The Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee is rapidly becoming one of North America’s premier golf destinations. Handily located within an hour’s drive of Atlanta, this once prized hunting and fishing retreat for the Reynolds family, now boasts five championship golf courses, and a sixth under construction, designed by some of the greatest names in the business, along with a resort complex complete with a Ritz-Carlton lodge, 251 guest rooms, and a 26,000-square-foot spa. Two of the Reynolds Plantation Golf Courses were listed by GOLF Magazine as one of the top 10 new courses in the country on consecutive years.
Aside from the golf, The Reynolds Plantation is all about the great outdoors. One of Georgia’s last great wilderness areas, activities and amenities are wide-spread along more than 80 miles of the Lake Oconee shoreline and include the Linger Longer Park, three marinas, four clubhouses, seven world-class restaurants serving casual to elegant fare, 12 tennis courts, miles of walking trails all in an area of outstanding natural beauty.
The plantation is a wide open world of rolling hills covered with forests of old-growth on the shores of beautiful Lake Oconee. Oconee means "great waters" in the language of the Creek Indians who settled the area more than 250 years ago. Treaties in the late 1770s ceded Indian lands to Colonial Georgia which honored discharged soldiers with gifts of land parcels. Mercer Reynolds, a Greene County, GA, native and very successful businessman, acquired more than 7,000 acres of what once was known as "Cracker's Neck” and turned it into hunting retreat named "Linger Longer." Although he moved to Chattanooga in the 1920s, Mercer Reynolds maintained ties to the area, often returning to Linger Longer to hunt, fish and relax.
Lake Oconee is the second largest lake in Georgia. In the early morning the still waters are often shrouded in a blanket of mist. The stillness is broken only by the music of the awakening wildlife, the splash of graceful blue herons gliding in across the water to feed on a variety of fish: bream, crappie and large-mouth bass to name but a few. As the sun rises over the forest the happy laughter of children rings out across the lake. As it dips in the west the surface of lake becomes a glittering pallet or red, gold and yellow as the setting sun provides a stunning backdrop for evening walks and tall tales at the 19th hole.
The Ritz Carlton Lodge
The Ritz-Carlton Lodge at the Reynolds Plantation offers subdued elegance in the heart of nature highlighted by Southern hospitality. On a scale of 1 to 10, this landmark hotel at first seems to be way out of its environment. Deep in the heart of rural Georgia, such upscale elegance is not only unexpected, it's unprecedented. Please read my full review.
The Reynolds Plantation Golf Courses:
Well, what can one say about the incredible Rees Jones? His design of the The Oconee Course was completed in 2002 and has created quite a stir among the golfing community. For three years, 2003 through 2005, GOLF FOR WOMEN Magazine listed the Oconee number five in their annual ranking of the "50 Best Courses For Women." View my Photo Gallery
No great golf resort would be complete without a Jack Nicklaus signature course. The Great Waters Course is Jack’s contribution to the Reynolds Plantation. Great Waters was completed in 1992 and has been ranked among the "Ten Best New Courses" by GOLF Magazine. View my Photo Gallery
"Reynolds Landing is the hidden gem of Lake Oconee. Bob Cupp's architectural genius was unveiled to the golfing world during the construction of Reynolds Landing. From the masterful green settings to the challenging shots played around beautiful Lake Oconee, Reynolds Landing is clearly one of Georgia's finest kept secrets." So says Bob Mauragas - Vice President of Golf Operations. I couldn't have said it better. View my Photo Gallery.
The Plantation Course
Designed by Bob Cupp in 1988, the Plantation Course was the first golf course at the Reynolds Plantation, and it set the stage for what was to become the golfer's Mecca it is today. The course is ranked one of "Ten Best New Courses" by GOLF Magazine, and Zagat's 2007 America's Top Golf Courses.
Tom Fazio is, in my opinion, the master of the game, and he took maximum advantage of all the opportunities offered by the site when he designed Reynolds National in 1997. The layout Fazio created is as dramatic as it is unique.
The Richland Course
I said earlier that, in my opinion, Tom Fazio is the master of the game. That being said, it’s also my opinion that that Pete Dye is one of the greatest golf course designers of his era. The Reynolds Plantation's 6th golf course, a Pete Dye creation, is currently under construction and one can only wonder how he will make his mark on the Plantation.
As golf schools go, Reynolds Golf Academy is unique. Most golf schools I’ve seen, and attended, occupy a small section at the end of the driving range; some have modern facilities attached, some do not. True, Reynolds does make use of the Reynolds Plantation range, but the Academy is set upon its own 16-acre campus. View my Photo Gallery
The Spa at Reynolds Plantation:
How to get There:
The closest major airport to the Reynolds Plantation is Atlanta Hartsfield International. The airport is served by Delta, Continental, US Air, United and just about every other national and international airline you can name.
Look for the best airline and car rental deals with these two aggregators, which provide travelers with an up-to-date search tool to compare prices on airfares and car rentals of all ratings:
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The Reynolds Plantation, 100 Linger Longer Road, Greensboro, Georgia 30642; phone 888-298-3119: Visit the Reynolds Plantation Website
And don’t forget: there are many other opportunities for great golf all over the world. Favorite locations include Scotland, Florida, the American Southwest, Bermuda, the Bahamas and many more. For up-to-date golf travel news and information, be sure to Subscribe to my weekly Newsletter.
