Seaview
Designed by Donald Ross
History
Along the marshland fringe of Absecon Bay, a group of Philadelphia and New York businessmen looked to give the burgeoning resort town of Atlantic City a golf course worthy of its ambitions. The year was 1914, and the result was Seaview, built as the centerpiece of a grand hotel enterprise meant to draw the same moneyed travelers who filled the Boardwalk’s hotels each summer.
The commission went to Donald Ross, then at the height of his career and already responsible for laying out courses up and down the Eastern Seaboard. At Seaview, Ross worked with a rare piece of ground for him — flat, exposed lowland pressed against the bay, lacking the rolling Piedmont or sandhill terrain he favored elsewhere. He adapted his principles to the site rather than forcing the land to fit a formula, and the course that opened does not resemble Pinehurst or the other inland Ross designs so often held up as his signature work.
Seaview expanded over the decades that followed, eventually growing into two eighteen-hole courses — the original Ross-designed Bay Course and a companion Pines Course added later. The Bay Course has hosted championship golf at the highest level, most notably as the site of the LPGA’s ShopRite Classic for many years and, in 2022, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Ownership passed through several hands over the twentieth century, including a long stewardship under the Dolce Hotels banner and, more recently, Marriott, with the golf operation itself remaining open to public play even as the surrounding resort changed ownership.
Playing Notes
Wind is the club selector at Seaview, not the yardage on the card. Sitting near the bay in Galloway, the property sits low and open, and the breeze moves freely across the turf with almost nothing to slow it down — expect to club up or down more than usual, and don't be surprised if the wind shifts between the front and back nine. The terrain itself is flat and walkable, so fatigue isn't the issue; shot-shaping and trajectory control are. Low, punched approaches tend to hold up better here than high, soft-landing shots that the air will grab and push off-line. Bunkers and thick marsh-adjacent rough wait for anything pushed or pulled off target, so accuracy off the tee matters more than raw distance. Bring extra layers regardless of the forecast — conditions near the water can change quickly — and be ready to adjust your normal shot pattern rather than trust the numbers on your rangefinder.