The Savannah Golf Club traces its organized play to the nineteenth century at its current campus (incorporated 1899), but the course that golfers see today sits atop several layers of twentieth-century work. A first nine was laid out by S. W. Stewart in the early 1900s and expanded to 18 holes in the 1910s. In the 1920s, the club engaged Donald Ross to remodel and modernize the course. The most commonly cited date for Ross’s on-site work is circa 1927, though publicly available summaries differ on whether this involved a complete rerouting or a targeted rebuild of greens, tees, and select corridors.
The landscape itself shaped both the original and later iterations. The property contains preserved Civil War earthen ramparts, now protected features that the club explicitly integrates into play and course identity. The routing has long woven around these works, creating natural ridges and hollows that influence fairway run and green setting.
Modern changes unfolded in two principal phases. In 2013, the club undertook a limited renovation—reported locally as 12 bunkers rebuilt and green shapes emphasized to restore “table-top” perimeters associated with the club’s historic presentation. This work was described as returning the course “toward” the original Ross feel.
In 2018, the club adopted a Hanse Golf Design master plan expressly labeled “Ross” and describes the current work as a hands-on restoration, with the firm continuing as master-plan architect (2018–present). The club’s pages confirm the ongoing nature of the project.
Unique Design Characteristics
Even with later adjustments, several course characteristics today track either to Ross’s known Georgia-Lowcountry interventions or to specific restorations undertaken to re-present them at Savannah:
Perched “table-top” greens with defined edges. The 2013 work explicitly accentuated green shapes to emphasize the topside plateaus; the club’s Hanse-era effort continues to present flat-topped targets with falling surrounds, a hallmark of the course’s defense. These surfaces keep approach play exacting despite modest length.
Use of historic ramparts as contour. The routing and hole corridors thread along Civil War earthworks, yielding natural ridges that create stance and lie variations without manufactured mounding. The effect is especially pronounced on mid-length par fours that ask for precise height control into greens set just beyond these rises.
Short-hole drama at the Fourteenth. Independent commentary identifies No. 14 as a “volcano”-type par three—a compact, all-or-nothing target perched above sand and short-grass fall-offs. While the exact Ross authorship of this green’s internal contour awaits plan confirmation, the restored presentation matches the course’s overarching demand for aerial precision with options for recovery along closely-mown banks.
Balanced risk on par fives. The opening pair of par fives and the back-nine three-shotters (as shown on the card) combine bunkers set into driving zones with hazard lines that shape lay-up choices; the intention is to create directional bias off the tee and then reward leaving the correct angle into slender green platforms. The club’s scorecard distances show variety in the second-shot asks rather than pure length inflation.
Taken together, the clearest surviving “Ross at Savannah” expressions are the perched, edge-defended greens, the angle-governing fairway bunkers (particularly where rebuilt in 2013 and subsequently within the Hanse plan), and the integration of historic earthworks into strategy rather than as out-of-play backdrops.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s body of work, Savannah is a Southeastern city-club commission overlying a site with exceptional military-landscape context; few American courses incorporate preserved Civil War fortifications as functional landforms. The club presents itself as one of the nation’s oldest golf organizations, with continuous course development at the present site since the 1890s, onto which Ross’s 1920s redesign was grafted. (The 1794 “oldest club” claim is about organized play, not the present 18-hole layout; for architecture history, the 1899–1920s period is the operative window.)
Competitively, the course has been a recurrent host for the Georgia State Golf Association. The GSGA’s official host-club ledger lists Savannah Golf Club as site of the Georgia Amateur in 1917, 1927, 1954, 1959, 1966, and 1994, along with additional junior and team events; local reporting confirms frequent use for state championships into the 2010s. This record places Savannah among the state’s dependable championship venues for more than a century.
Current Condition / Integrity
Routing and yardage. The course today remains 18 holes on its historic campus, playing par 72 / 6,481 yards from the back markers. The club emphasizes that presentation and playability, not extreme lengthening, underpin the current test.
Greens and surrounds. Following years in which surfaces had drifted in from edges, the club’s 2013 renovation and the 2018-present Hanse master plan focused on recapturing perimeter and restoring the “table-top” effect—flatter crowns with surrounding fall-offs and short grass. This has increased usable hole locations while re-introducing depth-control demands into firm targets.
Bunkers and fairway lines. Twelve bunkers were rebuilt in 2013; subsequent master-plan work has continued to adjust placement, visibility, and scale in line with Ross precedents on similar sites. The club’s published card indicates a cadence of driving-zone bunkers and short-of-green sand that foreshortens targets—features consistent with the club’s goal of a Ross-forward presentation. (Hanse’s page confirms the master-plan role but does not list hole-by-hole specifics; those reside in the club files.)
Historic earthworks. The Civil War ramparts are preserved in play corridors and as flanking features; their preservation constrains tree work and grading, which has helped keep the ground game lively in approaches where short grass ties fairway to green aprons.
Practice and facilities. The club maintains modern practice amenities and uses its course regularly for GSGA competitions.
Integrity assessment. On available evidence, Ross’s authorship at Savannah is best characterized as a 1920s redesign layered onto earlier work, with subsequent twentieth-century adjustments and twenty-first-century restoration intended to re-center Ross’s strategic themes. Without public access to the original Ross plan set, it is not yet possible to ascribe each hole’s precise green interior or bunker line directly to Ross; however, the club’s 2013 and 2018-present projects explicitly seek to restore Ross attributes, and the course’s present character—**perched greens, angle-governing bunkers, and rampart-shaped ground—**is consistent with that aim.
Sources & Notes
Savannah Golf Club — “Golf” (official site). Course is Donald Ross–designed; par 72, 6,481 yards; identity of Civil War earthworks as in-play features; notes on Gil Hanse leading a restoration plan.
Savannah Golf Club — “Our Course” (official scorecard page). Hole-by-hole yardages, ratings, slopes; interactive card used here as the primary scorecard reference.
Hanse Golf Design — “Savannah Golf Club” project listing. Master Plan – Ross (2018, ongoing); confirms firm’s current role.
Hanse Golf Design — Restoration Projects index. Lists Savannah Golf Club under Georgia with Course Restoration – 2018, ongoing, situating SGC within the firm’s Ross restoration portfolio.
Savannah Morning News (Elmo Weeks), “Renovations take Savannah Golf Club back to original design,” Aug. 31, 2013. Reports 12 bunkers redone; green shapes accentuated to emphasize “table-top” presentation; characterizes the effort as restoring Ross’s intended feel.
GSGA — “Competition Host Clubs.” Lists Savannah Golf Club as host for the Georgia Amateur in 1917, 1927, 1954, 1959, 1966, 1994, and other events.
Savannah Morning News, “Savannah Golf Club hosting Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship,” May 16, 2013. Confirms modern competitive use and historical hosting totals.
Savannah Golf Club — “History / Timeline & Gallery.” Club-maintained narrative on its eighteenth-/nineteenth-century origins; statement about repeated hosting of state events; background to claims about organizational age. (Used here for club context, not architectural dating.)
Secondary forum & blog sources (use with caution):
a) GolfClubAtlas forum threads on SGC history (S. W. Stewart nine; Ross c. 1927 remodel; routing issues after land takings), reflecting researcher notes and conflicting viewpoints.
b) Golfadelphia field report noting No. 14 as a “volcano”-type par three and summarizing lineage (Stewart, Ross, later Clyde Johnston modifications), used here to identify features pending plan confirmation.