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GEORGIAPGA.COM FOREGEORGIA.COM « JULY 2015

Bright future for Golf Club of Georgia New owner returning club to lofty status By Mike Blum Kenny invested millions of dollars in hen the Golf Club of the restoration of Horseshoe Bend, with Georgia opened in the improvements to the course, club - the early 1990s, it house and infrastructure coming in W immediately shot to stages. The same outline for Golf Club of the top of the list of metro Atlanta’s Georgia has already begun, with the finest private golf clubs, with the Creekside course opening recently after Lakeside course selected as the best five months of renovation work by new private course to open in the U.S. Medalist Golf and renowned Atlanta- in 1991. based golf course architect Bob Cupp, The Creekside course followed two who also handled the renovation at years later, giving the club a second Horseshoe Bend. standout layout that provided a Improvements to the clubhouse are to decided contrast in playing style from begin this month and expected to take Lakeside. about a year to complete. The changes In short order, the Alpharetta club will include a reconfiguration of the hosted the Georgia Amateur, U.S. men’s locker room and grille, an Open qualifiers, Georgia PGA tour - updating of the main dining room and , Lakeside 11th hole naments, a unique pre-Masters event Golf Club of Georgia the creation of some meeting space matching the U.S. and British within the existing building. The social Amateur champions, and a Champions prominent in Atlanta area golf circles as sary for the members to sell. aspects of the clubhouse will also be Tour stop for six years. it once was. Businessman Ben Kenny, who also addressed, with a new banquet hall and The Champions Tour event ended in Among the reasons was the departure owns Horseshoe Bend in Roswell, the expansion of the bar to make it an 2000 due to sponsorship issues, and of the club’s original Japanese ownership, acquired Golf Club of Georgia last year, indoor/outdoor operation. other than the Georgia Cup and an which spent lavishly to help create Golf and is early in the process of restoring the Golf Club of Georgia opened as a golf annual college tournament the club Club of Georgia’s lofty reputation. The club’s standing in the Atlanta golf com - club as opposed to a country club, and has hosted for the past decade, Golf membership operated the club for about munity, much as he has done in recent Club of Georgia has not been nearly as a decade, but it eventually became neces - years with Horseshoe Bend. [ See Golf Club of Georgia, page 6 ]

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Crossword Puzzle Page 38 a site not as ideal for a golf Golf Club of GA course, with a considerable Golf Club of Georgia [ Continued from the cover ] number of wetlands areas impacting the layout and the that aspect will not change. However, terrain not nearly as gentle as for families that want swim and tennis that used for Lakeside. facilities along with the great golf the While Lakeside offered a club offers, Golf Club of Georgia mem - traditional, tree-lined set - bers have access to those at Horseshoe ting with its large, Bend, which has long been well- undulating greens respon - regarded for both and formerly hosted an sible for much of its ATP tour event, challenge. Creekside was Jacqueline Welch, the vice president more of a modern, target- for both clubs, describes the work being style course, with the done at Golf Club of Georgia as “a total wetlands areas requiring a transformation. Golf Club of Georgia number of forced carries. had an amazing reputation and we want Over the years, some of to capitalize on that reputation. We’re the areas that required shots making a lot of changes to bring it to the to have to carry from point A next level.” to point B have become fairways, and a undersized par 4s also In addition to the renovation work on few others are either having some of the offering scoring opportuni - Creekside and the improvements to the high native grasses mowed or being ties. The ninth still requires clubhouse, one of the aims of the club’s sodded to add some definition. a modest carry over a hazard, “transformation” is to make it a more John Huban, who took over as Golf but with the right side inviting place for families. Without Club of Georgia’s head professional fairway bunkers removed is a swim and tennis, Golf Club of Georgia about a year ago, says member play was much more receptive hole. ole #6 operated as mainly a guys’ club, but largely oriented towards Lakeside. There are three standout Lakeside H with more of an emphasis placed on “They sort of avoided Creekside. It holes on the nine, starting junior clinics and camps, the family- was hard and a little too demanding.” with the narrow par-4 third, oriented direction the club is heading in Among Cupp’s changes was the one of several with sizeable hills along is already evident. removal of a sizeable percentage of the fairway that can be friend or foe Kenny’s efforts to upgrade the entire bunkers, mostly along the fairways, with depending on how it re-directs shots facility at Horseshoe Bend have been little work done to the greens com - that land on them. well received by its membership, who plexes. Some new tees were added to The toughest hole on the course, and spent many years hoping for a return to reduce the length of some of the forced one of the most difficult you’ll Creeksid its 1980s status as one of the Atlanta carries, and a new set of senior tees are encounter anywhere, is the long par-4 e Hole #11 area’s top private clubs. being introduced to make it a little less eighth, with a creek short of the green According to Welch, Kenny is intimidating for members who can’t hit requiring a lay-up for shorter hitters or much else. bringing the “one vision, one direction” it as far as they once did. those whose tee shots are a bit errant. A Lakeside is not as potentially penal as approach he used at Horseshoe Bend to Huban said the initial response to long, narrow green presents a tough Creekside, but has more than its share of turn around the declining status there to Cupp’s efforts to soften Creekside a bit target from long range, with fall-offs water in play, along with some greens that Golf Club of Georgia. After more than a was positive, but it remains a serious along the edges making for some testy can get very quick with plenty of break. decade of being a membership-operated challenge, just not quite as daunting as short game shots. Water is a serious factor on about half club, not everyone was on board with the it was previously. Creekside’s target nature is perhaps the holes, including an exceptional trio change in direction, but as Welch pointed The removal of many of the fairway best exemplified by the reachable par-5 of par 3s that rate high for both beauty out, “It’s hard to make every body happy.” bunkers has made Creekside a less fifth, which sports a large, island fairway and challenge. Both nines finish with Welch says there was also some initial demanding course off the tee, but there followed by an angled second shot over a risk/reward par 5s with water guarding skepticism at Horseshoe Bend after are still plenty of holes that will not wetlands area that is being re-sodded. the greens, and the par-5 11th offers Kenny acquired the club and informed respond kindly to miss-hit shots. If you Trouble and trees left of a narrow strip of some glorious views with a green the membership of his plans for it, but can hit it reasonably solid off the tee, green and a thin row of trees are in play perched along Lake Windward. after the sizeable amount of money he Creekside is not an overwhelming test, to the right for those who bail out. The par fours are a diverse group, with spent to improve it, the skepticism has although there are several stout par 4s and There are no soft touches on the four on the short side and only one with been replaced by appreciation. a pair of demanding par 3s that will lengthier back nine, with the only short serious yardage numbers, with its down - Kenny’s goal for the members of his require your best efforts to avoid damage hole among the group the par-4 13th, hill nature reducing the effective length. clubs is simple, Welch says. to your scorecard. which begins with a carry over wetlands Most of the fairways are on the generous “He wants you to enjoy yourself.” Creekside’s more inviting front nine to a fairway that runs out for those who side, with the greens complexes pro - For more than two decades, the mem - offers a number of scoring opportunities, hit more club than they need. Even if viding much of the challenge on a bers at Golf Club of Georgia have beginning with a narrow, rolling par 5 you find the fairway, a tree short left of course, that like Creekside, is superbly enjoyed a pair of outstanding but con - that features one of the more sloping the green can impede approach shots. conditioned. trasting courses, but have enjoyed one greens on the course. For the most part, The remainder of the nine features two more than the other. the excellent putting surfaces on lengthy par 3s with hazards in play, a par Lakeside, the first of the two to be Creekside are gentler than those on 5 with a creek that winds through the designed by acclaimed architect Arthur Lakeside, but they have sufficient move - fairway and impacts both the second For information on Golf Club of Georgia, Hills, was built on the prime golf course ment and speed to put your touch to the and third shots, two more par 4s call 770-664-8644 or visit land on the property, with much of the test. requiring carries to reach the fairway back nine winding along Lake Both par 3s on the outgoing nine are and a pair of strong par-4 finishing www.golfclubofgeorgia.com Windward. Creekside was constructed on short and on the tame side, with a pair of holes that lack hazards but not

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