The Fan's Corner

with Greg Duff: 09/13/01

Georgia course provides challenging golf

May I suggest the next time you have the urge to play, you budget an extra 30 minutes and head down U.S. 441 to Clayton, Ga., where you will find one of the area's newest courses and one of the most beautiful.

I discovered the Kingwood Resort more than two years ago during a drive I take regularly for business. At that time, the course was just beginning to take shape. Since then I watched it develop until it was ready for play last year. I have been dying to play it ever since and finally got my wish.

The course and the adjoining resort, spa and development are located two miles east of Clayton on U.S. 76. I learned the resort was actually opened 30 years ago but ceased operations for 16 years until it was reopened with an 18-hole layout as its centerpiece.

The first thing I noticed when looking at the score card was the par 71 course only measures 5,587 yards from the middle tees (6,016 from the tips). I soon found out that what it lacks in distance it makes up with thick rough, strategically placed water hazards and bunkers, lightning fast greens and a creek that meanders throughout the course and seems to impact every shot. Big hitters can leave the driver at home, but they better bring clubs that hit straight because any wayward shot can be severely penalized.

The first hole is a microcosm of the entire course: a short, 354-yard par 4 that starts with a downhill tee shot and finishes with an uphill approach shot to a green guarded on the left with a small pond. I hit my tee shot in the left rough and found out quickly the rough was not what I was used to. From the tee it looked pretty harmless, but the ball dropped down about an inch and I had to really swing hard to advance the ball.

My favorite hole on the front side is the par 4 fifth. Measuring 376 yards, it features a large dogleg right with a huge bunker in the middle of the fairway. This bunker forces you to make a decision on the tee. You can hit it short of the bunker, but this leaves you a long second shot; hit it over the bunker and you run the risk of going through the fairway into the rough. The green is guarded on the right and back by the stream so the only place to miss is front and left.

The front nine finishes with a beautiful par 3. It is only 150 yards, but it is all carry over a lake. The green is located in an amphitheater-style setting with the clubhouse above overlooking the green. I got the impression while playing this hole the designer intended this to be the hole where the members can sit out on the porch and watch their fellow golfers.

The one thing both my playing partner and I noticed as we made our way through this nine and then the next was how good a job course designer Scott Pool did in constructing the course while maintaining the environment. We noticed an old grain silo, bridge and chimney that were left as a reminder of the property's history.

The two holes on the back that really made an impression on me were the 12th and 16th.

The par 5 12th is a 521-yard hole with the tee shot playing straight downhill. In fact the slope is so steep the owners could probably use it as a ski slope in the winter. This rapid drop in elevation negates the hole's distance so a good tee shot to the bottom of the hill allows you a good chance to reach the green in two. Based on my experience, however, I urge you to give special consideration to the bunkers in front of the green. They are deep and the sand makes it difficult to hit the long blast required to make the green.

Like the 12th hole, the par 4 16th also flows downhill, but this is where the similarities end. The hole is listed as 287 yards, but standing on the tee it is obvious a short iron is needed to avoid the stream that guards the green down below. I hit a seven iron leaving me only a 70 yard sand wedge into the green. Once I got to the green, I realized I could have made it with a four or five iron as it's not as scary as it appears from the tee.

When I play a course for the first time, I invariably compare the course with one I have played before. Looking at the score card on the first tee I thought it would be like Smoky Mountain Golf Club in Whittier. Fortunately, I was wrong.

Instead the course, especially the back side, reminds me of Sapphire Mountain near Cashiers. Since Sapphire Mountain is my favorite course in this area, I feel this is a compliment. The striking difference between Kingwood and Sapphire Mountain is the condition of the course. Thus far, Kingwood receives a lot less play so the tees, fairways and greens are in much better condition. Once word gets out on this diamond in the rough, I am afraid this may be less the case.

For $56 on a weekday, $66 on weekends, a golfer will get a challenging but fun example of golf in the mountains. While this seems a little pricey, I have paid more and enjoyed the course a lot less.

Before too many more people find out about Kingwood, I encourage Jackson County golfers to spend that extra half hour in the car and venture down to Clayton and see what I am talking about. You won't be disappointed.

Back to Sports: 09/13/01.