Brays Island Plantation at Brays Island Plantation Golf Club

Brays Island Plantation occupies a private 5,000-acre island in the South Carolina Lowcountry, roughly twenty miles north of Savannah, Georgia. Ron Garl designed the course in the early 1990s, routing it through maritime forest, tidal marshes, and open meadows characteristic of the region's coastal landscape. The island setting provides natural isolation, with the course winding among live oaks draped in Spanish moss and alongside wetlands that shift with the tides.

The layout takes advantage of the property's varied terrain, moving between elevated corridors through hardwood stands and lower stretches where marsh views open across the horizon. Garl incorporated the natural drainage patterns and existing vegetation into the design, creating holes that play through relatively narrow tree-lined passages and others that expose players to wind and water. The routing reflects the constraints and opportunities of building on a barrier island, where environmental sensitivity and the preservation of native ecosystems shaped the development.

Brays Island functions as a private residential community with a membership that values the seclusion and natural character of the Lowcountry setting. The club operates within a broader plantation property that includes equestrian facilities and other recreational amenities. Access remains limited to members and their guests, maintaining the quiet, undeveloped atmosphere that defines much of the South Carolina coast between Charleston and Savannah.