Athens, Georgia Golf Course Guide
The Athens and North Georgia region enjoy a
wealth of golf opportunities. Two public
courses in Athens are great values and provide
enjoyable rounds of golf and weather allows for
golf for a large portion of the year.
As part of our series looking at the best golf
options in various regions across the country,
here's our look at the places to play in the
Athens, Ga.-area:
BEST PLACES TO PLAY ON A BUDGET
Lane
Creek |
Lane
Creek Golf Club: Lane Creek struggled with
loss of greens in the Georgia summers for many
years after opening in the early 1990's.
Several years ago, the course was purchased
by an agronomist who replaced the bent grass
greens with a Bermuda hybrid and the result
was a consistently good product and a good
following of golfers. The course is gently
rolling with a variety of holes that vary from
straightforward
to
significantly difficult. The surrounding
natural setting adds to the beauty of the walk
and
golfers get good value for the money they
spend -- $25-40 per round.
Arrowhead Pointe |
Arrowhead Pointe:
There is
a nearby hidden gem that is a great bang
for the buck. Georgia's state parks host some
very
nice public golf courses and the best of
the group is Arrowhead Pointe, located in
Elberton
at Lake Russell State Park. It is worth the
hour drive to get to it. The course features
bermuda fairways and greens. The front nine
is a
nice walk through the woods and is well
maintained
with a nice layout. The back nine runs
along a gorgeous man made lake. Arrowhead
Pointe
greens fees run $34-49 per round.
COURSES WITH THE BEST VALUE
University
of Georgia |
UGA Golf Course: The
course at
the
University of Georgia is open to the public
and also a good value. It’s a bit more wide
open
than other courses in the area, with plenty of
length and difficulty to challenge all levels
golfers.
The back tees proved plenty of challenge
for the Web.com tour the last three years.
The
course was a nice course but lacking around
the greens until about 5-6 years ago when
Davis
Love's group took on the project of
modernizing the green complexes. The redo
was a
great success and the course boasts a
great pro shop and friendly snackbar. The
greens
at the UGA Golf Course are bent grass and
the undulations make them a challenge to putt
and
to get up and down from off the green.
Fees range from $45-70.
Jennings
Mille |
Jennings Mill Country Club:
Jennings
Mill
was built in a lovely subdivision in the
early 1980's and designed by Bob Cupp. It is a
challenging shot-makers course that was the
site of Web.com tournaments for four years
and
was an annual site for the first round of PGA
Tour Qualifying School. The club ran into some
fiscal difficulty and is now run by a group that
owns the loan, hence there is not a great deal
of
reinvestment in the course itself. This has
led to a deterioration of the green conditions
and a
shrinking membership. The good news is
that the public is welcome to make a tee time
and
play what is still a very good golf course.
The
Georgia Club |
The Georgia
Club: The newest club in Greater Athens,
The Georgia Club is located about eight miles
out
of Athens The club boasts 27 holes and
arguably the greens that are consistently the
healthiest in Athens year round. Parts of the
course are remarkably beautiful while some
holes
are ordinary in comparison. Overall, The
Georgia Club provides an enjoyable round of
golf.
The club has an excellent staff in the pro
shop and a nice bar/grill at the end of the
round.
The greens are bent grass and non
members may make tee times with fees ranging
from $49-65.