Ocean Forest Golf Club

Ocean Forest occupies one of the premier oceanside settings on the East Coast. Originally designed by Rees Jones, the fairways laterally traverse the site’s interior pines, skirting marshes and breaking out in memorable moments to the shore of the broad Hampton River inlet before finishing along the Atlantic Ocean at 17 and 18. The course had been ranked among America’s 100 Greatest for 12 years, then a fixture among our top 200 courses nationally (and in the top six in Georgia). But by 2023, it was in need of updates and revisions, so the club opted to have Beau Welling initiate some major changes. The main order of business was to try to better connect the formerly perched-up green sites to the low, rambling terrain to be more accessible for members, enlarging them in the process. Welling also removed most of the Bermuda roughs and added open sandscapes along the holes to emulate the beach atmosphere, reconceived the par-3 17th on the water and elevated the 18th fairway so the ocean was visible above the dune line. The alterations combine to give the architecture a stronger seaside character that’s on par with the magical property.