Reynolds Lake Oconee - Great Waters

It was fun to return five years after the renovation of the premier resort course at Reynolds to see how nicely it has matured. Conditioning is flawless and the sense of an escalating journey – a mostly inland front nine that gives way to the shoreline-tickling inward half – continues to animate the round. The course is tough but playable from the right tees, with the only real forced carries coming on par 3s (14, 17) or shots that are likely to be played with wedges (9, 11).

Great Waters enjoys its own environment unto itself, away from the main Reynolds complex. This sense of isolation adds to its charm. As a result, it’s one of my favorite 1990s golf courses.

Nice setting but the overall value is not there. Played during Master’s week and they jack up the prices. At $500 per round, you could play Whistling Straits, Pinehurst #2 even Pebble Beach for that price. This place is absolutely none of those!
Low Lights:
- Grill/Food, not open in the morning.
- The starter was extremely rude!
- No beverage cart for the first 9 holes
- Tee boxes were in poor condition.
- The overall service was poor.
This place just wants your cash and then does not deliver the service.

I can see why Great Waters owns a spectacular reputation. The lake in involved with 9 of the last 10 holes setting up some postcard shot and scenic value.

Though mild temperatures in this part of the country make Reynolds Oconee an excellent fall getaway destination, my thought is that GW probably is much more enjoyable in the summer, when everything is lush and green. I enjoyed the Oconee course much more, as I feel it plays better in the fall and winter.

GW will test your long-iron game, as several of the par 4s are robust.

End your day at the National Tavern. It is a great hang.

We arrived with only 4 hours of sunlight left in the day and we finished with 20 minutes to spare. I took as many pictures as I did shots and none of them do the course justice. We played two other courses at Reynold's that week but this was the best. Not by much, but it was the best of the three.

If you like beautiful lake views this is your course. The first 8 holes are nice but kind of ho hum before you get introduced to the last 10 holes with water everywhere. Greens rolled pure and course was nice for early spring. We felt this course was the hardest of the lake oconee courses. Almost every hole plays for a RH draw and goes to the left which does not fit my eye but was still fun. Only downfall was the $300-$350 cost due to it being masters week. Coming down the 16-18th holes at sunset are a treat.

Showed up to play with daughter (Fathers Day Gift). No one to meet us and help with bags. Gave us 2 hot water bottles (not cooled) and told us to go get in line at the tee. No starter, so teed off after waiting for one group and were met on the 2nd tee box by a bald employee in a golf cart accusing us of jumping in rotation. Tried to explain what we were told, however, he treated us like criminals with horrible/nasty attitude. Followed him back to the pro shop where the pro also was extremely rude/arrogant and continued to treat us like criminals. Pros name was Brody. Basically, they had no starters, got the tee times all screwed up and then blamed us as the customers. I have played golf all over the country at public and private courses and without a doubt will say this was THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE I HAVE EVER SEEN at a golf course. Very pricy and shouldn't get this kind of treatment anywhere let alone at this price!

What can be said that hasn't already been said? A little slow for the front nice (as far as scoring), but I think the back nine, I was so in awe of the views, that I wasn't even paying attention to golf. After I finished, I realized I shot a 79. With the exception of 10, ALL holes on the back nine have INCREDIBLE views of the lake, I'm talking full-on panoramic views. I will definitely be getting back there. I won't even hold against them, the fact that they aerated the greens just 2 weeks ago, yet were still in better than average shape.

The back 9 is the best stretch of 9 holes of any course I’ve ever played. I could not recommend this course enough. Jack out did himself on this one.

This course was wonderful prior to the redesign but is even better nice. Just opened so greens are hard and cart path only. A great course for every level player and the scenery on the back can’t be beat

Water plays a big role in the fame of certain golf courses. In most cases, it's a sea, ocean or Great Lake. At Reynolds Lake Oconee is the star, and while it's no Superior or Michigan, it is central to the identity of courses, especially Great Waters, where it is a factor on nine of the last ten holes.

After a year-plus renovation by Jack Nicklaus, Great Waters is ready for its next quarter-century anchoring a strong set of resort and member courses. You'll pay a premium to play it, but for your dollars you get an American inland course with unmatched access to a beautiful body of water, with the block-and-tackle design features you've come to expect from the Golden Bear: aerial game emphasis, stately holes and a measure of Augusta inspiration.

Great Waters makes its name on almost ever list of places to play. The course (and the resort) is worthy of all the accolades. This is a Jack Nicklaus design and it is typical of his work.

To me, it seems that Nicklaus always allows the player an option to "bail out" of difficulty. That long par 4 where you can lay up short and not be in the water or the par 3 where short right won't put you in a deep bunker. I played this course during a scramble tournament so I did not get the full pleasure of my normally errant shots but the wonder of the course was nonetheless evident.

I have played 3 courses at Reynolds (and a few other non-Reynolds courses in the area like Cuscowilla) and this, by far, is the most pristine and challenging one.

Like my colleague Jason Deegan alludes to in his 2014, review, I think what makes Great Waters so excellent is that the design blends wonderfully into the rolling land and lakefront property. The front nine begins with anticipation: "When, exactly, am I going to see the lake?"

The front nine meanders through rolling, densely forested terrain, and once you tackle the long, par-3 8th hole, the lake reveals itself in a big way on the elevated tee of the 9th. The routing really never leaves it after that, if only for brief moments. It's a very wet, drama-laden finish that I compare a bit to Edgewood Tahoe.

Reynolds is planning a big renovation with Nicklaus design in the spring of 2018. I didn't see a whole lot that needed to be tweaked besides some pesky overhanging trees. I'll be curious to hear details when it's announced.

We played the course just a few weeks after overseed, so the grass was really wet, but the greens were some of the smoothest I'd seen in a long while. A real joy.

This was a very good golf course, in a beautiful place. Almost the whole back nine is on the lake.

The conditioning was also a 10.

That said, it is not a great golf course in my opinion that warrants a $260 USD green fee.

Great Waters is the undisputed star of Reynolds Plantation. Jack Nicklaus brings the lake into play one shot after another on the back nine. The views are just a byproduct. The front nine doesn't introduce the water until the ninth hole, but it's got plenty of fine holes as well. There are streams and ponds and tree-lined adventures. The best attribute of Great Waters is probably what's not there. Nicklaus wisely stepped aside and let the setting run the show. He never got overzealous with adding bunkers or mounding or extra design elements that weren't necessary. That ultimately keeps it playable and enjoyable for all, something Nicklaus didn't always deliver in that era.