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Joburger

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Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some feedback from those that golf or have golfed in the Atlanta area.

I'm going to be on holiday in Atlanta (from South Africa) between the 14th of September and the 30th of September and plan to play quite a bit of golf while I'm there.

What courses do you recommend?
Any tips on saving $ on green fees?
Is it better to book online and what sites do you recommend for booking?
Is anyone aware of any special offers that I should take a look at?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Any advice or assistance will be appreciated.

Cheers!
 
Within the THP family we have plenty of people in the Atlanta area that should be able to help put together a great trip to the ATL.

I am sure some of us can get you to our clubs around town and I will chekc my schedule to see what I have going on those days you are here. In terms of day to day play, Golf Now would be your best best as they have numerous options all around town at great values on some awesome courses.

Do you happen to know what part of town you will be staying in?
 
I'm over for my sister's wedding on Saturday the 28th. She stays in Hardendorf Avenue Northeast, Atlanta and myself and my Mrs will be staying at one of her friend's nearby. It's close (within walking distance) to Candler Park Golf Course which is a little 9 hole course. I plan to get quite a bit of practice in there as it is so handy but looking to play 4 or 5 other courses too.

I'm going to the Coca Cola Tour Championship at Eastlake GC on Wednesday 18th, Friday 20th and Sunday 22nd but other than that I don't have a whole lot planned yet.
 
It would be helpful to know where you are staying in the Atlanta area in order to narrow down the best courses nearest to your location. Traffic can be a problem around the metro area.

Edit: Never mind. You read my mind and posted where you'll be staying. I'm not that familiar with that area. But, I'm sure there are others that will be able to help you out.
 
I'm happy to drive around an hour to play somewhere. From what I've found on Google Maps, it looks like there is quite a bit of choice. I like the look of the Stone Mountain courses from what I've seen on the net and that doesn't seem to be too far away from where I'll be staying.
 
Joburger said:
I'm happy to drive around an hour to play somewhere. From what I've found on Google Maps, it looks like there is quite a bit of choice. I like the look of the Stone Mountain courses from what I've seen on the net and that doesn't seem to be too far away from where I'll be staying.
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Stone Mt is a nice course and I have access to Smoke Rise based on club membership. Smoke Rise recently converted their greens to Champ Bermuda. I play there at least 2-3 times a month because it is on my way home from work.

Also in the NE part of town is Heritage Links. This club has been bounced between a few different owners the past few years and I haven't played it in about two years. Last time I played there the greens were in pretty rough shape. Maybe someone has played it more recently.

Be careful with the city 9 hole courses like Candler. They are not located in the safest parts of towns and you need to be aware of your surroundings.


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I'm not super familiar with that area of Atlanta. Seth (ATLGolfer) would know more then me about courses in that area. My neck of the woods is North Metro (Roswell, Alpharetta, Johns Creek) which is about 40 min. north of the city. If you have any questions about courses up there, let me know.
 
MaryC said:
Stone Mt is a nice course and I have access to Smoke Rise based on club membership. Smoke Rise recently converted their greens to Champ Bermuda. I play there at least 2-3 times a month because it is on my way home from work.

Also in the NE part of town is Heritage Links. This club has been bounced between a few different owners the past few years and I haven't played it in about two years. Last time I played there the greens were in pretty rough shape. Maybe someone has played it more recently.

Be careful with the city 9 hole courses like Candler. They are not located in the safest parts of towns and you need to be aware of your surroundings.


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Don't let the suburbanites scare you. Candler Park is fine. I run by there regularly. It's definitely a muni course, but it is an easy place to walk nine holes.

There are not many in town options for public golf. It looks like you're able to drive, though. Any preference on price range? You will likely find some local THPers who would be happy to join you.
 
Summergrove golf course in Newnan, Ga is a great track. It is roughly 25 mins south of Atlanta and they are currently running specials through golfnow.com for around $40. Also Crystal lake in Hampton, Ga is a great option for around the same price.

Tapatalking from the bottom of the cup.
 
Heritage is in great shape right now although they are currently aerating the greens. It does get pretty busy on the weekends too. I just won my company golf tournament there week before last. Stone Mountain has too nice courses that I like to play. It is tighter than Heritage and they also should be aerating their greens around this time too. Early September seems to be when most courses around here aerate their greens.
 
ATLGolfer said:
Don't let the suburbanites scare you. Candler Park is fine. I run by there regularly. It's definitely a muni course, but it is an easy place to walk nine holes.

There are not many in town options for public golf. It looks like you're able to drive, though. Any preference on price range? You will likely find some local THPers who would be happy to join you.
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Thanks, yeah, I grew up playing on a muni course in Strathclyde Scotland, so not worried. (I moved to Johannesburg when I was 16. I'm 34 on the 18th). I'm sure it'll be fine for a bit of practice. My future brother in law walks the dog around Candler Park, so I'm sure it'll be safe enough.

Driving isn't a problem and I'm happy to pay around $50 or so a round. The less, the better though as the Rand Dollar exchange rate just bombed and I'd like to get in 4,5 or 6 rounds in on decent courses if possible.

I see that quite a few places have "twilight" rates. Until what sort of time can you tee off and still get in 18 holes comfortably in Atlanta at the moment? I'm lucky in that I can play during the week, so I'd imagine that the courses are much quieter and cheaper to play during the week?

wluker17 said:
Heritage is in great shape right now although they are currently aerating the greens. It does get pretty busy on the weekends too. I just won my company golf tournament there week before last. Stone Mountain has too nice courses that I like to play. It is tighter than Heritage and they also should be aerating their greens around this time too. Early September seems to be when most courses around here aerate their greens.
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Cool, I'll check it out. Thanks for the Heritage suggestion, I'll have a look at it.

I'll remember to check with the courses to find out whether they have just aerated their greens or not. Thanks for the heads up. Really appreciated!
 
Jrodgers0622 said:
Summergrove golf course in Newnan, Ga is a great track. It is roughly 25 mins south of Atlanta and they are currently running specials through golfnow.com for around $40. Also Crystal lake in Hampton, Ga is a great option for around the same price.

Tapatalking from the bottom of the cup.
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Thanks. I'll check these out too. $40 a round sounds good. From what I've found on the net, it seems like there are some good looking courses that are open to the public at around this price point.
 
I see that a couple of courses have birthday deals if you sign up for their email newsletters etc.

Ones that I have found so far are:
CITY CLUB MARIETTA - 35 mins - (Free Birthday Round - must be ON birthday)
MYSTERY VALLEY - 18 holes - 35 mins - (Free Birthday Round - Week before or after)
ST ANDREWS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB - 55 mins - (Free Birthday Round - Week before or after)

How do you guys rate these courses? Anyone played them recently?

Anybody know of any other deals at the moment - birthday or otherwise?
 
Joburger said:
I see that a couple of courses have birthday deals if you sign up for their email newsletters etc.

Ones that I have found so far are:
CITY CLUB MARIETTA - 35 mins - (Free Birthday Round - must be ON birthday)
MYSTERY VALLEY - 18 holes - 35 mins - (Free Birthday Round - Week before or after)
ST ANDREWS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB - 55 mins - (Free Birthday Round - Week before or after)

How do you guys rate these courses? Anyone played them recently?

Anybody know of any other deals at the moment - birthday or otherwise?
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I've played City Club but not in the past 10 years. An older but not bad layout. Shorter course maintained by city of Marietta.

St. Andrews is one I'd avoid. Was a nine hole course built on low budget in late 70's, eventually expanded to 18. It's inexpensive to play by not maintained well at all. If you're considering driving out that far play The Frog instead. There is a review I wrote here on THP. Give it a search. Well worth the money spent to play on a Tom Fazio course ($49 weekdays - $59 weekends with some specials available on websites from time to time).
 
I agree with Barry. However, City Club is in rough shape right now. I like the layout, but it's not well maintained at all. Cobblestone is the nicest public one in the Ksaw-Marietta area.
 
Hmm, so looks like I'll give City Club Marietta and St Andrews birthday deals a skip. Thanks guys.

Ok, so I'll play the two courses at Stone Mountain. Still looking for 3 or 4 more recommendations on other courses to play in the Atlanta area.
Courses mentioned/recomended so far are Heritage Golf Links, Cobblestone, The Frog, Crystal Lake and Summergrove.

Any thoughts on Bears Best, Sugar Creek, St Marlo, River Pines, Bridgemill, Bradshaw Farm, Chateau Elan, Echelon, Chestatee and Trophy Club of Atlanta? Would love to hear from anyone that has played any of these courses lately or anyone that has any other recommendations.
 
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While not from Atlanta, a bunch of us THPers recently played the Trophy Club last month at the ATL Invitational. I really enjoyed the track and the greens were in the process of healing from a. Recent aeration. They should be very good by now and you'll enjoy the layout.
 
Of the courses mentioned above, Bears Best, Bradshaw, Bridgemill and Trophy Club are some of my favorites. If you are wanting to drive that far north, might I also recommend The Manor
 
Joburger said:
Hmm, so looks like I'll give those ones with the birthday deals a skip. Thanks guys.

Ok, so I'll play the two courses at Stone Mountain. Still looking for 3 or 4 more recommendations on other courses to play in the Atlanta area.
Courses mentioned/recomended so far are Heritage Golf Links, Cobblestone, Crystal Lake and Summergrove.

Any thoughts on Bears Best, Sugar Creek, St Marlo, River Pines, Bridgemill, Bradshaw Farm, Chateau Elan, Echelon, Chestatee and Trophy Club of Atlanta? Would love to hear from anyone that has played any of these courses lately or anyone that has any other recommendations.
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NOW, you're talking my neck of the woods. I'll go through each.

Bears Best- Ridiculously pricey. If you find a discount, the track is nice enough to play. However, not for a $100 green fee.

Sugar Creek- Know almost nothing about, but I've only heard good things.

St Marlo- Amazing course. Always in great shape. Can be a little pricey as well, but it's my favorite personally.

River Pines- My old home course! Always in great shape. The course layout is a little funky, but I still love it overall.

Bridgemill- The best on the list. My favorite public course to play when I can. It's reletively cheap. It's maintained like a Country Club. And my favorite part is that the layout is close to what you could see on any PGA Tour course. Love it

Bradshaw Farms- Cheap, fun course. It's not as good as some others on this list, but it's sufficient for 1 view(Shown below)

Chateau Elan- Both courses are fun and it's in a great area. Good track.

Echelon- I used to play here alot, and I kinda like it. The layout can be really unfair at times. It's long and it has weird angles. It's also really expensive too. A maybe.

Chestatee- If you want to drive a while, go. It's very underrated. I really enjoyed it the one time I went up there. The distance just bugs me a bit. It's WAY out there.

Trophy Club- My new home track when I'm home! There's a reason Tour pros practiced there when the PGA was at AAC. It's a great layout and good test of golf. Relatively cheap. Definitely a yes.

If you have any further questions, Just PM me. I always love helping THPers find good golf when they come to the ATL.

Picture of the one reason you should play Bradshaw (this doesn't even do it justice):
default.jpgx
 
Mystery Valley is my go-to course.

It is close to me.

Best metro course <$50 based on price, layout (challenging and forgiving), condition, walkable, range w/grass.

It is not a "destination" course, but they recently aerated but it may be OK by the time you get here.
Joburger said:
I see that a couple of courses have birthday deals if you sign up for their email newsletters etc.

Ones that I have found so far are:
CITY CLUB MARIETTA - 35 mins - (Free Birthday Round - must be ON birthday)
MYSTERY VALLEY - 18 holes - 35 mins - (Free Birthday Round - Week before or after)
ST ANDREWS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB - 55 mins - (Free Birthday Round - Week before or after)

How do you guys rate these courses? Anyone played them recently?

Anybody know of any other deals at the moment - birthday or otherwise?
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My regulars that I like (proximity-based)
- Mystery Valley
- Heritage
- Stone Mountain
- Browns Mill

Favorites requiring drives
- The Frog (hour west)
- Cobblestone (hour north)
- Woodmont (hour north)
- Georgia Club (hour and ten northeast)
 
There are a few members here at THP that are members at Cannon Gate golf courses including myself.If you Google Cannon Gate you will see they have plenty of fine courses around Atlanta within a short drive of the city that are always in great shape

and you can play them for around $50 - $60 range . When your ready send a Pm and I'll get us up a great group of THP'ers together for a good day of golf .
 
Intimadator2007 said:
There are a few members here at THP that are members at Cannon Gate golf courses including myself.If you Google Cannon Gate you will see they have plenty of fine courses around Atlanta within a short drive of the city that are always in great shape

and you can play them for around $50 - $60 range . When your ready send a Pm and I'll get us up a great group of THP'ers together for a good day of golf .
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Thanks! I really appreciate that. I'll drop you a PM at the weekend once I get to Atlanta. :D
 
I can agree with giving the Cannongate courses a try. I worked at one on the south side and played many others in the south and they are great courses for the money. I'm sure the northside courses are just as great.

Tapatalkin from my Note 2
 
Well, I've played a few holes since I got here. Played 9 holes at Candler Park on Saturday to loosen up after the flight. Nice wee course for a bit of iron practice. Greens are a bit wooly though. Played at 18 holes at Charlie Yates which is another 9 hole course on Monday and really enjoyed that. Nice little course that. The greens were far better than Candler Park and I'm now itching to get out and play some good courses.

Going to play 18 holes later today. Just deciding where to play at the moment. Was chatting to a few people at the FedEx today. One bloke mentioned the greens at The Frog have been aerated fairly recently and that as of last Saturday were still not great. I've been hearing that it's a great track, so I'll probably leave that one for another week or so.

Anybody know whether St Marlo is in good condition at the moment and what sort of condition the greens are in? Might go play there today.

Also, is anybody keen for a game this Saturday maybe?
 
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