Great golf... and affordable golf... are readily available as a result of golf's economic downturn

[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?

[jwrussell]

Wow.  Those are some great shots.  The beauty of golf courses is one of the reasons I love the game so much.  And like you, it is rare that I get to play anything that isn't a <=$50 public course.

[TourSpoon]

Great post...I used to go through Blairsville to get to my parents house in Western NC.  There is some beautiful scenery there for sure.

[RayG]

Problem is, that's the Southeast- (almost) year round season in decent temps. Put any ONE of those courses within 50 miles of NYC and it's $200- easy. for a WEEKDAY. And they'll make think that it's worth it by using the "country club for a day experience" in the marketing. A few courses around here tried using that a few years ago. One closed because they wouldn't severely cut the fees, especially during the last gas price spike in 2008. The other nearly halved it's rates and is doing okay- it's still a bit pricey for prime Weekend times, but their PM rate isn't quite as bad.

[goodguy96]

Love the Courses! Luckly I Live near a nice Little 18 Hole course where I can play for as little as $16-18$ For 18 Holes And  $10-12$ for 9 holes  And the Junior rates Are cheap $6.00 for 18 holes and $3.00 for 9 holes....... But it`s not really That challenging For the  Better players.....

[hackerandloveit]

Living in the Arizona desert has its pluses, and minuses of course.

Guaranteed to be a golf course almost every square mile it seems.  I live in surprise and have 5 courses at 1 1/2 miles and closer.  This tends to keep rates competitive and always have a stable of courses to play to change up the game play.

Downside, it is the desert.  Summers are obviously hot, but rates are amazing.  Problem is, you can't water greens enough to keep them soft enough.  They turn to concrete during the summers.  The nicer courses do a better job though of maintaining the courses for summer play.  Newer thing at least for my area, is the morning shot gun start.  This is in my opinion, the only way to run a course when its hot out.  Get all our people out right away in the morning, when everybody can enjoy the early round.  There is only a few of us crazy ones that will go out and play in the afternoons.

Just played a normally 80 to 90 dollar course this morning for 35.  Not bad at all and they did the shotgun start.

[uttexas]

I probably average two rounds of golf a month, thus couldn't possibly justify spending money on a cc membership.  Very fortunate to live in DFW=year round golf except when Jerry Jones hosts a Super Bowl + lots of good public golf courses and internet bargains.

[Cut68]

If you're in Atlanta, do you ever get to Cateechee, near Hartwell? Great course on Autobon land that is always in incredible condition.