Divot, New York Golf, Summer/Fall 2005
Treat yourself and travel in style to Georgi’s upscale Reynolds Plantation
By Bill Nestor
Atlantic City, New Jersey’s bright lights reflected off the ocean surface as we banked and ascended. At just that moment the bright full moon filled my window. The final leg of our weekends golf journey allowed for some reflective moments of a special time, at a special place, with special people, done in a very special way.
As the Cessna Citation Excel jet leveled at 40,000-plus feet at more than 500 miles per hour, our pilots, David Kitchen and Karl Usher, smiled back from the cockpit as one announced, “Relax, it is just a short flight to home from here. It has been a pleasure to be your pilots. We hope you have enjoyed Heritage Flight”
Flying with Heritage was more than a mere pleasure – it was a series of the smoothest takeoffs, landings, airtime and comfort available without terminal waiting lines or the many other air travel delays and hassles we have come to accept. Incorporating Heritage Flight as part of this trip enabled lifelong friends living hundred of miles apart to travel together and share a vacation at Reynolds Plantation (800/8005250; www.reynoldsplantation.com ) in Greensboro, Georgia. The weekend began at a small airport in the northeast and, after a brief stop to pick up the second couple at Atlantic City International Airport, the plane landed at an even smaller airport near our destination in rural Georgia.
Reynolds Plantation includes more than 8,000 acres of land with more than 70 miles of shoreline on Georgia’s second-largest lake. Lake Oconee midway between Atlanta and Augusta, offered us an ideal golf-and-spa retreat weekend during a time of year when the northeast’s weather can be seasonally challenged.
The men in our group play golf and the women do not, but Reynolds provided much for all. An abundance of social and recreational activities round our the amenities of the community that presents an award-winning The Ritz Carlton Lodge; fine dining; great golf; a 26,000-square-foot, full-service spa with an array of treatments as well as sauna, steam, whirlpool and indoor pool; swimming pools, tennis courts, a fitness center, pedestrian walking trails and two full-service marianas. Outdoor water and land activities – including hiking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, fishing trips (Lake Oconee claims more fish per acre than any lake in the state), water skiing and more – are also available. Reynolds Plantation is ideal for a company meeting, vacation or as a place to live part time or year round.
Visitors can stay at The Ritz Carlton Lodge, a waterfront luxury hotel with 250 rooms and suites, lakeside cottages and exceptional service of gracious southern hospitality. Reynolds Plantation accommodates a variety of tastes and flavors. Rates for resort-view accommodations for one night start at $399, double occupancy (available Sunday through Thursday), which includes one round of golf per guest with complimentary same-day replay, complimentary golf cart and use of practice facility.
Home sites, from one-half to 9-plus acres, with the average being three-quarters of an acre, are located throughout the plantation. Homes, golf and lake cottages, as well as condominiums and villas, are available to own. Sites and housing range in price depending on view, setting and size. Home sites range from less than $75,000 to more than $1 million. Homes average between 2,500 and 5,000 square feet. The price range for homes start around $400,000 and exceed $2 million. Golf and lake cottages and condominiums start under $200,000.
Reynolds Plantation golf currently includes five championship courses with 99 holes. Groundbreaking for a sixth track, as yet unnamed, by contemporary golf-course designer Jim Engh, Golf Digest’s 2004 Architect of the Year, took place in April. “We are thrilled to have brought in someone like Jim who has such a proven and successful track record in golf course design,” says Bob Mauragas, director of golf for Reynolds Plantation. “Our philosophies of golf course design for this particular piece of property are very much in agreement,”
Engh’s par-72 creation will be private and fairly traditional, shaped into a shoreline setting on the north sector of Reynolds Plantation in close proximity to the planned Lake Club near the Oconee Course and the newly acquired Port Armor Country Club.
Port Armor, a Bob Cupp design that opened in 1986, was the first 18-hole layout built along Lake Oconee. It is considered the most challenging of the golf courses at Lake Oconee, and the only one with Bermuda greens. It is noted for its expanse and slopes. A par-72, Port Armor is 6.926 yards from the tips, with a 136 slope.
The par-72, 6,702-yard Oconee, a Rees Jones-designed course, winds through southern hardwood forests and along the Lake Oconee’s shoreline. The interesting layout features numerous doglegs requiring long drives and good shot selection. Oconee offers an interesting aesthetic challenge, and multiple tee boxes provide playability for golfers of different skill levels. It is home to Dave Pelz Golf School and offers packages including the school, lodging, golf and space. GOLF Magazine’s 2004 Dream House – which can be toured as well as be viewed online at www.golfdreamhouse.com – is located alongside the 12th hole.
Great Waters is a par-72 6,545-yard Jack Nicklaus signature golf course. The course’s front nine is laid out through densely-wooded evergreen lanes before opening to the final nine holes running alongside of Lake Oconee. It is ranked 61st in Golf Digest’s 2005-2006 list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, and offers an enjoyable southern forest track of gentle flowing ample fairways lined by indigenous vegetation, with nice voce and lakefront views.
The Plantation, a par-72 6,698-yard (72.3 rating/131 slope) track, was Reynolds Plantation’s first course. The Bob Cupp (along with Hubert Green and Fuzzy Zoeller) design’s wide fairways and bunked placement combine to provide a more relaxing, forgiving layout and a round of golf that is suitable for golfers of all levels. The practice range consists of two bunkers and give target greens.
The National’s 27 holes total 10,553 yards, and are played as 18-hole combinations of the three nines. Tom Fazio was challenged to incorporate the natural rolling hills, mature hardwood and pine stands, streams, ponds, and lake views into the design. The result is a very pleasurable gol experience playing through tall pines and dogwoods with more than 100 bunkers, large undulating greens and several holes along the shores of Lake Oconee. This golf experience will vary depending on the two nines selected for play on any given day.
A caddie is required for the Oconee Course, at $45 plus tax. Caddies are optional on the plantations, Great Waters and National courses, subject to availability. The golf you choose at Reynolds Plantation is sure to satisfy your desired level of play. At the same time it delivers an opportunity to pay a variety of layouts that will keep you interested and challenge your skill. The same is certainly true for the entire experience at Reynolds, which will surely fulfill your design to relax and enjoy comfortable gracious facilities and hospitality in a secluded quiet setting offer many activities for the golf and non-golfer alike.
