I had heard that the Georgia Tech Club was a long and difficult course, but was told by a member that it is actually rated as the hardest course in the Atlanta area. The mid tees played around 6,660 yards, with the tips playing just over 7,000 yards. To put that in perspective, during the 2002 US Open, Bethpage Black was playing at 7,200 yards.
On Sunday afternoon, I was able to play this course with a fellow Atlanta Golf Leaguer, who has been a GT Club member since the course opened about 2 and a half years ago. Apparently the club only has around 200 members, so the course is never crowded. We only encountered one other group the entire day. Pretty amazing. It was like we had the course to ourselves. Unfortunately, at this point in time, the clubhouse is a double wide trailer and the carts are stored under a tent. The website shows the grandiose plans for construction of the clubhouse, but from what I have been told, there is no set start date. I quickly dropped this from my mind when I rode up to the stunning practice facilities, which included a driving range with accurately labeled distances to pins (and greens!), a true-to-course putting green, and even a short game area. Although I didn't have time to use the short game practice area, it looked really sweet. There was room enough for long pitch shots, it had several bunkers, and areas of different elevation to practice almost any conceivable chip shot. It was probably the nicest practice facility I have ever seen.
As for the course, it certainly lived up to the hype. Any errant tee shots typically found major trouble, as the course is heavily wooded and many holes play along streams and other bodies of water. There were a few holes where tee shots required at least 200 yards of carry just to make it to the fairway. Being March, fairways and rough were dormant, but still in great shape. On approach shots, the safe miss was typically short and/or right, which played well for my fade. Left usually meant big trouble. The bunkers were immaculately kept and the greens were literally perfect. Many courses aerate their greens this time of year, so it's hard to find a course where the greens are not covered in sand. These greens were big, fast, and rolled true. To me, nice greens are worth every penny, especially these greens. They can make fools out of the average putter.
Pictured above is the par 3 8th, which played about 160 yards from the Blue tees. The tee shot plays over a lake into an amphitheatre green set into the hillside with bunkers behind. This hole has been compared to the 12th at Augusta National, but plays longer. My tee shot hit just short of the green and rolled down into the muck. But unlike Augusta, there was no crowd to sigh on my behalf. Just a playing partner whose competitive eyes lit up.
I found the back nine to be more difficult than the front, as there were huge elevation changes which led to blind approach shots. But again, short and right seemed to be the safe miss. Guest fees range from $70-$125 depending on who you know, but this playing experience is definitely worth every penny. If you have the chance to play this course, take it. You will be humbled.
The Georgia Tech Club at Echelon
501 Founders Drive
Alpharetta, GA 30004
P: 770.888.4653
http://www.echelonliving.com/experience.html
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