Reynolds Plantation Has it All

By: Rob Duca

One of my favorite signs anywhere comes into view on the two-lane country road heading towards Reynolds Plantation, which is located in Greensboro, Ga., 80 miles east of Atlanta. It reads "Congested Area Ahead."

What follows are miles of open fields, cows, cattle and, occasionally, a house or two. You could call the sign a harbinger of things to come, because even though no one will ever confuse the surrounding area with a great metropolis, there is quite a bit of activity within the confines of the sprawling resort, where six golf courses, a luxury hotel and a golf academy are set alongside stunning Lake Oconee.

Reynolds Plantation has long been considered one of the country's premier golf communities, although it was in receivership as recently as 2011. But even when the financial circumstances were dire, a visitor to Reynolds would never have known of any troubles. With the exception of the closing of the Great Waters clubhouse, the golf courses remains in pristine condition, the remaining restaurants are fully operational, the spa is one of the best you'll find anywhere, and the on-site Ritz-Carlton Lodge is worthy of its prestigious name.

There remains a star quality to Reynolds, thanks partly to the TaylorMade Performance Lab - one of only eight in the world that employs motion-analysis technology to precisely fit golfers with custom clubs - and the golf academy. On any given day you can be testing equipment next to a touring pro. The resort earned more notoriety in October by hosting the Golf Channel's Big Break Invitational.

The star power extends to the golf courses. The dazzling Great Waters course was created by Jack Nicklaus, while Bob Cupp served as the architect for The Plantation (the resort's original layout) and the highly regarded Landing course. Tom Fazio's fingerprints are on the 27-hole National, Rees Jones is the man behind The Oconee, and the members-only Creek Club is the masterpiece of Jim Engh.

Overlooking 19,000-acre Lake Oconee, Reynolds Plantation offers a blend of luxury and Southern simplicity. The 251-room Ritz-Carlton Lodge features panoramic views of the lake in a rustic setting of fieldstone walls, vaulted wood-timber ceilings, stone fireplaces and wood floors. The resort also includes two- and three-bedroom cottages, with full kitchens, living rooms and lake-side porches.

Although golf is the principal selling point, there are a multitude of other activities to occupy your time here, including fishing for largemouth bass and catfish, tennis, kayaking, waterskiing, jet-skiing, horseback riding, and skeet, trap and clay shooting.

But most visitors come to Reynolds for the golf. None of the courses are alike. Great Waters is considered to be the best in terms of challenge and splendor. Opened in 1992, the layout winds dramatically along Lake Oconee, offering magnificent water views. The front nine is parkland-style with rolling fairways, setting the stage for a spectacular back nine that features a succession of gorgeous holes. The par-3 14th requires a tee shot over a cove, with Lake Oconee surrounding three sides of the green. The short, downhill par-4 11th runs toward the lake, and the par-4 12th demands an approach over water. The appropriately named Great Waters closes with a par-3 over a cove and the par-5 18th with water guarding the entire left side.

The Oconee course was added to the Reynolds arsenal in 2002. Water enters play on nine holes, including the final three. The 16th is a narrow par-4 with a creek protecting the left side; the 17th is a downhill par-5 with the lake alongside the green; and the dramatic, difficult 18th is a par-4 of nearly 500 yards, depending on how daring you are in cutting off the distance over the lake on the tee shot. I hit one of my best drives of the day and was left with 270 yards to the green. Yes, this is a par-4.

The National is comprised of three nine-hole courses labeled the Bluff, the Cove and the Ridge. Each is distinct, but all three winding through the Georgia pines and featuring steep valleys and ravines.

The Landing, built by Cupp in 1986, opens with water impeding play on four of the first six holes. It then evolves into a layout of rolling hills, wooded fairways and contoured greens that will challenge every aspect of your game. Water returns at the finish, with the lake winding around the final three holes.

Cupp also designed The Plantation with the assistance of a pair of former U.S. Open champions, Fuzzy Zoeller and Hubert Green. With fewer than 20 bunkers, this course is a delightfully enjoyable warm-up to the other layouts. Although there are many subtle challenges, such as false fronts to greens, swales and rolling fairways, The Plantation provides a great opportunity to go low.

Despite some economic issues, Reynolds Plantation remains among the finest golf resorts anywhere in terms of diversity, amenities, scenery and old-fashioned Southern charm.

For more information, visit https://www.reynoldsplantation.com.

Rob Duca is an award-winning sports columnist who wrote for the Cape Cod Times for 25 years, covering golf, the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Celtics and the Boston Bruins. He is now managing editor of New England Golf & Leisure magazine and has written for a variety of other publications, including Sports Illustrated, the Boston Globe, Yankee magazine and Cape Cod Life.

Tweet