Golf recommendations in Atlanta Georgia

[David Wigler]

Hi all,

I am looking for some information about golf in Atlanta Georgia.  Specifically, Piedmont Driving Club, Golden Bear at Laurel Springs and Hampton Creek.  I have played TPC and am familiar with AAC, East Lake, Peachtree and Atlanta CC.  Are Piedmont, Laurel Springs or Hampton worth playing?

[Scott_Burroughs]

Here's Ron Whitten's slightly different take on Piedmont:
http://www.golfdigest.com/courses/index.ssf?/courses/critic/gd200108_critic.html

[Jeff_Stettner]

I lived in Atlanta for 3 years, but have been in California for the last 2.5, so any real recent courses I'll know very little about.
Laurel Springs is very skippable. A blase Nicklaus track that I remember virtually nothing of.
Of other new courses, I played a Davis Love track that opened last year (I was in Atlanta for a day). I don't remember the name, but a pretty good front nine lost interest on the back. The green designs were fun, though the routing was pure cart golf.
Basrnsley Inn up north is meant to be pretty good. Jim Fazio, I believe.
For a hidden gem, try Gold Creek in Dawsonville. Kind of a cheap man's East Lake (routing and clubhouse sit on a lake in a similar manner).
Also fun, though a little silly, in Chateechee, also up north. Very hilly with good views.

I hope this helps.  

[David Wigler]

Jeff,

Thanks for the tip.  I am really hoping for some first hand experience with Piedmont.  Given that the designer is such a controversial fellow here at GCA, I would love to hear opinions.  The pictures look very good.

[Mike_Young]

Jeff,
I am glad to see that you have played both Gold Creek(www.Goldcreek.com) and Cateechee (www.cateechee.com).   I think both are good but I have never  had silly used as a description of one of my projects.  Not meant to be advesarial but ..hit me with it.. maybe I can learn or explain.
  

Mike Y.

[SPDB]

Don't know much, but I would stay away from White Columns in Alpharetta. so-so track, but way overpriced.

[John_D._Bernhardt]

I have heard good things about the golf club of georgia

[BCrosby]

David -

Skip the PDC.  If you don't have an excuse to be elsewhere, make one up.

I wanted to like the course.  Several of my friends are members.  They anted up lots of money to build the new Rees Jones course.  Many are on the board and are also tied in with Peachtree/Augusta/USGA.  They crowed for a couple of years about getting Rees, about how good the course was going to be, about Rees' work at PII, East Lake, Ocean Forest, the US Open doctor, etc.

I played with them recently.  Normally I'm able to serve up little white lies to my hosts about how much I enjoyed their course, even when I didn't.  After our round at the PDC I was speechless.  I found it hard even to mouth the usual niceties so I just kept my mouth shut.  It was an awkward, painful post-round drink. They know I have fairly strong views about gca and my silence was probably deafening.  (Just a note - the Clubhouse is terrific.)

Specifics?

1.  On 14 holes (maybe more) water comes into play.  Reminded me of Old Marsh.  Not many interesting recovery opportunites, but lots of one stroke drops out of parallel water hazards.  I do not know how a player with a handicap higher than, say, 14 finishes a round.

2.  Lots and lots of extraordinarily artificial Rees mounds.  Hundreds border the lake edges, hundreds more on the dry side of the fairway built into or on existing slopes.  I can't overstate the artifical look of the course.

3.  A lack of strategic bunkering.  Greens tended to open up from fairway bail-out areas.

4.  No. 16.  460+ par four.  You are forced to hit 2i/3w off the tee because the lake snakes into the fairway in the landing area.  You are left with a 200-210 second into a severely contoured green surrounded on three sides by water.  Sheesh.


Laurel Springs is not very good either.  I've always thought that Nicklaus over-deisgns his courses.  They seem to be too clever by half.  It's as if he was insecure about his design choices, so he overdoes things.  If I'm right about that, then Laurel Springs is Exhibit A-1.

Recommended courses?  I have always liked Settindown Creek.  I'm not a big Cupp fan, but Settindown is a fun course.  Marred by a funky little 18th where they somehow managed to run out of real estate, but a delightful course.

If you can venture a hour out of town, do Cuscowilla (after ANGC, the second best course in GA).  Well worth the effort.

Finally, the Athens CC is also about an hour away.  Ross, 1925.  Some wonderful holes.  Some mediocre holes, but I hear there is a possible restoration in the works.  If so, there will be 18 very good holes someday.  



    

  

[David Wigler]

BCrosby,

Thank you for taking the time to write that review.  We are staying at Reynolds so I will be playing Cuscowilla and the other courses there.  We were looking for a course on our fly in day.  I really appreciate your insights.

[SPDB]

David,
While  overall the National course at Reynolds is nothing to write home about, I thought the stretch of holes that takes you out to and back from Lake Oconee were terrific. There is a stream that plays with a couple of the holes on the backside, that calls for some interesting strategic choices. see if you can squeeze in an "emergency 9" on the backside of the National course.

sean

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

David also depends on what kinds of ability you have to get on to places.  Obviously if you are talking about PDC and some others you must have ability to get onto fairly exclusive private clubs.

In that case I would reccomend you consider.

Hawks Ridge - Ball Ground, GA.  North about 45min, fun private course.  Some of the finest conditioning I have ever seen.  When I played had one questionable hole, 18.  I understand it has since undergone two revisions over the last 1.5 years.  Huge houses (couple Braves players etc) do not intrude on the course at all.

East Lake CC - Goes without saying.

Atlanta Athletic Club - Again goes without saying.  Great tradition, good golf courses.

The Golf Club at Cuscowilla

Golf Club of Georgia (Lakeside) - Alparetta, 45min north.  Beautiful course.  Seniors play here. Decent strategic course.

Golf Club of Georgia (Creekside) Tougher step-sister of the lakeside.  I love this course, a little penal, beats you up, but it "hurts so good".  Great shotmaking required.  Reminds me alot of my home club Musgrove Mill in Greenville, SC.

Crooked Creek Golf Club - Apharetta, GA  Decent private course.  Has some good holes.  Little more subdued club atmosphere than the ones listed above, but a great membership and a fun place to play.

If you are looking for public courses:

Woodmont CC - Canton again 45min north of ATL.  Beautiful newer Trent Jones Jr Course.  Has lots of beautiful holes, and some great shots required.

The Frog at The Georgian Resort - Villa Rica, GA.  25 min from ATL but going wrong direction for you out West on I-20.  Lots of fun.  Good mix of some finesse holes.  With some brutish ones with width.  Again just a fun place to play.  T. Fazio.

Barnsley Gardens GC - Adairsville, GA.  Another unique place.  Good golf course, tough to walk but some great holes.  Again wrong direction for you heading to Reynolds.  Worth a seperate side trip to take your wife/significant other though very unique resort setting.

Windemere GC - Alpharetta.  Someone mentioned above the new Davis Love course.  This is it.  I will take their cart golf statement a bit further.  This may be the single most unwalkable course I have ever seen, but there are some spectacular holes and views.  Neat place to see, but wouldnt want to play it everyday.

Hope this helps.

[Tom MacWood (Guest)]

Turboe
With East Lake and ACC you said goes with out saying -- I'm not sure what you mean by that, have seen wildly differing views on both?

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

By "goes without saying"  I meant that I assume that people were aware of these courses.  And probably familiar enough with them that I did not need to go through a thumnail description of the golf course chacteristics or accessability.

I guess I should have said "Needs no introduction"  But hey it was after midnight on Friday night when I posted.

I was trying to give some semblance of background on some courses that a person visiting ATL might not be aware of.  Specifically like Woodmont.  No one had mentioned it and I think on the Public side it is one of the better new courses in ATL.