Top 10 Golf Courses in Georgia
Georgia holds a position in American golf that no other state can claim. It is the home of Augusta National Golf Club, which hosts the Masters every April in a ceremony of green jackets and azaleas that functions less like a sporting event and more like a national ritual. It is also the birthplace of Bobby Jones, the amateur champion who co-founded Augusta National and who remains, more than seventy years after his death, the most complete golfer many historians believe has ever lived. Beyond Augusta, Georgia offers remarkable variety: the historic East Lake in Atlanta, the barrier island resort courses of the coast, and a climate that supports year-round play across much of the state.
1. Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta
Augusta National is the most famous golf course in the world. Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones designed it in 1933 on the site of a nursery, and the course's horticultural heritage shows in every detail — each hole is named after a plant or tree that grows on its borders. Par 72, the course has been progressively lengthened and now plays to around 7,500 yards from the tournament tees, though the members' everyday course is substantially shorter. Amen Corner — the 11th through 13th — is the most analysed stretch of holes in golf. The club is among the world's most exclusive private institutions; membership is by invitation only, and visitors never play. To see it, you must secure a Masters badge, which itself takes years of entry lottery patience.
2. East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta
East Lake is the ancestral home of American golf. Bobby Jones learned to play here as a boy, and the course — founded in 1904 — shaped his game and his philosophy of design. The original design was by Tom Bendelow, with later revisions by Donald Ross, but Rees Jones undertook a thorough restoration in 1994 that returned the course to something close to Ross's vision. Par 72, around 7,300 yards, it now hosts the Tour Championship — the FedEx Cup finale — every August. The challenging Bermuda-grass greens and tree-lined parkland setting feel completely different from the Augusta model. East Lake is semi-private; corporate and charity events provide limited public access.
3. Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course), St Simons Island
Sea Island's Seaside Course is the gem of Georgia's coastal golf. Colt & Alison designed the original layout in 1928 on a marsh-fringed barrier island, and the course has been maintained and refined to play to par 70 over around 6,800 yards. The combination of salt marsh, ancient live oak trees draped in Spanish moss, and the Atlantic exposure creates one of the most atmospherically beautiful settings in American golf. Sea Island Resort is a Five-Star property and visitors can play as hotel guests; green fees are in the premium range, around $300–400. The Plantation Course, the resort's second layout, provides a longer, more parkland alternative.
4. Ocean Forest Golf Club, Sea Island
Ocean Forest is among the most private courses in American golf. Rees Jones designed it in 1995 on a point of Sea Island overlooking the Atlantic, and membership is limited and exclusive. The course, par 72, just over 7,000 yards, uses the barrier island topography with mature salt-tolerant trees and sweeping ocean views. It has hosted Walker Cup in 2001. Like Augusta National, it is not publicly available, but its reputation among those who have played it is consistently that of a course in the top tier of American design. Sea Island guests do not automatically have access; it requires specific membership or member invitation.
5. Reynolds Lake Oconee (Great Waters Course), Greensboro
Jack Nicklaus designed Great Waters in 1992 on the shores of Lake Oconee, and the course remains the centrepiece of the Reynolds Lake Oconee resort complex — one of the largest private golf communities in the southeastern United States. Par 72, around 7,000 yards, the lakeside holes are among the most scenic in Georgia, with several greens set directly at the water's edge. Five additional courses are available on the Reynolds property for members and resort guests. Great Waters is semi-private; resort residency or club membership provides access, and the development's scale makes it a destination for multiple-round stays.
6. TPC Sugarloaf, Duluth
TPC Sugarloaf is the Atlanta area's premier public-access championship course, designed by Greg Norman and opened in 1997. Par 72, around 7,300 yards, it hosted the Champions Tour and various PGA Tour events through the late 1990s and 2000s. The rolling north Georgia terrain gives the course genuine elevation changes unusual for this part of the South, and the back nine — cutting through wooded ravines — is consistently rated among the most challenging sequences in the Atlanta market. Green fees are in the $80–150 range; it represents strong championship-standard value compared to the major resort options.
7. Achasta Golf Course, Dahlonega
Achasta sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in north Georgia, a Jack Nicklaus Signature design opened in 2000. Par 72, around 6,800 yards, the mountain topography creates elevation changes that demand uphill and downhill shot-making throughout. Autumn is the finest season here, when the hardwood forest turns colour and the course offers one of the most visually stunning rounds in the state. The club is residential but offers visitor tee times on a limited basis. Green fees are moderate, and the combination of mountain scenery and high-quality course conditioning makes Achasta the best case for a north Georgia golf trip.
8. The Golf Club at Cuscowilla, Eatonton
Cuscowilla is another Lake Oconee property, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 1998 in the naturalistic minimalist style that defines their work. Par 72, approximately 6,600 yards, the course avoids artificial mounding and elaborate water features in favour of fairways that follow the natural terrain, greens built to play like traditional turf, and a landscape management philosophy that leaves native rough to self-manage. The result is a course that rewards strategic thinking over power, and one whose quality of experience has grown as the turf has matured. Tee times are available for resort guests.
9. Chateau Elan (Chateau Course), Braselton
Chateau Elan is a winery and resort complex north of Atlanta, and its golf course — par 71, around 6,700 yards, designed by Dennis Griffiths — benefits from the hilly piedmont terrain. The combination of a working winery, a full-service spa and resort hotel, and three golf courses makes it a natural corporate and group retreat. The Chateau Course is the most challenging of the three, with tight fairways and water on several holes that test accuracy. Green fees are in the $80–130 range; the winery association means the 19th hole experience is rather better than most.
10. Callaway Gardens Golf (Mountain View Course), Pine Mountain
Callaway Gardens Resort maintains one of Georgia's most enjoyable resort golf experiences in the rolling terrain of west Georgia near Pine Mountain. The Mountain View Course, designed by Joe Lee, plays to par 72 over around 6,900 yards through the horticultural gardens and forest that define the Callaway property. Multiple PGA Tour events were held here in the 1990s. The resort is family-oriented and the golf is challenging but not punitive — a good option for mixed-ability groups. Green fees are moderate; the on-site azalea displays in spring rival Augusta's own for spectacle.
Planning a Georgia Golf Trip
Georgia's mild climate supports year-round play in the southern half of the state. The Masters week in early April is peak season in Augusta and accommodation for fifty miles around is fully booked years in advance. The coastal barrier island courses — Sea Island and surrounding areas — are best October through May, avoiding summer humidity. Atlanta courses are accessible from the international airport via hire car. Green fees range from $50 at public courses to over $300 at the premium resort layouts. To plan your route across Georgia's courses, open the map and filter by region.