While Augusta National automatically jumps to mind when one thinks of a golf outing to Augusta, it quickly becomes obvious that it's not a viable venue for a quick round, or any round at all. That being so, we have to look for alternatives. Fortunately, there are several great public access courses in the Augusta area, Jones Creek being one of them.
The blurb says Jones Creek is "nestled in the rolling hills of West Augusta and surrounded by beautiful pine trees and hardwoods." That's quite so. It's also surrounded by high-end homes, though they are not as intrusive as I've seen on some such courses.
Redesigned in 2001 by Tom Fazio, and playing just under 7,000 yards, Jones Creek can be a bit of a challenge for the inexperienced golfer, thus it's long been listed by Golf Digest as one of the premier public courses in the U.S. And, even in drought conditions, it always seems to be green and well-groomed - a great choice for golf in Augusta.









