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Atlanta Golf! Must play golf courses


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I live in Chattanooga but I've played some of the public courses between here and ATL and in the general area.

 

I used to have a friend who lived at Reunion and played several rounds there. Always enjoyed it. Chateau Elan isn't far from there and they have some good daily fee golf as well.

 

Another friend lives at BridgeMill. It is well-conditioned, somewhat hilly, and there are a lot of homes around the course, but I wouldn't hesitate to play there again.

 

Further up I-75 I enjoy Cobblestone and Barnsley Gardens. Even closer to Chattanooga, you have Stonebridge (Rome), Fields Ferry (Calhoun) and Nob North (Dalton). All of those are worth your time if you happen to be heading up the NW side.

 

There are some daily fee courses further up GA-400 and I-85 that start to get into some more mountainous terrain, and many of them seem to be very compromised layouts where there are way too many white stakes and sidehill lies. I can't recall the specific courses I've played but I can remember a couple of miserable rounds on them.

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Atlanta, like a number of Southern cities, got a late start on golf relative to the Northeast/West Coast/Midwest. Historically speaking, Golf courses were slower to be built. A few courses were built around the turn of the 20th century, with a few more built in the 1920s. Then you had the recession and most courses were starting to be built in the "dark ages" of golf architecture.

 

Couple that with the amount of sprawl here and it's not surprIsing that the golf is not up to the quality you find in other parts of the country. Lots of golf here was built with housing in mind, and even some of the better courses are built with housing development in mind.

 

There are really good courses here, but the potential that the city had with the amount of topography could have led to some great layouts if you could start it all over.

 

Probably more than what you wanted to hear, but just some background on golf in the area.

 

This and the demand for land by developers in metro ATL is so fierce that I have seen two courses bulldozed to add more housing. ATL & the suburbs have no master plan and the infrastructure can't handle the non-stop building. Trust me, you ain't seen traffic till you've lived here. I lived 13 miles from my job and it was an hour & a half each way,

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Join the clubcorp in Atlanta. I can’t think of another city of that stature that has worse public golf. No disrespect to Atlanta folks intended.

 

At least in Long Island there’s bethpage.

 

I bring my clubs everywhere I go except for Atlanta. What’s the point I say?

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A little bit too much gloom and doom folks. While it does not have the greatest public course system of other states I've lived in there are plenty on this list that are worthwhile. You are 1.5 hours from the first course on the RTJ trail going west and heading east 1.5 hours you have the 5 courses at Reynolds Plantation and 1 at Harbor Club. There is plenty of good golf to explore here.

 

Echelon

Achasta

Bridgemill

Bradshaw

Cobblestone

Frog

River pines

Bears best

Heritage

Hampton

Chestatee

Chicopee woods

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Couldn’t help but chime in on the ATL golf scene. I live in northeast metro…about 40 mi from downtown and have played mostly public access golf for the last 18 yrs here.

ATL is not a very large city land mass wise, but obviously a pretty sizeable metro area. TIIRC he city has 4 public (muni) golf courses and of them, North Fulton or “Chastain” is clearly the best of the group. Aside from that it’s mostly private golf in the city of ATL.

The majority of the population lives north of I-20, but ATL is like a pie growing in all directions.

Some playable courses that may not be listed and some top shelf notable ones (in red) that maybe were listed...

North…

Trophy Club Of ATL, Alpharetta

River Pines, Alpharetta

Heritage Golf Club, Tucker

Hampton Golf Village, Cumming

Chestatee, Dawsonville

Echelon, Alpharetta

Achasta, Dahlonega

Northeast…

Chicopee Woods…Gainesville area

Reunion…Braselton

Chateau Elan, Woodlands

Chateau Elan, Chateau

Trophy Club Apalachee, Dacula

Bears Best, Suwanee

East…

Cherokee Run

Stonemont, Stone Mountain

Lakemont, Stone Mountain

Trophy Club Gwinnett

The Georgia Club, Stathem

Chimneys, Winder

Providence,

South…

Wolfcreek, Atlanta

West

The Frog, Villa Rica

I'm leaving out a few, particularly northwest as I haven't played much over there, but I've played golf in DAL, DEN, Tampa, MD/VA (DC area), PHI, Charlotte, HOU...several other cities...I think ATL metro golf is middle of the pack at worse.

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The doom and gloom is getting me. Haha. So unfortunate to hear. What is clubcorp?

 

Canongate was a private golf consortium for a long time based on the south side of town...a few years ago they apparently got a capital infusion and started buy up some of the semi-private courses around town including the north side...they bought Davis Love designed Windermere, Couples designed Hamilton Mill, etc...I think two years ago, Club Corp...bought them out...a much larger private course club.

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Couldn’t help but chime in on the ATL golf scene. I live in northeast metro…about 40 mi from downtown and have played mostly public access golf for the last 18 yrs here.

ATL is not a very large city land mass wise, but obviously a pretty sizeable metro area. TIIRC he city has 4 public (muni) golf courses and of them, North Fulton or “Chastain” is clearly the best of the group. Aside from that it’s mostly private golf in the city of ATL.

The majority of the population lives north of I-20, but ATL is like a pie growing in all directions.

Some playable courses that may not be listed and some top shelf notable ones (in red) that maybe were listed...

North…

Trophy Club Of ATL, Alpharetta

River Pines, Alpharetta

Heritage Golf Club, Tucker

Hampton Golf Village, Cumming

Chestatee, Dawsonville

Echelon, Alpharetta

Achasta, Dahlonega

Northeast…

Chicopee Woods…Gainesville area

Reunion…Braselton

Chateau Elan, Woodlands

Chateau Elan, Chateau

Trophy Club Apalachee, Dacula

Bears Best, Suwanee

East…

Cherokee Run

Stonemont, Stone Mountain

Lakemont, Stone Mountain

Trophy Club Gwinnett

The Georgia Club, Stathem

Chimneys, Winder

Providence,

South…

Wolfcreek, Atlanta

West

The Frog, Villa Rica

I'm leaving out a few, particularly northwest as I haven't played much over there, but I've played golf in DAL, DEN, Tampa, MD/VA (DC area), PHI, Charlotte, HOU...several other cities...I think ATL metro golf is middle of the pack at worse.

 

That definitely makes me feel a bit better! Haha.

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I guess I could look into some private club memberships. Does anyone know of any decently priced junior memberships in the Dunwoody area?

 

You’ll have to drive 20-30 mins. Closest affordable options are Berkeley Hills and Rivermont.

 

Young Exc dues around $300 pm, with low initiation (1-3k).

 

That's not bad at all. I contacted Dunwoody country club and was shocked at the inititiation fee. The initiation fee is no problem if I know I'm staying in ATL but I won't really know for sure until this winter. It gives me some time to check out some clubs!

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Give Rivermont a call. As GT mentions, it's a 20-30 minute drive, but you might be able to work out a deal with the owner if you say that you are not sure about your future of being in Atlanta until the winter, but you still are looking for a club to join. They may be willing to work out a deal on an initiation fee. I have no clue if there's a waiting list or anything like that there now though. They have some members that can play, and I think they have a weekend game that you can jump in and meet some of those guys.

 

Berkeley Hills is also a good option. Your best drive to get out there though gets you onto either 285 to 85 or going up Peachtree Industrial (141), and both of those can lead to bad traffic. But on weekends, you can probably just Waze it to pick out the best way. Of the two, I like Rivermont a little more from a golf course perspective, but they are both good clubs with Berkeley Hills having a better practice facility. Rivermont put in bermuda greens a couple of years ago, and that has really raised the quality of the course. Tee to green, it's usually in very good shape, but the bent grass would take a beating especially in the summer. That's not a problem now.

 

Indian Hills is another private club in that same price range and distance from Dunwoody, but it's a factory in the number of members. 27 holes, but 9 are closed this summer to convert greens to bermuda. They did 9 last year and are doing 9 next summer. But it could be worth a call to see what the dues and initiation fee are. I think for a while, if you committed to a year of membership, the initiation was either waived or cut in half. The courses aren't as long as the other two, but at least they are switching away from bent greens.

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Also, just to add on the "doom and gloom" of Atlanta golf...

 

I think it's more of the public offerings are just fine/good. My negativity towards the public offerings is more of the "must play" aspect of the question. While we have a number of public offerings that are worth driving and playing, I couldn't single out any one course that I would say, "when you move here, you gotta go play X".

 

The problems we have here are the amount of time it will take to get to a public course due to distance and traffic, play what could be a slower round and then have to drive back, it makes the prospect of public golf in metro Atlanta frustrating. I hate that I'm coming across as so negative, but I just wanted to try and paint a realistic picture of what opportunities there are here. If you are willing to drive to find opportunities to play public golf courses, there are some good options listed here. I'd say give them a shot. It's not a golfing desert here, and I hope you enjoy being able to play golf almost year round. Courses are open all 12 months, and while January and February have some cold stretches, we usually have enough days where it is in the 50s - low 60s and sunny when you can get out and have a great day.

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Thanks again fellas, really interested in Rivermont. It seems relatively easy to get to and the fees are pretty low. Plus, it seems the layout is very replayable and in great shape. Has anyone played Rivermont before? Thoughts?

I just contacted Jodi there for information on the club. I don’t see an initiation fee posted though I’m sure they have one.

 

Btw big bonus for Rivermont, it can play over 7000. Gives me options which I like!

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Thanks again fellas, really interested in Rivermont. It seems relatively easy to get to and the fees are pretty low. Plus, it seems the layout is very replayable and in great shape. Has anyone played Rivermont before? Thoughts?

I just contacted Jodi there for information on the club. I don't see an initiation fee posted though I'm sure they have one.

 

Btw big bonus for Rivermont, it can play over 7000. Gives me options which I like!

 

Rivermont's initiation is around $1500. It's a good course that has a good playing membership. Other than in big events I doubt you'll ever see it close to 7,000 and with the undulations in their greens you won't need to. My two biggest knocks on Rivermont is their short driving range and a few of their green to tee walks are a bit long, especially the 9th to 10th.

 

I was a member at Berkeley Hills for nearly a decade and can't recomend it enough. The prices will be slightly higher month to month but the country club provides more amenities than Rivermont does, for some that matters. Make sure to go out and play at both clubs, you can't go wrong with either of them.

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I guess I could look into some private club memberships. Does anyone know of any decently priced junior memberships in the Dunwoody area?

 

You’ll have to drive 20-30 mins. Closest affordable options are Berkeley Hills and Rivermont.

 

Young Exc dues around $300 pm, with low initiation (1-3k).

 

That's not bad at all. I contacted Dunwoody country club and was shocked at the inititiation fee. The initiation fee is no problem if I know I'm staying in ATL but I won't really know for sure until this winter. It gives me some time to check out some clubs!

 

Dunwoody CC has the best greens I’ve ever played on. I’ve played all of the top Atlanta private options.

 

Tifeagle that runs 13-14 on the regular. Scary fast and perfect.

 

An awesome golf course!

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Also, just to add on the "doom and gloom" of Atlanta golf...

 

I think it's more of the public offerings are just fine/good. My negativity towards the public offerings is more of the "must play" aspect of the question. While we have a number of public offerings that are worth driving and playing, I couldn't single out any one course that I would say, "when you move here, you gotta go play X".

 

The problems we have here are the amount of time it will take to get to a public course due to distance and traffic, play what could be a slower round and then have to drive back, it makes the prospect of public golf in metro Atlanta frustrating. I hate that I'm coming across as so negative, but I just wanted to try and paint a realistic picture of what opportunities there are here. If you are willing to drive to find opportunities to play public golf courses, there are some good options listed here. I'd say give them a shot. It's not a golfing desert here, and I hope you enjoy being able to play golf almost year round. Courses are open all 12 months, and while January and February have some cold stretches, we usually have enough days where it is in the 50s - low 60s and sunny when you can get out and have a great day.

 

I don't share your gloom picture of ATL public golf, largely because I've never really experienced CC golf here so I don't know how the other half lives if you will...I work literally 5 mins from Berkeley Hills and know a few members and played it s fews times as a guest...if I lived closer I would strongly consider joining there.

 

Logistics is a big deal here as you said..whether you play CC golf or public...ideally you want to be within 30 mins drive time of the course. Otherwise you could turn a 5 or 6 hour travel/play time into a 7 or 8 hr ordeal.

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I wrote this up a year or so ago when I was living down there but most of it should still be accurate.... http://www.golfwrx.c...rse conditions

 

I checked out your link to the write up...I think most of it is still accurate.

 

I would add The GA Club in Stathem to the list out east near Athens.It's a semi that is probably nearing that critical mass to go 100% private soon. The red and black 9s are probably my favorite 18 holes in the metro area for public access golf.

 

While not top shelf golf or must play...Chimneys is a nice little track out east normally in good shape and affordable.

 

I'm not a fan of the layout but my home course...Trophy Club Apalachee has been reborn since installing the Champions Bermuda Greens a few years ago.

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A little bit too much gloom and doom folks. While it does not have the greatest public course system of other states I've lived in there are plenty on this list that are worthwhile. You are 1.5 hours from the first course on the RTJ trail going west and heading east 1.5 hours you have the 5 courses at Reynolds Plantation and 1 at Harbor Club. There is plenty of good golf to explore here.

 

Echelon

Achasta

Bridgemill

Bradshaw

Cobblestone

Frog

River pines

Bears best

Heritage

Hampton

Chestatee

Chicopee woods

1.5 hours if there is no traffic, that was in 1980.
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I wrote this up a year or so ago when I was living down there but most of it should still be accurate.... http://www.golfwrx.c...rse conditions

 

I checked out your link to the write up...I think most of it is still accurate.

 

I would add The GA Club in Stathem to the list out east near Athens.It's a semi that is probably nearing that critical mass to go 100% private soon. The red and black 9s are probably my favorite 18 holes in the metro area for public access golf.

 

While not top shelf golf or must play...Chimneys is a nice little track out east normally in good shape and affordable.

 

I'm not a fan of the layout but my home course...Trophy Club Apalachee has been reborn since installing the Champions Bermuda Greens a few years ago.

 

If you’re going as far out as the GA Club, you might as well go 15 minutes further and play the University of Georgia course as well which is affordable, immaculate and awesome and has tee boxes for everyone from kids to 7200 yd championship. It’s legit. If it was closer to my home you’d never pry me off it.

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