The St. Joe Company has opened The Third, the newest Watersound Club golf course in Inlet Beach, Florida.
Designed by Love Golf Design’s Davis Love III, Mark Love and lead architect Scot Sherman, The Third pays homage to both Davis Love and the course’s position in the club’s collection of courses. The 18-hole course is located just north of Watersound’s Shark’s Tooth and east of the Watersound Origins community, home to a Love-designed 10-hole short course. Tom Fazio’s Camp Creek was the first championship course in the Watersound Club stable.
“The opening of new amenities has been a welcomed and regular occurrence at Watersound Club properties over the past several years,” said Patrick Murphy, senior vice president of hospitality at the St. Joe Company. “The opening of The Third, however, represents a monumental milestone in the ongoing Watersound Club evolution and an intentional response to growing demand from our membership.”
The Third offers six teeing grounds, and can play as long as 7,600 yards — or as short as 4,900 yards. It was specifically designed to provide a contrast to the club’s existing championship layouts.
“Players should be able to find a set of tees that matches their game,” said Mark Love, Love Golf Design founder and president. “The greens are large and have a good deal of movement in them. We can set up the course to challenge highly skilled players in a major event, but on a daily basis, it provides a nice mix of easy, medium and difficult pins to help keep things interesting, yet not too difficult for the average golfer.”
The Third is a private course for Watersound Club members, but is open to guests of St. Joe Company’s Camp Creek Inn.
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DUMBARNIE LINKS GETS 10TH HOLE MAKEOVER
Dumbarnie Links, the acclaimed Clive Clark design on the south coast of Fife, Scotland, has reopened for the 2025 season with a design alteration to its tenth hole. Located eleven miles from St. Andrews, Dumbarnie opened in May 2020 on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. At 7,620 yards, with low coastal dunes and stunning sea views, Dumbarnie soared quickly, now ranking among the top 20 courses in Scotland. Apparently, however, it wasn’t perfect.
Responding to customer feedback, the club has filled in a burn (stream) that crossed the fairway at the 524-yard, par-4 tenth. The issue revolved around tee shots struck when the hole played downwind. When hit 250 yards or more, golf balls would land on a firm downslope and run all the way into the hazard, which was blind from the tee. Excellent tee shots were being punished, rather than rewarded. Additionally, shorter hitters faced a nearly unfair burden when into the wind while attempting a blind carry over the burn.
“We are always listening to feedback because we truly value the views of the people who play Dumbarnie,” general manager David Scott told GolfCourseArchitecture.net. “There are probably some people questioning why we have made the change to the tenth hole, but we felt the burn created a slight negative where players should be encouraged to hit a driver.”
Course manager Grahame Taylor presided over the project, which was accomplished by bringing in more than 300 tons of sand.
“It looks like the burn was never there and once the turf beds in more, no one will ever know,” said Taylor. “The tenth is the toughest hole on the course and players want to be hitting drivers off the tee on a long par 4. But downwind you can find that burn and I felt like that wasn’t what we wanted from the hole. Last year we put signs up so that people playing it for the first time knew about the burn, but that wasn’t really the point.
“Removing the burn has always been a talking point but we didn’t want to rush it. We looked at the feedback, took that information on board and made the decision. To improve the experience for people playing Dumbarnie, it was the right decision and one we are very happy with. But be warned: it is still a great—and very challenging—golf hole that is very deserving of its stroke-index-one status.”
Scott noted that the response to the change has been positive. “We have had great feedback on the changes since we reopened recently,” he said. “The burn was blind from the tee, and with the southwest prevailing wind behind you along with the undulating fairway, balls could take a bounce with their tee shots towards the burn and in truth, that is a little bit unfair. By doing this—and also considering those who are not as long hitting against the wind—we are creating a fairer and ultimately better experience for people who play Dumbarnie, and that really is our goal.”
THE SOCIAL ASPECT
Only a few bunkers left to go at Pelican Point Golf & CC in south Louisiana before we start renovating greens one week from Monday! The results are looking great! pic.twitter.com/z8dLXbryB5
— Nathan Crace, ASGCA, PLA (@lipouts) May 2, 2025
REVIVED OLDE EIGHT TO REOPEN IN OCTOBER
Olde Eight Golf Club in Greenwood, S.C. is scheduled to reopen in October following an extreme makeover by Drew Rogers. For its first 35 years, this Tom Jackson original design was known as The Links at Stoney Point. Only the routing will be retained from the old course. Otherwise, Rogers is reimagining every hole from tee to green, delivering a new course on the old footprint.
“What attracted us to the Stoney Point site was its solid arrangement—it has a sequencing and fit that we felt could be improved upon within a typical renovation,” Rogers told golfcoursearchitecture.net. “The palette is strong, and the bones are good. The terrain here has nice variation and movement and the sequence through the site exposes its diversity, with both open and wooded areas, mixed vegetation, varied elevations and even some accented exposures along the banks of Lake Greenwood.”
Working in collaboration with Total Turf Golf Services, Leibold Irrigation, Mazzella Partnership and Better Billy Bunker, Rogers is also leading construction of an illuminated, nine-hole short course, practice facilities and putting green. A Callaway instruction center and high-end golf cottages are in the works for 2026. Rogers is touting the transformational aspect of the project.
"First and foremost, we will be establishing a completely new architectural identity and experience," he said. "We do have the challenge of there already being a golf course here — so the positioning and sequence will not change — but the elements within the golf envelope will most certainly take on a more refined and purposeful character, and in most cases be presented in a much more dramatic fashion."
The course will be lengthened to its limits and many holes will "feature strategically angled elements that will define the holes visually and beg the skilled players to think," Rogers said.
Rogers is also enthusiastic about the other golf aspects of the project.
"The vision for the short course is for it to be entirely bunkerless, with the ground contours to be the star of the show," he said. "The focus is on fun. The academy facility will accommodate members at one end and academy students at the other. The target area will be expansive, divided into two arcing fairways where players can practice draws and fades from those opposing tees. Both ends will also have putting greens and short game practice areas."
