from Atlanta to Toccoa, GA ....

[Paul Richards]

Traveling from Atlanta to Toccoa, GA, what courses should one see along the way or in the area?

Cheers!

[Link Walsh]

Chicopee Woods in Flowery Branch isn't too bad.  It's right near I-985.  Some hilly property,  a little early 90s architecture here and there.  But it's fun and affordable.

If you play there, they have 27 holes.  I would recommend you play the old front side and the new 9 if possible.  That would be the Village nine and the Mill nine.


But my favorite by a long shot in North Georgia is Cateechee.  It's in Hartwell, so it's across 85.  But if you have the time and have never played there, it's awesome.  It's a Mike Young design.   

[A.G._Crockett]

Cateechee is a great suggestion, which I would second.

Reunion GC is just off 85, very near Chateau Elan.  It is well worth a play, and won't cost you much extra driving time at all.  Golfweek has it as the #14 public access course in the state.

But my very best suggestion if a little additional driving time isn't a problem is Arrowhead Pointe, a state park course around Richard B. Russell Lake in Elberton.  It is a true hidden gem; Golfweek has it as #4 in Georgia among public access courses.  Believe me, it is every bit that good, and very few people even in Georgia even know where it is.

[Chris Roselle]

I might be alittle biased since I used to work there as an assistant pro back when the course first opened but Bear's Best in Suwanee was always one of the best in and around Atlanta.

[Link Walsh]

Cateechee is a great suggestion, which I would second.

Reunion GC is just off 85, very near Chateau Elan.  It is well worth a play, and won't cost you much extra driving time at all.  Golfweek has it as the #14 public access course in the state.

But my very best suggestion if a little additional driving time isn't a problem is Arrowhead Pointe, a state park course around Richard B. Russell Lake in Elberton.  It is a true hidden gem; Golfweek has it as #4 in Georgia among public access courses.  Believe me, it is every bit that good, and very few people even in Georgia even know where it is.

I have played Arrowhead Pointe a few times.  Great course.  Lots of fun, isn't it?  Amazing piece of property right on the lake. 

[A.G._Crockett]

Cateechee is a great suggestion, which I would second.

Reunion GC is just off 85, very near Chateau Elan.  It is well worth a play, and won't cost you much extra driving time at all.  Golfweek has it as the #14 public access course in the state.

But my very best suggestion if a little additional driving time isn't a problem is Arrowhead Pointe, a state park course around Richard B. Russell Lake in Elberton.  It is a true hidden gem; Golfweek has it as #4 in Georgia among public access courses.  Believe me, it is every bit that good, and very few people even in Georgia even know where it is.

I have played Arrowhead Pointe a few times.  Great course.  Lots of fun, isn't it?  Amazing piece of property right on the lake. 

It is an amazing piece of property.  The first two holes are very nondescript, but after that it is fantastic.  The back nine exceeds anything at Lake Oconee, and has no housing and very little boat traffic to boot.  Great golf experience for a real bargain price.

[Ray Cross]

Just logged on and saw this...beyond my wildest expectations after all these years. Back in my day, I doubt if there was a golf course between Atl and Toccoa. Old US 23 and 441 went through Cornelia and Clarksville to get to Clayton but I had yet to become addicted to the game or its courses.
As a kid in high school, my Principal and head Football coach took me to Toccoa to see if I would/could develope an interest in golf ( around 1953) since my career in other sports had been cut short (health ptoblems).
Later after I got the playing bug, I spent many vacation hours at Kingwood GC and Sky Valley Gc during visits to see my parents.
So, it is nice to see that NE Ga has develpoed some courses the are on people's listings to play.

Good luck Paul with your selection......altho they don't seem to be on the road from Atl to Toccoa

[Mac Plumart]

Courses that I think are neat on that route are:

Atlanta Athletic Club Riverside
Rivermont
Achasta
Arrowhead Pointe--perhaps the best dollar value to course quality I've seen.
Currahee

Reunion is a great design, but sometimes the conditioning can be a bit sketchy.

I've yet to play Catechee or Sky Valley, but I hear great things.

[Bryan Icenhower]

Courses that I think are neat on that route are:

Atlanta Athletic Club Riverside
Rivermont
Achasta
Arrowhead Pointe--perhaps the best dollar value to course quality I've seen.
Currahee

Reunion is a great design, but sometimes the conditioning can be a bit sketchy.

I've yet to play Catechee or Sky Valley, but I hear great things.

Well Mac and I have similar tastes, so can't add much, but would add (on the private side) Standard Club and River Club.  If you are between a few, check back and we can rank order. 

[Paul Richards]

Thanks for the suggestions!  Cheers!

[BCrosby]

No love for the Chateau Elan courses? Hamilton Mill?

I need to play Arrowhead Pointe.

Bob 

[Bill_McBride]

No love for the Chateau Elan courses? Hamilton Mill?

I need to play Arrowhead Pointe.

Bob 

I just found the aerial with Google Maps.   Wow, what a layout!   Do we know who designed it?

[BCrosby]

The website says Bob Walker designed AP. I don't know much about him.

Bob

[BCrosby]

From Walker's website:

Bob Walker is a 1971 Graduate of Texas A & M University - Commerce, Texas where he was a member of the Varsity Golf Team. He pursued postgraduate studies in Urban Planning and Parks and Recreation at Texas A&M University - College Station.

Club Corporation of America employed Mr. Walker in 1972. His duties with CCA included Golf Course Construction Inspection and Quality Control. In 1974, he joined the Arnold Palmer Organization as a Design Associate with Palmer Course Design Company. During employment with PCDC, Mr. Walker was involved in the design of more than 75 golf course projects. As Project Architect for PCDC, Walker's projects spanned twenty-three states and seven foreign countries.

Included in the highly acclaimed golf courses designed by Bob Walker during this period were the Legend Course at Shanty Creek in Bellaire, Michigan; The Fossil Creek Golf Club in Ft. Worth, Texas; and the Chung Shan Golf Club near Canton, the first golf course built in the People's Republic of China.

In 1986, Mr. Walker resigned from PCDC as its Senior Designer and formed Robert C. Walker, Inc. Some of RCWI's most notable golf courses include; Stonebridge Golf & Country Club in Albany, Georgia - selected by Golf Digest Magazine to their 1997 Top Ten List of America's Best New Golf Courses; Regatta Bay in Destin, Florida - voted Best New Course by Florida Golf News Magazine and 9th on their 1998 List of Florida's Best 100 Golf Courses; Arrowhead Pointe Golf Club in Elberton, Georgia - receiving Golf Digest Magazine's Runner-up Award in America's Best New Affordable Public Golf Course Category for 2005.

Bob Walker has more than 35 years experience in the golf course design business and has been involved in more than 130 projects worldwide. He subscribes to the "hands on" approach to golf course architecture. He is personally involved in all aspects of every project and dedicated to creating golf courses of the very highest quality. He is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, an avid golfer (3 handicap) and competes in local amateur events. The office of RCWI is located in Neptune Beach, Florida.

[Bill_McBride]

I've heard good things about Fossil Creek but nobody regards Regatta Bay too highly in this area.   I think it's pretty cool how he routed Arrowhead Pointe; perhaps one of the experts can find and post that aerial. 

[Mac Plumart]

I'm not the best at this, but this could be a start.

Arrowhead Pointe

[David Harshbarger]

That is very interesting use of the capes and bays created by the reservoir.   Looks like the course defines a great journey through the property.

[Mac Plumart]

Here are some photos as well...not the best photos, but it is a start.



2nd green...great internal contours




Looking back up the par 5 10th hole while on the green...




approach on 18

[BCrosby]

Thanks for the pics Mac. I'm intrigued. Always fun to discover a good golf course in the area by someone I didn't know much about. Gotta get there someday. 

[A.G._Crockett]

Thanks for the pics Mac. I'm intrigued. Always fun to discover a good golf course in the area by someone I didn't know much about. Gotta get there someday. 

You will be amazed.  Again, what is really weird is how few metro Atl golfers have even heard of Arrowhead Pointe, much less played there.  Golfweek has had it in the GA top ten public access for at least 5 or 6 years now, almost since it opened.  It defines "hidden gem".

[Mac Plumart]

A.G....

Someone check me if I'm wrong, but Golfweek has it in the Top 10 Muni's in the Country.