Reynolds Plantation
GREENSBORO, GA. – Reynolds Plantation welcomes you with southern hospitality, 117 holes of piney woods golf, luxury of The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, a lakeside lifestyle and an assembly of outdoors activities. Situated on Lake Oconee halfway between Atlanta and Augusta, Reynolds Plantation is a feast of secluded forest golf rarely seen.
In fact, more golf in one location can only be found at Pinehurst Resort’s eight courses in North Carolina and Crystal Springs Golf Resort’s seven courses in New Jersey.
“I see the friendliness of Reynolds Plantation every time I attend one of the new member dinners we have,” said Wes Forester, head pro at The Creek Club. “New residents say over and over how welcome they feel when they move here.”
Reynolds Plantation golf: you don’t have to move here to experience it
The rolling hills golf of Reynolds Plantation keynotes an outstanding place to retire, but you can experience the smiles and warm greetings by simply checking in to the awesome Ritz-Carlton Lodge.
The first golf course built, The Landing, was designed by Bob Cupp and opened in 1986 as Port Armour Golf Club. Few know that when the first tee shot was struck only Augusta National ranked higher by many raters in Georgia. Reynolds Plantation acquired the course in 2005.
Cupp also laid out The Plantation with consultation from Fuzzy Zoeller and Hubert Green in 1988 saying it used Cupp’s detail for deception and Zoeller’s penchant for making golf fun. The course uses swales, undulations, and false fronts to make things interesting.
Jack Nicklaus added Great Waters in 1992 with a parkland-styled front nine then a back side that includes shots over coves of the lake with the final eight holes on 19,000-acre Lake Oconee. In 2014 Great Waters hosted the first-ever Big Break Invitational Reynolds Plantation, a 72-hole tournament featuring a select field of 40 past Big Break champions, televised live on The Golf Channel.
The 27 holes of Tom Fazio’s The National debuted in 1997 and were completed in 2000 with the Ridge and Cove first and Bluff nine added last. These fairways are defined by elevation changes of as much as 60 feet as they roll through Georgia pines, hardwoods and flowering wild dogwoods. Several holes skirt the lake. Typical of Fazio designs the greens have lots of undulations making your read of every putt a must.
An extensive renovation completed in 2014 included converting the greens to Champion Dwarf Bermudagrass, as well as Fazio overseeing the complete reshaping of new, smaller bunkers.
Rees Jones created the 2002 Oconee Course with risk-reward adventure, doglegs and shots over inlets of Lake Oconee. “Oconee was built on a piece of ground with the same topography as the courses my father designed (Robert Trent Jones Sr.),” Jones said.
The par 3s are absolute fun featuring elevated tee shots and numerous water hazards that are both penal and eye-catching. Lake Oconee comes into play on five holes, while four others offer inspiring lake views. Interior creeks and ponds, as well as massive bunkering, ensure a tough but fair challenge for every level of player.
The Creek Club: members only layout equals unparalleled fun
The Creek Club remains off-limits to nonmembers but if you ever receive an invite don’t miss it.
Architect of the Year Engh was awarded the chance to design a course unlike the other traditional golf courses of Reynolds Plantation and he delivered with a receptive beauty that might just reward you with your best round ever. Richland Creek was a focal point of the design.
“We did virtually nothing to alter the natural stream beds,” Engh said. “The creeks had their native banks and we just formed them to fit in with the rest of the course.”
“I’ll never forget the day I played it with Mr. Engh,” said Forester, “on the 14th hole he told me to stop looking at the pin and start looking at the slopes – that you might find a better pathway to the pin.”
The Creek Club is an amusement park of punchbowl greens -- muscular, squiggly bunkers and sometimes a minefield of pot bunkers. A couple of the par-3 greens create visions like nothing you have ever seen. There are roller-coaster angles shaped more like can-
tankerous curves than a traditional old-style putting surface.
“One day Rees Jones came here from Pinehurst and after looking at Engh’s punchbowl greens he said that they were just the opposite of Donald Ross’ signature turtleback greens – that Engh just turned them upside down to make the receptive greens we have here at The Creek Club,” Forester said.
The par-3 No. 13, has produced 92 aces and the course has yielded more than 200 holes-in-one.
“This golf course doesn’t cater to the 0-10 handicap golfer,” Forester continued, “it caters to players who mis-hit golf shots. It is just another way of looking at golf.”
The 18th, a par-5, 557-yarder, climbs a hill to the clubhouse and has three separate greens – one green is designated for play each day.
This was my 10th Engh course played and I’ve never been disappointed or bored. When you finish you want more.
The Kingdom at Reynolds Plantation
The Kingdom at Reynolds Plantation is a TaylorMade run club-fitting experience. They call it “Golf’s Ultimate Fitting Experience” utilizing the same revolutionary advancements in motion capture technology seen in movies. This is an encounter previously available only to PGA Tour professionals, and includes a club finishing trailer that was once on tour.
In addition, Top-100 teacher Charlie King delivers cutting-edge instruction at the Reynolds Golf Academy.
Stay and play at Reynolds Plantation
The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation, is an AAA Five Diamond resort known for thorough service enhanced by gracious southern hospitality. After my first day here it was amazing the number of employees who called me by my name.
The Lodge has 30 acres of beautiful shoreline on Lake Oconee and 251 newly refurbished rooms with resort and lake views.
Enjoy the 26,000-square-foot, full-service spa and fitness center; and more than 18,000 square feet of meeting space including Sandy Creek Barn, a restored 1820s classic wood beam barn.
Dining is superb from breakfast at Georgia’s Bistro, updated classics at Linger Longer Steakhouse, and casual dining at Gaby’s by the Lake. Outdoor activities range from fishing, swimming, waterskiing, jet skiing, paddle boarding and wakeboarding to horseback riding and hiking.
Other accommodations on the property include fully-appointed Marina Cove, The Landing cottages or condominiums at the Village at Lake Club Pointe, each with a living room and kitchen.