Gilded Dynastic Age families had the money to go on vacation wherever they wanted.
Usually, their destination was on the coast of Georgia.
Then, as now, the barrier islands there were known as the Golden Isles, a moniker coined by early Spanish explorers in search of treasure, though the name also echoes the place itself, where the marshes glow gold under the coastal sun.
Over time, these islands attracted a different kind of wealth. The Vanderbilts. The Rockefellers. The Carnegies. The Morgans. They come to escape the winter, get away from the sun, fish, sail, bike and, naturally, play golf.
More than a century later, the Golden Isles remains one of America’s premier golf destinations, with a concentration of outstanding courses ranging from Golden Age classics to modern championship testing. The list includes prestigious properties in Sea Island and St. Simons Island, and the newly restored Great Dunes on Jekyll Island, a design announced by Walter Travis.
To experience the area firsthand, GOLF.com recently spent a long weekend roaming the islands with the staff of St. Andre Golf – the most powerful group of the Instagram era whose comic drawings have won them many fans. Armed with Johnnie-O, who supported the trip, we did our best to be part of it.
The tour took us from Sea Island Resort and a loop on the Plantation Course (it dates back to the 1920s but has been remodeled by local guys Davis Love III and his brother, Mark Love), then on to Jekyll Island for a loop at the reborn Great Dunes.
However, golf was only part of the story. We also indulged in Gilded Age cosplay, cruised the Intracoastal in search of dolphins, feasted on fresh seafood and, because no tour is complete without it, stopped at Southern Soul, a barbecue joint that’s as much a local institution as any golf course.
The Golden Isles still attracts its share of riches, including a number of PGA Tour professional leaderboards. But for all the luxury, this place has retained its cool, salty air.
Watch the video above for a tour of one of the richest golf courses in America — in every sense of the word.
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