Just off the beaten path of I-95, you will find the coastal community of Shellman Bluff. Steeped in history as well as Spanish moss, the slow-paced fishing village is home to one of the most scenic golf courses in Georgia.
Sapelo Hammock Golf course winds through 171 acres of land once granted to Lieutenant Patrick Sutherland by General James Edward Oglethorpe in recognition of the Lieutenant’s service at the Battle of Bloody Marsh on July 7, 1742. On that date, English and Spanish forces skirmished on St. Simons Island in an encounter later known as the Battle of Bloody Marsh. This event was the only Spanish attempt to invade Georgia during the War of Jenkins’ Ear, and it resulted in a significant English victory.
At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, a shipyard was laid out at Sutherland’s Bluff, molds were made at Philadelphia and live oak timbers were cut at the Bluff for the building of gunboats and four frigates for the Continental Navy. The British blockade of 1778 prevented the completion of the work. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Sutherland’s Bluff was a regular stop for ships sailing the Inland Waterway, and a store and livery stable kept there for the convenience of outfitting passengers disembarking for overland travel.
In 1954, archaeological investigations disclosed evidence of ancient Indian and Spanish occupation of the bluff.
In the late 1990’s a group of developers began the construction of a residential community and golf course on Sutherland’s Bluff and surrounding land. The golf course was given the name of Sapelo Hammock taken from nearby Sapelo Island and the hammock of oak trees located on what would become number 17 island green. The logo is representative of the lighthouse that still stands on Sapelo Island.
Read more about the Club and the area on the page “Our Story” and at the following links:
- Veteran Carriers Tour
- Martin NeSmith Dedication
- Low Country Beauty at Sapelo Hammock
- Golf-Home Owners Chip In To Save Struggling Courses
- Residents Unite to Save Sapelo Hammock Golf Club
- Shifting Sands and a Slow Pace on the Georgia Coast
- Georgia On My Mind
- Sapelo Hammock Golf Club on Golf Advisor
- Sapelo Hammock Golf Club on eSouthernGolf.com
- Golf Advisor Top 25
- Article by John Wilsterman from 2016 McIntosh Life Magazine / How Did You Ever Find This Place?
- See Our Feature Article from The Brunwick News!
- Business Acumen and Civic Pride Work to Save Sapelo Hammock
