Amelia: The Gateway to Fine
Golf in Northeast Florida

Amelia Island is a small (10 mile by 4 mile) barrier island just 40 minutes from downtown Jacksonville. It was settled in 1000 B.C. by the Timucuan Indians. From the late 1500s to the present, the English, French, Spanish, Mexicans, a band of pirates led by a Scot, the Confederate South, and finally the U.S. all played musical chairs with the island, coveted for its strategic location and rich natural bounty.

Today, anglers, birders, hikers, shoppers and, yes, golfers enjoy the island's attractions that include historic Fernandina with its quaint shops, wharves that serve fishing fleets, and fine restaurants.

The island was named after Prince Amelia, daughter of the English monarch, George II, by James Oglethorpe, who renamed it from Santa Maria, the name of the Spanish mission there. Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia.

The island has received numerous historic preservation and wildlife sanctuary awards and much of the island has retained its pristine atmosphere which is rich in subtropical vegetation. The island features salt marshes, fresh water ponds, white sandy beaches, and maritime forests of scrub pines and live oaks.

The island's freshwater, surf and deep sea fisheries abound in such delicacies as sea bass, blue crabs, flounder, and shrimp. From May - October, loggerhead and hawksbill turtles lay their eggs on the sandy shores, and off shore, where otters and manatees cavort, is the principal calving ground of the right whale.

Meanwhile, red fox, white tail deer, armadillo, and bobcat prowl the woodlands and marshes decorated with such flora as sea lavender, prickly pear, sea oats.

Much of the island's acreage has been set aside for environmental preservation. There are miles of hiking trails through the oak hammocks and around the marshes and lakes. Birders enjoy Amelia for its abundant woodland bird species and many migratory birds including the roseate spoonbill.

For history buffs, Fort Clinch State Park offers a glimpse of early America's martial heritage. The fort played a small part in three wars including the Civil War and the Spanish-American war.

Owing to the island's tradition of environmental preservation, the island's housing density is pleasantly low. There are no unsightly high rises, even along the beach. Accommodations include private condo or villa rentals, rental homes, and only three principal resorts: Amelia Island Plantation, Summer Beach Resort, and the Ritz Carlton.

Amelia Island Plantation sports three distinctive golf courses, Ocean Links, Oak Marsh and the private club, Long Point, on the resort's 1350 acres that include world class restaurants, seaside villas and condominiums, the Amelia Inn and Beach Club, shops, seven miles of hiking and biking trails, a world class spa, and a tennis complex that hosts a women's professional tennis tournament. For its extensive kids program, Family Circle Magazine one year named the Plantation the best family resort of the year.

Ocean Links is the newest addition to the golf facilities. The course was co-designed by Pete Dye and Bobby Weed, a locally based architect who also designed the Golf Club at Fleming Island, south of Jacksonville, and the Slammer & Squire at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine.

At 6600 yards from the back (6000 from the middle), Oak Marsh, a Pete Dye original, winds through oaks and pines on the front nine and along the salt marshes on the back. The course is also very tight and boasts several bulkheaded greens. Water comes into play on 14 holes. Some of the tee boxes, particularly on the back side, are situated virtually in the backyard of private homes.  The last three holes are outstanding, beginning with the 171 yard 16^th requiring a carry over water (Amelia River), a terrific long par 4 17^th that winds along marsh, and the even more spectacular 18^th, a 523-yarder (502 from the middle) that also features marsh all down the left side. Long hitters can reach home in two, but the second shot must carry about 50 yards of marsh to a green bunkered front, left and back. It's a nervy shot on one of the more picturesque holes you will ever play.

Long Point was designed in the late '80s by Tom Fazio and has all the ingredients of a great course. Plantation guests have access to this course with a surcharge. Two dramatic par 3s wind along the seashore on the east on a course whose front nine sweeps out west toward the Amelia River. It is arguably the best course of the three Plantation layouts.

For reservations at Amelia Island Plantation, call 1-800-874-6878.

Just a few miles north of the Plantation, along the shore, is Summer Beach, a world class resort featuring a Triple AAA, three diamond Ritz Carlton hotel, private homes and villas for rent. The resort includes all the amenities you would expect and features the Golf Club of Amelia Island, a semi-private facility designed by Mark McCumber-Gene Littler. In 1998, the club hosted the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, an event started back in the 70s in Austin, Tex., that jump started the PGA Senior Tour. (The tournament has since moved to the King & Bear Course at the World Golf Village.

The Golf Club of Amelia Island is relatively short, measuring 5039 to 6692 yards, but it demands accuracy, especially on the front nine, which snakes around majestic old oaks and serene inland lakes. This part of the course is really beautiful with its woodland feel and contrasts with the more open, seaside atmosphere of the back nine. Gracious and large homes line the lakes but are well off the playing areas.

Holes of note on this course include the 572-yard (502-white) 2^nd that doglegs almost 90 degrees and is lined with trees on both sides. A long, narrow lake runs down the left side and juts prominently out into the fairway some 40 yards in front of the slightly elevated green, making the second shot as testy as the drive. Equally demanding and arguably the best hole on the course is the 365-yard (329-while) 6^th. It doglegs 90 degrees around oaks to a green guarded left by another lake. Drive too short and the trees block your approach shot. Too long, and you are in rough or trees on the right.

The back side features several 420-plus yard par 4s, the short (349 yard) par 4 14^th requiring a 30-yard carry over marsh, and the 490-yard 15^th with marsh that juts out halfway into the fairway. A decent tee shot easily carries the marsh, which from the tee looks menacing. A safe drive leaves a long second to a prominently elevated green guarded in front by a very deep bunker.

The course is excellent and a definite must play. A gracious, comfortable clubhouse with friendly service is your reward after a pleasurable round. The clubhouse lies but 50 yards from the hotel entrance.

For Summer Beach Resort information, call 1-800-862-9297; for Ritz-Carlton reservations call 1-800-241-3333. The number at the golf club is 904-277-8015.

Within a five-minute drive of the Golf Club of Amelia Island is Royal Amelia Golf Links, which opened in 2000. Royal Amelia sits adjacent the island's airport and borders the Amelia River on the west. Owned and operated by two transplanted South Carolinians, Royal Amelia is a tight Tom Jackson track that weaves through oaks, wax myrtle, scrub oaks and pines, and palmettos, and features eight lakes. The course measures from 4800 to 6823 yards and carries a slope of 137 from the tips and 129 from the middle markers (6128 yards).

A portion of the course sits on what used to be a runway. The early holes play along the airport where golfers can see small planes taking off and landing. Royal Amelia is a typical Florida woodland design with some seaside links features including a few sand dunes here and there planted with pampas, love and other native grasses.

The signature hole is the 358-yard (322 from the middle) 14^th that takes a 70 degree left turn around a lake. An oak sits prominently and directly in front and to the right of the green, making the approach a bit daunting. The 17^th is a short par 3 with all carry over another lake and the 18^th is a very demanding, long par 5 through the woods. Also of note is #16, a 425-yard dogleg left with a pond on the left.

Put Royal Amelia on your must-play list. There are no homes around the course, the service and practice area are excellent, and the course couldn't be more enjoyable to play. The outstanding tif eagle greens typify an excellently conditioned course, an indication that the owners are intent on providing value to visitors. How refreshing! Be warned, nonetheless, to bring plenty of bug spray, particularly in warm weather. Huge brigades of gnats attacked me constantly on the practice tee, finally driving me off.

For tee times at Royal Amelia, call 904-491-8500.

Only a few minutes drive off the island off A1A is The Golf Club of North Hampton featuring a magnificent Arnold Palmer course that is also a must play. The club is the centerpiece of an upscale gated community. Play this one soon. North Hampton will go private in another year or two.

Of the dozen or so Palmer courses I have played, North Hampton is THE best. The front nine, featuring the dramatic 625-yard (from the tips) 2^nd, has a woodland setting and includes gracious homes well off the playing areas. By contrast the back nine has an open, linksland feel, featuring exposed natural sand areas copiously planted with native grasses, dramatic elevations, and two spectacular par 5's including the double dogleg 562-yard 15^th. Here, the fairway dips down before rising to a dramatic crest guarded right by bunkers. A lake further right is ready to capture sliced tee shots. Over the crest and not visible from the tee is another lake that looks like a quarry and serves as a watery grave for pulled or hooked tee shots. From the top of the crest you hit down to a landing area bunkered on the left and guarded further left by another lake which runs up to and behind the green. This is some hole!

One gets the impression that Palmer and his chief architect Ed Seay had first choice on the land, because it appears the upscale housing fits the course and not the other way around. The course opened in the spring of 2001 and as of the end of the year the greens were still very hard, a condition that will change with time. The greens are also as big as you'll see, in keeping with Palmer's conscious intent to build a links course after the fashion of the great Scottish links minus the pot bunkering typical in the old country (here the bunkers are of the open face style typical of Florida).

The course has six sets of tees (including a beginners tee) measuring from 2914 to 7171 yards. From the blacks, the course measures 6753 yards and from the blues (normally white tees) 6363 yards. The course plays to a par of 72 and from the blues has a slope of 134 (143 from the golds).

If course conditions when I played in December 2001 are any indication, this is one of the best maintained courses you will play anywhere. The course is operated by North Hampton Golf, which also owns The Golf Club at South Hampton and has recently purchased Osprey Cove, a Mark McCumber marshland design in St. Mary's, Ga.

North Hampton has a fine practice facility complete with short game practice area. The service is noticeably courteous and includes a starter who delights in telling humorous stories while you wait to tee off. He will also give you a chipping lesson if you ask on the adjacent chipping green.

To get a tee time at North Hampton, call 904-548-0000.

World Golf Village - King & Bear

About an hour and a quarter's drive south of Amelia Island just off I-95 at Exit 95A in St. Augustine is the World Golf Village. The village comprises golf's Hall of Fame, the PGA Tour Academy and a humongous commercial and real estate enterprise all covering some 7000 acres.

The village's two golf courses are the Slammer & Squire, opened in 1999 and designed by Bobby Weed with Sam Snead as consultant, and the King & Bear, the first Nicklaus-Palmer collaboration opened in early 2001. Both courses are laid out on essentially flat land marked by typical Sunshine State foliage, marshland and scrub pines and live oaks. The clubhouse to the Slammer & Squire is inside the main entrance of the village. Both courses are maintained to impeccable standards. Green fees for the Slammer are about $50 less than the King & Bear whose fee is almost $200.

The King & Bear features five sets of tee markers stretching from 5119 - 7279 yards. The par 72 layout has a 71.6 rating from the blues (6506 yards) and a slope of 135. From the blacks (6855): 73.7/139; from the stones: 75.2/141. From the blacks, the course was not particularly difficult, but I played on a windless day.

The front side was laid out on open meadow. The dredging of lakes on five of the holes allowed the designers to create mounds and slight elevations on several holes. The greens are immense, reflective of the Palmer contribution. The two par 5s curve around lakes and are both reachable with two precise second shots that manage to avoid deftly located fairway bunkers. The two best holes on the front are arguably the 437-yard 8^th, a slight dogleg right with a pronounced fairway tilt to the left, and the 430-yard 9^th, with a fairway bordered left by a high bank and right by yet another lake.

The back side is tighter and features canopies of 200-year-old live oaks and loblolly pines. Less artificial, it is the better of the two nines. The signature hole is the 349-yard 12^th that curves right around water to a large green on a tiny peninsula. The green is reinforced by a coquina rock wall.

Water comes into play on 16 of the holes on the King & Bear, a course that I grade a B plus. The land offered no special features and Nicklaus and Palmer are to be commended for designing a good course given its limitations. After a year on the Slammer & Squire, the King & Bear hosts the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, which has changed from a team format to a standard individual 4-day medal play tournament. The tournament is held in April.

For tee times at the King & Bear, call 904-940-6088. 

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