Reunion Country Club—Hoschton, GA
The day I played Reunion I decided to take the “Pepsi Challenge.” I always hear people say that if you know
about a course’s history and who designed it, you will have a preconceived idea of what the course is and you
will have already made up your mind about it before you even hit one shot. Okay, fine, maybe. So, I did no
homework and simply went to play it.
On the first tee box, it was apparent that the course’s maintenance wasn’t kept at an elite level. Okay, fine, no
worries. It cost $25 to play and, therefore, I can’t expect Augusta National. But the first hole was a very solid
and good golf hole.
Also, the course is clearly designed to sell real estate. In light of this, the routing goes across streets, in
between houses, and the views are usually obstructed by neighborhood centric things. Again, whatever. The
course is what it is…it is not pretending to be something it is not. It is an affordable, neighborhood golf course. I
got it.
But on my approach to the second green, I noticed how interesting the approach shot was. If you come up the
right side of the fairway, you have a crystal clear approach shot on this 417 yard par 4. But if you come up the
left side, you have to go over a bunker. Interestingly enough, the right side of the fairway flirts with some pretty
penal rough. The result is a very cool risk/reward tee shot.
Throughout the next few holes I also noticed how really neat the greens were. I loved the internal contours and
how well those contours flowed with the surrounds of the course outside the green. I actually had a gnawing
feeling I’d seen this style of course before. But I was into my round so much; I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
Regardless, I liked it.
Standing on the tee box of hole 6, I began to fall in love with these golf holes. 6 is a short-ish par 4, 384 yards.
On the tee box, you see a sliver of fairway off to the left that doglegs around this Alps style mound off to the
right. The carry to the end of this left fairway is 200-ish yards, not too long and kind of simple and straight
forward. From there you have maybe 160 in to the green, which from the tee box is totally hidden by the Alps
style mound off to the right. Option #2 from the tee is to smack one up and over that hill and see if you can get
really close to that green; in this instance you are cutting that corner and taking on the blind tee shot. Given this
was the first time I’d played it, I really had no idea what lurked over the hill…but what the heck, I went for it. 3
wood…blammo…I nutted it over the blind Alps hill. Well, I pulled it off and had a pitch and a putt for birdie. Of
course, I missed the putt…but no worries…COOL HOLE!!!
So, I was really warming up to this course. And then I step to the 7th tee box. WOW!!! For starters, the hole
has two greens; one off to the left and one off to the right. The day I played it, the pin was on the right green
which lay 503 yards away for this par 5 and this green is guarded by some of the most interesting, beautiful, and
menacing bunkers I’ve ever seen. So picturesque, but scary, just sitting off in the distance. But that was not all.
There was a series of cross bunkers beginning at about 230 yards off the tee and cutting at a diagonal to the left
and angling toward the green and across the entire fairway. Again, this course brings strategic golf to you
beginning at the tee box. The 7th hole proved to be another well designed hole on this well designed course.
As good as those holes were, in my opinion the best hole on the course (and one of the very best golf holes I’ve
ever played) is the 480 yard par 5 10th. This shorter par 5 has a split fairway with 2 big centerline bunkers right
smack dab in the middle of the fairway. These bunkers sit on a sloped ridge line that angles downward left to
right at about 45 degrees. You can choose to hit to the elevated left fairway, but flirt with the heavily wooded
tree line off to the far left, and have an descending shot into this small green. Or you can choose to play the
wider and easier to hit right fairway, but you’ll have to carry a small pond in front of the green if you choose this
route. Yet again, brilliant strategic golf starting as soon as you put your peg in the ground.
Needless to say, this course passed the “Pepsi Challenge.” I liked it a lot, despite the limitations that the
maintenance and neighborhood nature of the layout put upon it. When I checked out who designed it, I found
out it was none other than Mike Riley. Mike is the architect that designed one of my home courses, Rivermont.
He also did the excellent renovation work at The Standard Club and is the man behind the truly world class
greens at the Atlanta Country Club.
I am not quite sure how golf course architects rise to fame and, in fact, I was thinking about this very thing
somewhere between holes 7 and 10. Is it like an actor who struggles and struggles and then one day is
discovered by some big time Hollywood agent? That is what I was envisioning playing Reunion. Some big time
golf developer would be playing a random assortment of less than top tier courses looking for well designed and
laid out golf courses that the average person would overlook. They’d find out who did the great work, contact
them, and then give them the ideal piece of land to build the next great golf course masterpiece. Whether stuff
like that actually happens or not, I have no idea. But regarding the courses I’ve seen Mike work on, he certainly
deserves that shot. He is that good!
Reunion measures 6,602 yards from the Medal Tees and is rated 70.5/135.
The day I played Reunion I decided to take the “Pepsi Challenge.” I always hear people say that if you know
about a course’s history and who designed it, you will have a preconceived idea of what the course is and you
will have already made up your mind about it before you even hit one shot. Okay, fine, maybe. So, I did no
homework and simply went to play it.
On the first tee box, it was apparent that the course’s maintenance wasn’t kept at an elite level. Okay, fine, no
worries. It cost $25 to play and, therefore, I can’t expect Augusta National. But the first hole was a very solid
and good golf hole.
Also, the course is clearly designed to sell real estate. In light of this, the routing goes across streets, in
between houses, and the views are usually obstructed by neighborhood centric things. Again, whatever. The
course is what it is…it is not pretending to be something it is not. It is an affordable, neighborhood golf course. I
got it.
But on my approach to the second green, I noticed how interesting the approach shot was. If you come up the
right side of the fairway, you have a crystal clear approach shot on this 417 yard par 4. But if you come up the
left side, you have to go over a bunker. Interestingly enough, the right side of the fairway flirts with some pretty
penal rough. The result is a very cool risk/reward tee shot.
Throughout the next few holes I also noticed how really neat the greens were. I loved the internal contours and
how well those contours flowed with the surrounds of the course outside the green. I actually had a gnawing
feeling I’d seen this style of course before. But I was into my round so much; I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
Regardless, I liked it.
Standing on the tee box of hole 6, I began to fall in love with these golf holes. 6 is a short-ish par 4, 384 yards.
On the tee box, you see a sliver of fairway off to the left that doglegs around this Alps style mound off to the
right. The carry to the end of this left fairway is 200-ish yards, not too long and kind of simple and straight
forward. From there you have maybe 160 in to the green, which from the tee box is totally hidden by the Alps
style mound off to the right. Option #2 from the tee is to smack one up and over that hill and see if you can get
really close to that green; in this instance you are cutting that corner and taking on the blind tee shot. Given this
was the first time I’d played it, I really had no idea what lurked over the hill…but what the heck, I went for it. 3
wood…blammo…I nutted it over the blind Alps hill. Well, I pulled it off and had a pitch and a putt for birdie. Of
course, I missed the putt…but no worries…COOL HOLE!!!
So, I was really warming up to this course. And then I step to the 7th tee box. WOW!!! For starters, the hole
has two greens; one off to the left and one off to the right. The day I played it, the pin was on the right green
which lay 503 yards away for this par 5 and this green is guarded by some of the most interesting, beautiful, and
menacing bunkers I’ve ever seen. So picturesque, but scary, just sitting off in the distance. But that was not all.
There was a series of cross bunkers beginning at about 230 yards off the tee and cutting at a diagonal to the left
and angling toward the green and across the entire fairway. Again, this course brings strategic golf to you
beginning at the tee box. The 7th hole proved to be another well designed hole on this well designed course.
As good as those holes were, in my opinion the best hole on the course (and one of the very best golf holes I’ve
ever played) is the 480 yard par 5 10th. This shorter par 5 has a split fairway with 2 big centerline bunkers right
smack dab in the middle of the fairway. These bunkers sit on a sloped ridge line that angles downward left to
right at about 45 degrees. You can choose to hit to the elevated left fairway, but flirt with the heavily wooded
tree line off to the far left, and have an descending shot into this small green. Or you can choose to play the
wider and easier to hit right fairway, but you’ll have to carry a small pond in front of the green if you choose this
route. Yet again, brilliant strategic golf starting as soon as you put your peg in the ground.
Needless to say, this course passed the “Pepsi Challenge.” I liked it a lot, despite the limitations that the
maintenance and neighborhood nature of the layout put upon it. When I checked out who designed it, I found
out it was none other than Mike Riley. Mike is the architect that designed one of my home courses, Rivermont.
He also did the excellent renovation work at The Standard Club and is the man behind the truly world class
greens at the Atlanta Country Club.
I am not quite sure how golf course architects rise to fame and, in fact, I was thinking about this very thing
somewhere between holes 7 and 10. Is it like an actor who struggles and struggles and then one day is
discovered by some big time Hollywood agent? That is what I was envisioning playing Reunion. Some big time
golf developer would be playing a random assortment of less than top tier courses looking for well designed and
laid out golf courses that the average person would overlook. They’d find out who did the great work, contact
them, and then give them the ideal piece of land to build the next great golf course masterpiece. Whether stuff
like that actually happens or not, I have no idea. But regarding the courses I’ve seen Mike work on, he certainly
deserves that shot. He is that good!
Reunion measures 6,602 yards from the Medal Tees and is rated 70.5/135.
11th at Reunion
(FYI, this picture was not taken the day I played the course)
(FYI, this picture was not taken the day I played the course)