Hi @jrstaatsiii
Can you debug the value like so:
<?php
echo '<pre>';
print_r( get_field('ssm_featured_course', 'options') );
echo '</pre>';
echo '<pre>';
print_r( get_field('ssm_featured_course', 'options', false) );
echo '</pre>';
die;
?>
The first print_r will display the post object returned, the second will display the DB value (post_id).
Can you post back the results? Do they look correct?
Thanks
E