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St. Ives CC is a private country club in Johns Creek, Georgia which is about 30 minutes north of Atlanta. The course is a fairly exclusive/ high-end private club with a big-time course to go with it. The day we played was GSGA member play-day and it was quite a privilege to get on here even though it was a wet day. Checking in upon arrival inside the massive mansion (or as some call it - a clubhouse) was beautiful and sits on one of the higher points of the property so you get a great view of the practice area, 1st tee, and 18th green.

As for the course, the greens had been punched in early July and were still having some trouble coming, but you can tell, they just needed a bit more time to heal. The course layout was really fantastic and had a good variety of holes to play. The par-3s were a blast with 2 of them being peninsula greens surrounded by water. The sand was very soft and consistent throughout the course, which I unfortunately know this first hand.

Overall, a great Fazio design and an excellent time to play with the PGA Championship being played at Quail Hollow this weekend!

I haven't played Bridgemill in a few years since I live over an hour away now but I am impressed with its condition and the quality of golf it lays out. The greens took a beating in July with the hot weather and I am still surprised they were as fast as they were. The fairways were in good shape as were the tee boxes. The course layout is always tough because there are so many severe drop-offs once you move off the fairway. If you can keep your ball straight off the tee, then youll typically score well here. Overall, a great day of golf and always a good place to play, thanks bridgemill!

Falmouth CC was a treat to play, especially in the heat of summer when it's a "scorching" 82* with a breeze in mid-July. Falmouth felt like a family atmosphere with the pool near the 18th green busy with kids and the course laden with couples walking 9 holes together. FCC allows golf to reign supreme in the 6 months out of the year that snow doesn't cover the ground, but that doesn't keep most members from getting in the same amount of rounds in as your average Floridian!

The course itself was in great shape. Half the holes have a links-style feel to it as much of the terrain seems to be untouched. The other half of the course is lined with beautiful tall Maine pines. Much of the rough area is covered with 3 ft tall native grass that swallows balls right up if you're not careful. There are also quite a few blind shots off the tee, which makes course knowledge quite beneficial if it's your first time playing here (as it was mine.) Greens were super smooth and quick and made downhill putts a bear! Pro tip: stay below the hole.

The Ledges golf club in York is a higher-end daily fee public course which is well worth the time and money. The clubhouse is modest and the practice range and putting green are well marked and close to the first tee which in my opinion, is an underrated feature of better courses. The layout of the golf course was challenging but it seemed like there was some forgiveness on each hole....if you knew where it was. Playing this course a second or third time could definitely yield lower scores just with course knowledge. The rough is thick and the native grass seemed almost impossible to hit out of. The greens were perfectly manicured and were rolling true and fast. The signature par-3 8th hole, downhill over water was incredible yet an intimidating tee shot nonetheless. I would recommend this course to anyone in the area. Its a great public course for a decent price!

This is my 3rd review I believe and its always a treat to play here. Love this course layout, the greens are in perfect condition and the pace of play was fantastic, especially for a sunday on memorial day weekend! Well done to everyone in maintenance here on such a quality course.

Falconhead is part of the many great public golf courses in the great city of Austin. The practice area is extensive and despite the "irons only" on the range, there are plenty of ways to hide your game prior to your round. The course is a fun layout with what seems like so many options to play each and every hole. The short par-4 7th is so fun, and the signature par-3 8th that sits on a rock ledge is beautiful. The greens rolled fast and true all weekend but can be tricky to read where the break is.

The only negative was the clubhouse which is one small room that is both the pro shop and bar/kitchen/hangout area. But it didn't take away from our experience at all.

Driving deep into the resort at Wolfdancer, you may feel like you're lost just before you arrive at the cabin-style clubhouse. Once you park, however, you realize how special this piece of property is. I particularly enjoyed the layout of the entire golf facility in that it didn't seem to feel like they cleared a lot of land before building.The practice areas, clubhouse, and course are all nestled within the trees and carved naturally into the terrain that it sits on. The course itself has so much variety including a risk/reward drivable par-4, short and longer par-3's and plenty of fantastic views throughout! The toughest part of the golf course is its native grass which was, at the time we played, grown to about 3 feet in height and swallowed up quite a few golf balls on this particular outing. The greens were rolling quite well and moderately fast for a resort course. Thanks to Brandon Tucker & Kelly O' Donnell for being such great hosts! It was a fantastic day of golf!

The Palmer course at La Cantera is such an impressive golf course. The clubhouse is beautiful and unlike any building I have ever seen but fits well into the hill country of San Antonio.

The course has some very extreme elevation changes that can really mess with your yardages. We played on a Texas-windy day so combine that with major elevation change, and I can promise no one scored their personal best! I think the bread-and-butter of La Cantera Palmer course has to be the views. Especially on the back nine, you are atop the hill and can see for miles. Its absolutely some of the most breath-taking views I have ever had on a golf course. I would recommend this course to anyone in the area. This is a great location and the whole experience is second to none!

This is by far one of my favorite courses in the Atlanta area. Echelon was built in the early-2000's as a private course and suffered tremendously when the market crashed around 2008. They opened it to the public but never even had a clubhouse built by the time the developers had to sell the property in 2013. Since then, the course has begun to thrive and the conditions get better each year. The new owner, in fact, just opened up the newly built clubhouse during Masters week of this year.

On to the course review....The course is set on quite a mountainous piece of property which makes the views spectacular but can also lead to some frightening scores. There are rolling hills throughout the course, so a lot of the course knowledge is just knowing which hill will kick balls back into the fairway. The tee boxes here are so flat and well-manicured and the greens are always in good condition. There is a tee box for every skill level as it maxes out around 7600 yards but I promise with the elevation changes, you'll want to move up a tee. If you're a local or an out-of-town visitor, Echelon needs to be at the top of your must-play list. You won't regret it!

Chicopee Woods is narrow with some decent forgiveness in the right areas. You definitely can lose balls quickly here if you aren't striking it well. However, the course is still a big test of golf and really a fun challenge with all of the elevation changes. It's just too good of a course for the price you pay. An excellent deal and the conditions match something in a much higher price range. Book a round at chicopee for your wallet and your game. You'll be glad you did!

As you can probably imagine, an 18 hole private golf course in the heart of Beverly Hills is going to attract some of the most wealthy and elite executives, CEO's, celebrities, and even a few tour pros in LA and the surrounding areas. Wilshire is an old school, very private, exclusive country club that operates as walking only and members and guests alike are required to take caddys for every round. It sits in the middle of Beverly Hills and actually has Beverly Blvd running between the nines. On many of the holes, you can actually see the Hollywood sign off in the distance.

The mens locker room has everything you may need going from the office to the course and even houses its own barber shop! The food was delicious and was made-to-order just off the 10th tee box. The course has had a few renovations, but most recently, the club converted much of the rough to waste area for water conservation purposes, giving the land a more natural feel. The fairway and tee boxes were flat and in perfect shape. The POA greens were well-manicured, soft, & receptive but putts were VERY tricky to read. Luckily my caddy pointed me in the right direction, and a few times, we were yards apart on which way the putt would break...obviously I always went with what he suggested, which was a wise choice! The course wasn't all that long but it definitely wasn't easy. The bunkers were plentiful and a creek that meandered throughout the course made accuracy a priority. Overall, Wilshire is a beautiful place and its hard to believe you're in the middle of Beverly Hills. Getting to play here was quite a privilege but if you ever have the opportunity, don't pass it up!

Plantation at Sea Island resort is definitely secondary to the premier sister course at Seaside, but its still a big time course with lots of challenges. Plantation is more inland and off the coast but still gets a good bit of wind, especially on number 10. This course isn't overseeded but you would never know it because of how green it is in the middle of January. I enjoyed playing the course and the variety of holes that it had to offer but the greens were very challenging and tougher to read because the grain is almost impossible to read as its not as apparent as Seaside's greens. Plantation can be more sneaky tough as there is a lot of water crossing mid-fairways or peninsula/island greens that isn't very obvious unless you've played the course previously. Overall a wonderful addition and complement to the Sea Island resort golf courses but Seaside is the definite premier course to play.

The seaside course at Sea Island resort is the premier course of the 3 Sea Island courses and also host to the RSM classic. This course runs along the ocean and gives way to some stunning views. However, due to the exposure of the course to the ocean, the wind plays a major factor here. There is nothing easy about the Seaside course but it is a fantastic layout with tons of options off the tee and around the greens. The greens crew does an incredible job of overseeding throughout the winter so you get dark green grass and beautiful lush fairways, tees, and tightly mowed greens in every season of year. This is easily in my top 5 courses of all time but what really makes Seaside and Sea Island so special is the additional off-course amenities. The driving range sits right on the water which has gorgeous views, the practice area is extensive and well manicured where you could hone in your game for hours on end (which we did), and the bagpiper who plays outside the clubhouse near the practice green every night during sunset is such a unique touch. My favorite area to hang out once we finished our round was the men's locker room inside the very large but classically designed clubhouse. The locker room is not just lockers but hosts a cigar room, couches, bar and dining area with numerous TV's for relaxing after a steam and shower in the oversized mens room. The walls are decorated with old Davis Love III golf memorabilia in a subtle but elegant way. The waiters/bartenders are incredible here and tend to your every need. Sea Island is a special place but its not all about the golf. Davis Love has really made this into an experience unlike any other.

The retreat course at Sea Island golf resort is the third course in the Davis Love III area and is geographically separate from the Plantation and Seaside courses. It has its own driving range/practice area/putting greens and it was an extremely impressive facility. The course itself is more inland with quite a bit of trees surrounding each hole but lots of fun to play. The layout is challenging and contains a variety of holes with water and trees being your biggest enemies here. The par-4's here stretch from as short as a drivable 290 yarder to a beastly 445 yard hole. For the most part, there is room to miss off the tee on a lot of holes but there are some strategically placed trees that block out approach shots, and being on the correct side of fairways the key to scoring well here. The greens are fast but roll true to the lay of the grain.

Some consider the Retreat course a step below the other 2 courses at Sea Island but I would respectfully disagree. Personally, the Retreat course was my second favorite of the 3 Sea Island courses, behind Seaside of course. You cant go wrong with Retreat, and you MUST add it to your list of courses to play when youre on St. Simons Island.

Wow this place is incredible! We chose this course after a trip to the PGA show and although it was a bit of a drive, we were happy we made the decision. When you get close, youll think you are in the middle of nowhere, but the resort is a true gem! I was thoroughly impressed with the terrain and undulation of the greens which is very unlike most Florida golf courses. There is so much variety and up and down holes, left and right doglegs, water and other hazards to navigate but still fairly open. The course was quite green for January and it was extremely well-maintained; greens were running at really nice speed. We played on a Thursday afternoon and it seemed empty, which is nice as we finished in about 3.5 hours playing as a twosome. This is a great course for those traveling in or out of Orlando and heading north/south on 75 as its not too far off from the highway. Plus it is a steal of a price relative to high-end courses in/around the Orlando area. I give this course 2 thumbs up, and if you love golf, PLAY HERE!

I never played this course before it was renovated, but Nicklaus did an excellent job here at Bay Point to create a great golf course! There is a variety of holes including a drivable par-4, short and long par-3's and the signature #5 hole is a beast but the views are pretty incredible. The greens roll smooth for the most part, but seemed to be a little inconsistent throughout the course. But that's based on my own observation and may just have been poor putting. Either way, I really enjoyed playing here on a very warm November day.

My only complaint would be that they had apparently over-watered the driving range recently and everything was soaked and muddy. I hit a few wedges before I had to stop cause my pants were spotted with mud. I tried to move forward and to the side to find some dry-er areas but I was immediately approached by a staff member telling me I couldn't hit outside the "wet" areas. Frustrating to start our day off with that but otherwise, we enjoyed the day at Bay Point.

ACC is the premier country club of the who's who in Athens, Georgia and it definitely lives up to expectations. As with most higher-end country clubs, the greens are VERY quick and definitely tough to read with the severe undulations. Find yourself on the wrong tier, especially above the hole and you may be facing a putt that is unable to stop anywhere near the pin, not to mention, roll off the front of the green back to the fairway. Donald Ross LOVES his false fronts and I can assure you, I don't!

The layout reminds me a bit of Augusta with the tall pines and pine straw underneath, which is nice because it becomes very difficult to lose a ball. The rough isn't too penal here but high approaches is most important with the difficulty of the greens. The practice facilities are on-par with some of the best in the area, well marked, flat driving range, tightly manicured chipping area with multiple pins, and 2 putting greens that run true to the course.

The clubhouse is impressive and has all the amenities of a true community country club lifestyle. With all of the old photos and paintings on the walls inside the clubhouse, you can really get a feel of the history that lives here.

The only small issue I had with this course was the lack of signs on each hole. The 1st and 10th tees have large metal signs marking the holes but no other hole, which I understand might be fine as this is a private course and the members know the course. But we got around fine otherwise.

Currahee is a beautiful private golf club community on the West end of Lake Hartwell on the Georgia/South Carolina border that sits high above the water. The views here are unbelievable, however you can't let the views distract you from your game as the golf course is extremely difficult. The course has some drastic elevation changes and is very tight in some places. The most difficult part of the course was its greens. They were probably the fastest I have ever played and it honestly was like putting on glass. When you combine the elevation and severe undulation on super slick greens, you get a recipe for really high scores. Otherwise, the layout is a lot of fun and the conditions and views are second to none.

If you have a chance, stick around and have a meal and beer in the clubhouse or on the patio with some of the best views on the property!

I would have never given this course a poor review based on its course conditions prior to this round, however, they have recently made improvements over the past year that has taken this course to the next level. Many of the bridges and cart paths have been re-done and the greens are in the best shape ive ever seen. The clubhouse also had a renovation done and it looks incredible and is a great place to have a meal before or after your round. The new patio has great views of the par-5 18th green.

One of my favorite parts of this course is the elevation changes. #3 and #12 both have tee boxes that are roughly 2 or 3 stories above the fairway creating some extreme hang time. A good majority of the fairways are wide and forgiving which is a help to pace of play and high handicappers.

With that said, I have been told that Windermere is one of the busiest Clubcorps courses in Atlanta. We had a 9am-ish tee time and it took us 4.5 hours to finish. This wasn't bad considering we were a foursome and I know they had multiple groups of foursomes in front and behind us as well.

Otherwise, this is a great course and one of my favorites in the area!

Lane Creek has a nice local country club feel to it. Everyone from the check-in guy in the pro shop to the lady at the bar were very friendly and welcoming.

The course itself is in decent shape and the greens are rolling extremely fast but I did notice some inconsistencies from green-to-green. However, it didn't take away from our group enjoying our round. There is a good bit of landing area on most of the par-4 and 5's which helps with not losing balls and pace of play. We hardly waited on anyone all day which is a big thumbs up in my book. Don't let the yardage fool you either, the back tees (6600 yds) played like 7k all day, especially on the 200+yd par-3's. Overall, I liked the course and will be back if I am in the area again.