CaddieTrail Guide
Georgia punches above its weight in American golf — Augusta National sits at the top, Ohoopee Match Club brought Gil Hanse's sandy minimalism to rural south Georgia, and the Sea Island corridor makes coastal Georgia one of the great golf destinations in the country.
Georgia punches above its weight in American golf, anchored by Augusta National and backed by a deep roster of private classics. Ohoopee Match Club brought Gil Hanse's sandy minimalism to rural south Georgia and immediately entered the national conversation. East Lake, Bobby Jones' boyhood course, returned to glory after an Andrew Green renovation. The Sea Island corridor alone — Ocean Forest, Frederica, and Seaside — makes coastal Georgia one of the great golf destinations in the country.
#1 on trail
Augusta National Golf ClubAugusta, Georgia
Designed by MacKenzie and Jones in 1933, this private Georgia layout hosts the Masters annually. Amen Corner — holes 11-13 — defines championship golf.
#2 on trail
Peachtree Golf ClubAtlanta, Georgia
Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Bobby Jones in 1948, this private Atlanta layout reflects the strategic thinking of two of golf's most influential figures. Rarely seen, highly regarded.
#3 on trail
Ohoopee Match ClubCobbtown, Georgia
Gil Hanse's minimalist design carved through Georgia wiregrass and longleaf pine, Ohoopee plays as a pure match-play retreat on sandy, fast-draining terrain. Private access only.
#4 on trail
East Lake Golf ClubAtlanta, Georgia
Bobby Jones's home course, where he learned the game and played his last round. Tom Bendelow laid out the original in 1908; Donald Ross rebuilt it in 1913, and Andrew Green restored that design in 2024. Permanent home of the Tour Championship. Private club.
#5 on trail
Ocean Forest Golf ClubSea Island, Georgia
Rees Jones's 1995 design winds through Georgia's Sea Island marshlands and Atlantic shoreline, blending links-style exposure with lush Lowcountry terrain. Host to the 2001 Walker Cup.
#6 on trail
Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands Course)Johns Creek, Georgia
Robert Trent Jones Sr.'s Highlands Course in Johns Creek has hosted three PGA Championships (1981, 2001, 2011), the 1976 U.S. Open, and the 2021 Women's PGA. Rees Jones lengthened and reshaped it for its modern championship run. Tight fairways and punishing rough. Private club.
Georgia's public-access golf is anchored by two coastal classics on St. Simons Island and a deep collection inland. Sea Island's Seaside and Plantation courses bookend a Walter Travis–era heritage shaped over a century by Colt, Alison, Fazio, and the Love brothers — both now hosts of the PGA TOUR's RSM Classic. Reynolds Lake Oconee's Great Waters is one of Jack Nicklaus's signature waterfront designs, with ten holes tracing the lake. The McLemore Club's Highlands Course — Rees Jones and Bill Bergin's 2019 cliff-edge transformation atop Lookout Mountain — closes with what's been called the best finishing hole built in America since 2000. Currahee Club rounds out the trail with Jim Fazio's mountain layout above Lake Hartwell. Five rounds that span the Atlantic coast, the Lake Oconee corridor, and the North Georgia mountains.
#1 on trail
Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course)St. Simons Island, Georgia
Colt & Alison's 1929 Coastal Georgia layout, refined by Fazio, plays along salt marshes with persistent sea winds shaping every approach. Resort access via Sea Island.
#2 on trail
Reynolds Lake Oconee (Great Waters)Greensboro, Georgia
Designed by Jack Nicklaus, Great Waters opened in 1992 and plays along the banks of Lake Oconee with several holes running directly on the water. Resort access via Reynolds Lake Oconee.
#5 on trail
Sea Island Golf Club (Plantation Course)St. Simons Island, Georgia
Davis Love III, brother Mark, and Scot Sherman completely rebuilt this St. Simons Island course in 2019, reviving the Golden Age character of Walter Travis's 1928 original with chocolate-drop mounds, railroad ties, and squared-off greens. Co-hosts the PGA Tour's RSM Classic. Resort access via Sea Island.
Ten courses across the South Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry — Yeamans Hall, Secession Golf Club, Chechessee Creek Club, Kiawah Island Club Cassique, and Kiawah Island Club River Course are private; The Ocean Course at Kiawah, Harbour Town, May River at Palmetto Bluff, Sea Island Seaside, and Sea Island Plantation are publicly accessible resort courses. Yeamans Hall and Secession are among the most exclusive and least-seen private clubs in the South. The public courses provide a strong accessible foundation. Geographic concentration along the coast makes logistics manageable once the private access hurdles are cleared.
#1 on trail
The Ocean Course at Kiawah IslandKiawah Island, South Carolina
Pete and Alice Dye's 1991 design stretches along 2.5 miles of Atlantic coastline, exposing all 18 holes to ocean winds. Host of the 1991 Ryder Cup — the "War by the Shore" — and two PGA Championships (2012 and 2021).
#2 on trail
Yeamans Hall ClubCharleston, South Carolina
Seth Raynor's 1925 masterwork outside Charleston delivers his trademark template holes — Redan, Biarritz, Eden — on rolling lowcountry terrain. One of the Southeast's most coveted private rounds.
#3 on trail
Harbour Town Golf LinksHilton Head Island, South Carolina
Pete Dye crafted this 1969 Hilton Head layout with Jack Nicklaus serving as design consultant, built around tree-lined fairways, small greens, and the iconic 18th beside the lighthouse. Host of the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage annually.
#4 on trail
Sea Island Golf Club (Seaside Course)St. Simons Island, Georgia
Colt & Alison's 1929 Coastal Georgia layout, refined by Fazio, plays along salt marshes with persistent sea winds shaping every approach. Resort access via Sea Island.
#5 on trail
Palmetto Bluff (May River Course)Bluffton, South Carolina
Jack Nicklaus design routed through South Carolina's Lowcountry marshes and live oak canopy along the May River. Resort access via Montage Palmetto Bluff.
#6 on trail
Sea Island Golf Club (Plantation Course)St. Simons Island, Georgia
Davis Love III, brother Mark, and Scot Sherman completely rebuilt this St. Simons Island course in 2019, reviving the Golden Age character of Walter Travis's 1928 original with chocolate-drop mounds, railroad ties, and squared-off greens. Co-hosts the PGA Tour's RSM Classic. Resort access via Sea Island.
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