Accommodations:

Amelia Island Plantation

Location:

Amelia Island. Rated by Money Magazine as "One of America’s 25 Best Golf Resort Values. This complex is an island retreat in perfect harmony with nature. Other amenities include tennis, health & fitness center, swimming pools, biking, horseback riding and one of God’s greatest creation … the beach.  Double occupancy. Includes resort fees, breakfast, green fee, cart and taxes.

Accommodations:

Ocean Links
Let’s start with a quote from designer Bobby Weed, “If you miss the fairway on five of the holes, your nearest point of relief may be Spain!”  Get the picture?  The course parallels the beaches of Amelia Island and meanders through a unique coastal maritime hammock.  The course winds through six miles of the natural sand dunes and seaside terrain.  It’s as much a nature tour as it is a round of golf.  The course yardage of 6100 yards is somewhat deceiving since small greens, narrow fairways and the prevailing winds make the course play longer.

Oak Marsh
Designer Pete Dye says it best, “Don’t come to Oak Marsh expecting flower boxes and manicured rough.  Early in its design, we realized this would not be a course that would have to be manufactured – instead we’ve left the rough in its natural state and utilized the existing features.  Only the areas of play are manicured.”  Stop it you’re killing me.  The course was built in 1972 shortly after Harbour Town and Pete was still steaming.  Honestly, this is a great golf experience.  With its tight fairways and small greens, the course meanders along serpentine salt marsh creeks and through moss draped heritage oaks.  Fourteen holes have water hazards and numerous bulk-headed greens.

Laurel Island Links
Located just across the border in Georgia, this Davis Love III design is a “must play”.  The long course is unlike others in the area, because it was designed on rolling terrain.  The greens are large and undulating, and the fairways are tree lined.  The course takes advantage of heavy woodland tracts, stretches of salt marshes and natural wetlands.  It also features the largest Bay Magnolia tree you’ll ever see.  #6 is one of my favorites.  This very long Par 5 features plenty of room off the tee into a fairway, which is guarded on the right side by a lake.  The landing area for the second shot is adequate to make a safe third shot approach and the green is guarded by marsh to the left.  Trey gives you a tough decision: can I carry the lake to the green in two or do I play it safe?  

Osprey Cove Golf Club
Also located just across the border, GOLFWEEK ranked it among “America’s 100 Best Modern Courses in 1999.  This Mark McCumber designed course features tree-lined fairways but not tight ones.  The greens are relatively small and surrounded by small bunkers.  This magnificently groomed course is nestled among the tidal inlets and pristine marshes of the St. Mary’s River.  Some special touches of this track include inlayed stone cart paths and wooden bridges, which blend with the rustic scenery.  The signature hole is #18, a 500-yard, par 5, which requires carrying a marsh area in front of the green.  The hole shares a green with #9.  Golf Digest lists Osprey Cove in the “Places to Play” and states “A gem … Must play if you’re within 100 miles”.  They were not lying.