dsansomga

I'm a public golfer, though from time to time I get to play some private clubs. A couple of years ago I spent about 9 months travelling the Southeast mapping courses for one of the big-name golf GPS companies, and it really opened my eyes to some amazing golf courses and affordable (under $50) golf opportunities. Though I mapped many of the RTJ courses, plus a pretty long list of big-name private clubs, I was particularly drawn to a slight few courses that were well-designed, maintained to an exceptional standard, and were very affordable. Of particular note were three that are not too far from my Atlanta home. Old Union, in Blairsville, Georgia; Canyon Ridge, in Rising Fawn, Georgia; and Cider Ridge, in Oxford, Alabama all blew me away. All were originally designed to be the center pieces of high end golf communities. The developers of all three communities found themselves in financial straits as a result of the bad economy, and the courses are no longer off-limits for public golfers. Cider Ridge (a Bill Bergin design) became a muni now managed by Honours Golf, but is still kept in exceptional condition. Old Union was purchased by the course architect, Denis Griffiths, and is one of the South's great courses, in my opinion. Canyon Ridge, an amazingly scenic Rick Robbins design, was first bought by its members, then formed a partnership of sorts with the county and is now negotiating with a hotel company to become a destination resort. It's not generally open to public play right now, but it probably will be in the near future. I, like most golfers, am completely fascinated by courses like Augusta National, Pebble Beach, et al. But my real-world golf life doesn't take me there. I play local, public courses. So knowing there are some truly exceptional courses close by... even though they're not famous courses... offers me an affordable option to satisfy my love for playing on wonderful tracks. Am I alone in this attitude?

A course in the area you definitely have to try is Rock Creek, in Fairhope, AL. Great course. Public, affordable, and very well maintained. Like Craft Farms, mentioned above, it's owned and managed by Honours Golf... and those folks do it right. If you enjoy an out-of-the-way course that's not so "private club-like", try Soldiers Creek, in Elberta. It's owned by a member of the Woerner Turf family, and even though golf's downturn has caused them to cut staff a bit, it's still a fun track. The greens are very good, the fairways are fine, but if you stray off the fairways, you'll see the flaws in the maintenance caused by the staff cutbacks.