The closest you can get to playing directly on the ocean for 18 holes. 

The two loops routed back and forth along the Atlantic leave you feeling like you never leave the beach; a line of dunes and maybe one other golf hole is all the separate you from the tide.  The wind is the primary defense, but the perched greens and long lines of waste areas with sand and long grasses add to the test. Accordingly, it’s a course that has you feeling perpetually exposed: to the elements, to your swing flaws, and to your nerves.  

There’s an undeniable thrill to the round. The cadence is punishing, sure, but never dull. Holes 2 and 3 are some of my favorites, using the beauty of the vegetation of eerie oak tree limbs to frame the shape of the holes.  Like many of Pete’s designs, he provides you a lot of zig-zag layouts, where a one-shot shape is called for off the tee and the opposite shape is preferred into the green.  Holes 11-14 were the apex of the round for me: the 11th a risk-reward 5 with a gorgeous green setting, the 12th and 13th with fairways and greens bulk-headed against the water, and the long 14th par-3 providing the best view of the ocean.  The set of par 3s are exceptional, each wind-shaped and visually compelling, and each offering a unique challenge. The 17th may not technically be an island green, but given its length is maybe more intimating than the 17th at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.   

The fairways are generous but if you miss them you will find yourself in difficult positions, and that is if you find your ball. But the real test here are the second shots, made much easier or more difficult with the right angle and/or wind. The greens are subtle but often pushed up making chipping more challenging. The course may play more fun with tighter fairways and firmer conditions, but the paspalum grass tee your ball up perfectly making it easier to hit higher shots than other ocean courses.  

The price and location of the Ocean course makes it difficult to play often, but its unique character and exposure to the setting’s expectational elements will help you savor the few chances you have to make the walk.