Batchelj

The staff were excellent! The course was a good balance of difficult shots with some serious trouble and relatively easy holes. Greens were in very nice shape as were the fairways (as long as you stayed on them - second cut was long for an added challenge). I usually try to stay away from public courses on Saturday morning due to pace of play but I moved right through. Confused if I should tell everyone about it or keep it my little secret.. tough to find an option like Sugar Hill in these parts.

Very scenic course that winds its way around Stone Mountain. Lots of wildlife and things to look at. They get a lot of play so the tee boxes were pretty beat up and a lot of divots in the fairway. The greens were in really bad shape (although this is not a unique occurrence this summer around Atlanta with all the rain). I used to pay twice as much to play here (i believe when the Marriott managed it) so the value has gotten better - but it has certainly opened it up to a lot more play and slower rounds.

If you haven't played this course in the past couple of years, give it another chance. I hesitantly went back there this weekend because I needed a last minute tee time close by. I was pleasantly surprised. I won't get into my first experience (summer 2011) at Southland but it wasn't good. It was in much better shape, they had yardage markers at the holes, well marked tee boxes, a marshall that checked in with us a couple different times to see how we were doing, and the greens were as good as I have seen playing courses costing twice as much. The course has a couple gimmicky holes that seem forced (I believe #12 you have a 150yd shot off the tee but then a 200 yard dog leg second shot to the hole). Overall, excellent value that is a short drive from anywhere around Atlanta. I'll be back for more soon.