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Joe Idone's @TourPicks Exclusive Course Preview and Breakdown for the 2024 RSM Classic at Sea Island Resort in St. Simons, Georgia. He offers a comprehensive preview and concentrated analysis for DFS lineups.
We have arrived at St. Simons Island in Georgia for the final PGA Tour event of 2024, the annual RSM Classic held at Sea Island Resort and Golf Club. We have a large field of players ready to take on the Seaside and Plantation courses over the first two days until the cut is made, with the weekend golf being played exclusively at the 1929 Harry Colt-designed Seaside Course.
There is a ton of the line for numerous players this week with opportunities available to earn a Top 50 spot that comes with massive exemptions into signature events and Majors. This is also a make-or-break week for players flirting along the FedEx Cup top 125 cut-off for PGA Tour cards for the 2025 season.
Let's break down everything you need to know about Sea Island Resort and both golf courses to see how we can isolate certain player attributes that I believe are best suited for a high likelihood of success this week. I hope this piece can be a FREE and easy read to start your prep for the week. Let's dig into the course!
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An Introduction to Sea Island Resort
Established in 1928 along the Southern Georgia coastline, Sea Island Resort has a rich history and has become the home base for numerous professional players. The lure of multiple courses and a truly world-class training and practice facility, along with the region's normally ideal weather, has been a major element in its popularity. They have not been shy about updating and evolving the golf courses to suit the modern player while maintaining their Southern charm.
The Seaside Course was the second course to open on the property and will play host to three of the four rounds this week. It's a 1929 Harry Colt design with a renovation done by Tom Fazio in 1999. The Seaside Course is not defined by distance, but rather the challenging layout set along the coast with ocean views and exposure to the weather elements coming off of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Plantation Course was opened a year earlier in 1928 under the architecture of Walter Travis. There was a massive renovation that took place a few years ago in 2019 when this course was radically reimagined by Davis Love III who has spent the majority of his career practicing out of Sea Island. It has much more of a parklands and "Carolina" feel to it, but also barely exceeds the 7,000 total yards barrier.
Welcome to Sea Island, where three championship courses, the world-class @seaislandgpc, two Forbes five-star hotels, and five miles of private beach await. We are honored to be the host of @TheRSMClassic and look forward to an exciting week of play! pic.twitter.com/dkRQbaK9le
— Sea Island Resort (@SeaIslandResort) November 18, 2024
Scorecards:
Course Specs
Seaside Course:
At just over 7,000 yards, the Seaside Course is a par 70 that offers a more coastal feel with generous landing areas. It's exposed to the elements much more and tends to play much tougher than the Plantation Course if the winds are up. The Seaside Course asks players more questions off the tee as the fairways pinch in the further that you hit it. For this reason, there are a number of holes where players elect to club down to increase their chances of hitting the fairways and they are still left with a relatively short approach shot.
The greens are 7,200 sq. ft. and feature a TifEagle Bermudagrass strain. They are pretty flat in general and easy to putt. The key is hitting greens in regulation and giving yourself as many opportunities are possible to make 10-20 ft. putts. There is a good bit of water as well. It technically comes into play on 14 of the 18 holes. There are several shorter-length par 4's and two gettable par 5's where you have to make your hay.
Plantation Course:
The Plantation Course is much more inland and treelined, which does protect it a bit more from the weather elements. This course also offers up two more par 5's for a total of four, all of which are easily reachable for most of the field. The average fairway widths here are also quite generous, averaging 43 yards wide after the recent Davis Love III renovation.
The closing stretch on the Plantation Course is where players take this course apart. They have two short par 5's, two par 4's that play around 350 yards, and a very short 150-yard par 3. The Plantation Course has smaller greens that have a good bit of undulation and they are well protected by several greenside bunkers. The Plantation Course also has TifEagle bermudagrass greens as well. It has a bit of a Harbour Town Golf Links feel as you will see in this video from NLU.
Statistical Considerations
We have a ton of course history at this event as it has played host for many years, giving us a good understanding of the most important skill sets. Step number one is hitting the fairway, which is not difficult per se given the fairway widths, but paramount because trouble and hazards lurk just off the perimeter.
From there, the next step is to pound greens in regulation. Many players have mentioned that you can get into some trouble when pin-seeking, and the more proper approach is to take conservative lines which maximizes your opportunities for decent looks at birdie. The winning score is typically around -20 under par, although we saw Ludvig Aberg tear this place apart last year under ideal conditions to the tune of -29 under par.
Lastly, it becomes a putting contest. The key to unlocking your scoring at Sea Island is to make 15-foot putts. We have seen a fair amount of players who are not traditionally known as great putters, still show up and putt the lights out here. Adam Svensson did this two years ago when he gained nearly 10 strokes putting in route to victory out of nowhere.
When filtering in stats into your model, particularly approach and scoring stats, make sure you are looking at short course-specific data. The abundance of shots you have at Sea Island from 150 yards or closer is significantly higher than most events on the PGA Tour schedule. Here are the 10 best players on Strokes Gained Total on courses under 7200 yards over the past 30 rounds played on short courses:
- Eric Cole
- Lucas Glover
- Ben Griffin
- Ludvig Aberg
- J.T. Poston
- Adam Svensson
- Keith Mitchell
- Luke Clanton
- Seamus Power
- Denny McCarthy
Thanks as always and make sure to check out Preferred Lines for a more in-depth and comprehensive breakdown of the RSM Classic, including my picks to win!
Preferred Lines Podcast - 2024 RSM Classic | Tournament Preview | Picks To Win https://t.co/9xBDciDxb2
— Joe I (@TourPicks) November 19, 2024
