Georgia Golfers Must be Insane
11/1/2009
I have come to the conclusion that the public golfing community in the state of Georgia must be completely insane! I
came to this conclusion today as I pulled into Achasta, a golf course/golfing community in the North Georgia gold
mining/mountain town of Dahlonega. You see, there is never anyone at this golf course despite the fact it is a very
good golf course in a beautiful part of the state designed by one of the most recognized and, arguably, one of the
best golf course architects in the world today…Jack Nicklaus. I’ve played the course many, many times and I’ve
written about it on my course rankings page, but today’s round compelled me to write about it again.
Today I pulled into the community around 7:15 am as the course was just coming to life. As usual we were the first
patrons there. We paid for our round and headed out to the practice range. Then we hit some chips, putts, and full
shots. It was maybe 7:45 when another group showed up to begin warming up. At 8:00 am sharp, my group was on
the tee box and our round officially began. As we made it around the course, we saw NO ONE!!! We were free to
enjoy ourselves, play a leisurely game on a wonderful course all the while surrounded by the beautiful fall foliage and
the North Georgia Mountains. As we came to the 9th hole, we saw the first signs of other golfers on the course. That
other group we saw on the practice range was walking down the 5th hole. They were not a threat to push us on the
course and we, for sure, were not going to be pushed by them.
After making the turn and grabbing some refreshments, we embarked on the back nine. Once again, there were no
signs of human life. Holes 14 and 15 at Achasta are back to back par 5’s and take you to the point furthest away
from the clubhouse. Here we saw two deer grazing on the side of a mountain and three turkeys crossed the green
on 15 as we approached. Other than that we were alone. As we came down the 18th fairway, we saw a group of
three people on the 10th tee box. This sighting took the total number of human beings we saw playing golf on this
course up to 7.
In total, our round took 3 hours and 45 minutes and we saw only two other groups of golfers the entire day. Due to
my leg issues, I prefer to ride in a cart and the fact the course was so wet and we were restricted to cart path only
probably cost us 15 to 30 minutes. On a normal/non-wet day, we would have gotten around in 3 to 3 ½ hours…which
is what we usually get around in.
So, why don’t people take the time to go to this course? Maybe it is the cost? It costs $80 for 18 holes on the
weekend, which is not expensive in the Atlanta golfing market. Great Waters, another Nicklaus course located on
Reynolds Plantation, cost $250. Cuscowilla, a great Coore and Crenshaw course, cost about $125. And Bear’s
Best, obviously another Nicklaus course, cost the exact same price. Therefore, I can’t conclude that price drives
people away since all three of these courses are usually packed.
Maybe it is distance from Atlanta. Great Waters takes about 2 ½ hours to get to, as does Cuscowilla. Achasta takes
about an hour to get to from Atlanta, while Bear’s Best takes 45-ish minutes. So, it isn’t clear to me that distance/time
is the deterring factor as some of these packed courses are further away from Atlanta than Achasta and another
packed Nicklaus course is only 15, or so, minutes closer in.
Given that I’ve played all of these courses, it is my opinion that only Cuscowilla is a clearly “better” course than
Achasta. However for about 65% of the cost and 3 hours less total travel time, Achasta is close to being on
Cuscowilla’s level. And Great Waters at $250 per round, 3 hours more travel time, and a much longer round, isn’t
even close to Achasta’s level (at least in my book). Concerning Bear’s Best, it is the same in total cost and a little
shorter travel time but the round is MUCH longer and the course simply isn’t as good. Although I’ve enjoyed every
round I’ve ever played at Bear’s Best, it just isn’t in Achasta’s league.
So, the only conclusion I can come up with is that golfer’s in Georgia who play public golf courses are insane. What
else could explain the weird set of circumstances I have laid out?
11/1/2009
I have come to the conclusion that the public golfing community in the state of Georgia must be completely insane! I
came to this conclusion today as I pulled into Achasta, a golf course/golfing community in the North Georgia gold
mining/mountain town of Dahlonega. You see, there is never anyone at this golf course despite the fact it is a very
good golf course in a beautiful part of the state designed by one of the most recognized and, arguably, one of the
best golf course architects in the world today…Jack Nicklaus. I’ve played the course many, many times and I’ve
written about it on my course rankings page, but today’s round compelled me to write about it again.
Today I pulled into the community around 7:15 am as the course was just coming to life. As usual we were the first
patrons there. We paid for our round and headed out to the practice range. Then we hit some chips, putts, and full
shots. It was maybe 7:45 when another group showed up to begin warming up. At 8:00 am sharp, my group was on
the tee box and our round officially began. As we made it around the course, we saw NO ONE!!! We were free to
enjoy ourselves, play a leisurely game on a wonderful course all the while surrounded by the beautiful fall foliage and
the North Georgia Mountains. As we came to the 9th hole, we saw the first signs of other golfers on the course. That
other group we saw on the practice range was walking down the 5th hole. They were not a threat to push us on the
course and we, for sure, were not going to be pushed by them.
After making the turn and grabbing some refreshments, we embarked on the back nine. Once again, there were no
signs of human life. Holes 14 and 15 at Achasta are back to back par 5’s and take you to the point furthest away
from the clubhouse. Here we saw two deer grazing on the side of a mountain and three turkeys crossed the green
on 15 as we approached. Other than that we were alone. As we came down the 18th fairway, we saw a group of
three people on the 10th tee box. This sighting took the total number of human beings we saw playing golf on this
course up to 7.
In total, our round took 3 hours and 45 minutes and we saw only two other groups of golfers the entire day. Due to
my leg issues, I prefer to ride in a cart and the fact the course was so wet and we were restricted to cart path only
probably cost us 15 to 30 minutes. On a normal/non-wet day, we would have gotten around in 3 to 3 ½ hours…which
is what we usually get around in.
So, why don’t people take the time to go to this course? Maybe it is the cost? It costs $80 for 18 holes on the
weekend, which is not expensive in the Atlanta golfing market. Great Waters, another Nicklaus course located on
Reynolds Plantation, cost $250. Cuscowilla, a great Coore and Crenshaw course, cost about $125. And Bear’s
Best, obviously another Nicklaus course, cost the exact same price. Therefore, I can’t conclude that price drives
people away since all three of these courses are usually packed.
Maybe it is distance from Atlanta. Great Waters takes about 2 ½ hours to get to, as does Cuscowilla. Achasta takes
about an hour to get to from Atlanta, while Bear’s Best takes 45-ish minutes. So, it isn’t clear to me that distance/time
is the deterring factor as some of these packed courses are further away from Atlanta than Achasta and another
packed Nicklaus course is only 15, or so, minutes closer in.
Given that I’ve played all of these courses, it is my opinion that only Cuscowilla is a clearly “better” course than
Achasta. However for about 65% of the cost and 3 hours less total travel time, Achasta is close to being on
Cuscowilla’s level. And Great Waters at $250 per round, 3 hours more travel time, and a much longer round, isn’t
even close to Achasta’s level (at least in my book). Concerning Bear’s Best, it is the same in total cost and a little
shorter travel time but the round is MUCH longer and the course simply isn’t as good. Although I’ve enjoyed every
round I’ve ever played at Bear’s Best, it just isn’t in Achasta’s league.
So, the only conclusion I can come up with is that golfer’s in Georgia who play public golf courses are insane. What
else could explain the weird set of circumstances I have laid out?
