I'm going to ATL in a couple of months and want to know what are the courses I should play. Money is no object, but they need to be public courses. Any can't miss spots? Thanks in advance.

-Mark

hmmm...if money is no object, I'm sure you could find your way on just about anywhere other than Augusta Nat'l.

The only courses I say are a must play in Atlanta are:

Capital City Club Crabapple
Hawks Ridge
East Lake
Atlanta Athletic Club

I'd bet you could get on Capital City Club and potentially Hawks Ridge...East Lake could be tough with the Tour C-ship coming up. Been quite a while since I've been to AAC, not sure if that's tough to get on or not anymore.

I'm sure others will chime in with recommendations.

On a side note, if you do some research and pick out a few possibilities, list them and I'm sure people will be glad to say "yea" or "nea"...

That would probably be a bit easier than asking for straight recommendations...

Just a thought.

Public courses only please. I don't want to have to call in any favors.

Woodmont is nice. Was rated as the best public course in Georgia in 200
Chestatee is nice as well, lots of water.
Achasta is nice, that is where they play the [email="AT@T"]AT@T[/email] Classic qualifier

In Georgia they have an online service called Last Minute Tee Times. You can book teetimes through this website. www.lmtt.com Worth a look.

I will echo what Dr. John suggested, LMTT.com is the way to go for the best deals. If you get a chance to play Bear's Best, you may find it a fun track. It's a little easy but the reproduce some of Jack's great golf holes. East Lake and Hawk's Ridge are a no go unless you know people. East Lake also may be closed to get it ready for the Tour Championship. Enjoy your golf in Atlanta, we have some great public courses to choose from.

+1 on Bears Best. Nice layout and well manicured. They use fore caddies there, they are really helpful for first time players.

Bears Best and Woodmont are both very good choices ........

Public course - Mystery Valley - A great Dick Wison design.

Georgia National
Wolf Creek
Cherokee Run
are all decent courses and public.

I played


Bear's Best
Good course, public, good practice facility
I had forecaddy who took care of our foursome. Unique


St. Marlo
Good course again, public and funny lay out


Both should be good choices

Bears Best is always in good shape. I like Woodmont, Crystal Lake, The Frog. Trophy Club of Atlanta's not bad. Is White Column's Public? I played there in the GA Mid-Am and it was a nice track.

Georgia Club on 316 about half way between Gwinnett County and Athens. 27 holes. Excellent condition. Good layout. Super greens. Not real well known because it is fairly new.

Played Cherokee Run again last weekend. Love the layout and the great condition of those zoysia fairways. Greens were fast and true but a little bit marked up. They still are not doiing anything with the bunkers in terms of adding sand, or maintaining the few where they have finally added sand - you basically have to impose an unofficial rule that says everyone can lift, rake, and replace. Nonetheless, one of my favorite courses.

Surprised no one has mentioned TPC Sugarloaf yet.

TPC Sugarloaf is a private club. He is asking about courses open to the public, without having to wrangle a special invite.

Bear Best is closest and best course to Atlanta metro area IMO. Achasta in Dahlonega is nice it is about 1 hour 15 minutes north of Atlanta. Cuscowilla is about 90 minutes east of Atlanta on I-20 it is a great course. Reynolds Courses are nice in same region as Cuscowilla but you will have to stay at the Ritz or in Reynolds house. The Frog is about 30 minutes west is real nice. Crystal Lake southwest of Atlanta is terrific as well. White Columns is no longer public. I hope this helps. Enjoy ATL.

A lot of good choices here.
I haven't been out there but Cuscowilla and the Reynolds Plantation courses are getting good press. You could take a long weekend at the Ritz and go crazy!

+1 for the frog and Cherokee run.

Achasta or Bear's Best. If you are near Gainesville (Oakwood area) try Chicopee Woods, Chateau Elan and Royal Lakes for great golf with a nice price!

its too bad you dont want to call in any favors for a private club....i heard there is a decent club up the road in a little town called Augusta

Bear's Best gets another vote here, great golf and great experience.

Another good course, as mentioned, is Woodmont.

While up near Woodmont a fun new course fairly close to there is Callahan Golf Links. It's a Links style layout and is lots of fun. Doesn't hurt that the cart girl is one of the best looking I've seen in this area.

The Frog at the Georgian is a great course as well.

Cobblestone Golf Course is a fun layout that was in great shape the last time I played there a month or two ago.

Wolf Creek gets another vote here as well.

Chateu Elan is a good course as well.

Callaway Gardens is just a short drive up the road and is a good layout as well.

Barnsley Gardens is another good course that gets a vote here.

You can check out some of the public courses at http://www.atlantagolfer.com

If you play Chateau Elan, play the Woodlands course, not the Chateau course. The Woodlands is more of a shot making course and the greens are way way better than Chateau. Also, go to golfq.com and get coupons - or use LMTT.

One other course to consider - about 2 miles from Chateau Elan - is Reunion. Good layout and good greens. Mike Riley design, I believe.

10k is going rate for non-friends of AN members.... few members are willing take whoever is willing to shell out the cash. They open back up sometime next month.

Another vote for Reunion!

I'm actually staying in Smyrna, Georgia, not Atlanta but I'm going to try and play 3 different courses when I go.

Played Bear's Best, Sugarloaf, and The river Club two weeks ago...

Bears was the only public...It is a great track, but would probably never play again...Greens were like dart boards. You couldn't even have a 3 footer without hiting a few crater ball marks!! It was a dissapiontement because the course layout was awesome. they need to up the marshalls and make sure people are taking care of the greens.

I live in Smyrna if you need a 4th. Or a Beer.

Sorry for threadjacking but I'll be in Atlanta next week and Im puzzled between playing Woodmont, Bears Best or The Frog. I can't make up my mind, is there a clear winner between these three courses?

Four colleagues of mine just played the Frog and were very impressed. They are the "private" club type and are hard to please. So, I would tell you to give The Frog a go if you can.

You can't go wrong with either Bears Best or The Frog. Haven't played Woodmont. Its a real estate course.
Just realize though that Atlanta is spread out and these courses are not close to each other. It may depend on where you stay if you don't want to drive.

The frog is a really god track. Bear Best is always in perfect shape.

South side of Atlanta in order of preference:

Crystal Lake
Coweta Club @ Arbor Springs
Wolf Creek (play it early, pace of play issues at times here)
Durham Lakes (also, play early, pace of play issues)

West side of Atlanta:

The Frog

East side of Atlanta:

Cuscowilla
Reynolds Plantation
Long Shadow
The Georgia Club
Stone Mountain - Stonemont