. I was driving the ball well, so I was fortunate to hit a lot of second shots from the fairway, but I learned pretty quickly that firing at the flag wasn’t necessarily the play. The strategy became much simpler: STAY ON THE GREEN. Find the right section, give yourself a putt, and move on. Putting was a humbling experience all by itself.

But quite frankly, I didn’t care much about my score that day. Ocean Forest is one of those places where the experience quickly becomes more important than whatever number you’re writing on the card. As the round progresses, the property continues to reveal itself, eventually leading to that incredible finishing stretch along the water. It feels unlike almost anything else in Georgia.

That may be what I liked most about Ocean Forest. It isn’t trying to feel historic or manufacture tradition. It has simply accumulated it: great players, important championships, memorable rounds, and one of the most beautiful pieces of property on the Georgia coast. Thirty years isn’t very long in golf, but Ocean Forest has made those thirty years count.

I’d built the place up quite a bit in my head before I ever got there, which can be dangerous. It didn’t matter. Every aspect of Ocean Forest exceeded expectations.

Here are some images of the course, the pro shop, the locker room, and my merchandise haul:

After we finished we headed to the pro shop. It is absolutely one of the better shops I’ve seen. They figured it out: Ocean Forest is going to be a memorable round, so don’t fill the shop with a bunch of weird prints or trendy colors. Solids, subtle stripes, usable tools, the best brands, and a section dedicated to UGA. Just what the doctor ordered.

The men’s locker room…it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. The taxidermy alone is worth the trip.

My merch haul. I did my best to be smart, and there are a couple of things that I wish I’d gotten…but I’m VERY happy with what I came home with:

All of this I’ll use, and put to use. I love the old school Georgia license plate putter cover, and the camo hat. I got a polo shirt and poker chips for each of the boys.