The Great Sand Dunes, a long-forgotten Golden Age classic, is reborn in Georgia

Architect Brian Ross has been in the golf industry for a long time and has designed numerous courses with many talented designers. Still, when he and his partner Jeffrey Stein were given the opportunity to restore a long-forgotten Walter Travis layout in the coastal sand dunes of Georgia, he didn’t hesitate.

“That was one of the main motivations for taking the job,” Ross said at the recent grand reopening of the Great Sand Dunes Golf Club, which bears the same name as when it debuted in 1928. The design was the last completed by three-time U.S. Amateur champion Travis shortly after his death.

“Travis doesn’t do a lot of classes, and he certainly doesn’t do a lot of classes for the public,” Ross said. “He worked primarily for wealthy private clubs – Garden City Golf Club being the most famous – so bringing back one of his few public designs feels both an honor and a heavy responsibility. We think we are proud of him.”

The original large sand dunes stretch across the rugged oceanfront terrain, offering sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean. But like many lessons from that era, it didn’t last. Storms in 1942 and 1954, combined with continued beach erosion, reduced it to just nine holes. After decades of further wear and tear, even the remnants were eventually folded into another local layout and later acquired by the state of Georgia.

The restoration, which will cost more than $6 million and begins in 2024, relies heavily on archival photographs to recreate what Travis originally looked like: bold dunes and dirty sandscapes, rolling silhouettes and ocean vistas. The team also resurfaced paspalum grass from tee to green, a choice well suited to the island climate.

“Looking at the ground today, the land looks flatter than it used to be,” Stein said. “But old photos taken from the dunes and bridges reveal the undulating and green shapes that Travis originally laid out.”

The result is not a Lido-like recreation of the 1928 design, copied to within a fraction of an inch. But Ross and Stein said it bears the distinct imprint of Travis on a scale most public golfers have never experienced.

“It’s a big challenge and a big responsibility,” Ross said. “It’s also fun.”

To help guide the effort, the two consulted with the Walter Travis Society and local historians on Jekyll Island, which is owned by the state of Georgia. In their research, Ross found that Travis—an Australian who also won the British Amateur Championship—had designed only three public courses: Great Dunes in Washington, D.C., Potomac Park East, and a layout in Buffalo, New York.

The island’s historic hotel, with its iconic round tower, opened in the early 1900s and has hosted some of the country’s wealthiest visitors. Travis Course follows closely behind, with iconic features including towering dunes, sandy eruptions and distant views of the ocean.

The new Grand Dune retains the retro spirit of the layout with modern improvements. For example, it is the first golf course in Georgia to be irrigated with a brackish water system designed to reduce freshwater use, contain chemicals and minimize environmental impact. A new wildlife corridor along a former railway line adjacent to the course has also brought new species to the site.

The course, now open to the public and playing to 7,014 yards from the back tees and 4,818 yards from the front markers, is a par 72 that roughly reflects Travis’ vision of a seaside playground a century ago.

“We hope to host college tournaments, community events, public tournaments and local island memberships,” said Mark Williams, executive director of the Jekyll Island Authority. “With this layout, we feel like we’re back in the future.”