Reynolds Plantation

[mts25]

Who has played there? I have a buddies trip coming up this month. Looks like we are playing the following:

The Creek Club
The Oconee
The National
Great Waters
Cuscowilla (non Reynolds)
The Landing

I've heard really good things about The Creek Club and Cuscowilla. I've not heard much about the others.

 

[Browns7213]

My Ranking:

Great Waters
The Oconee
Cuscowilla
The Landing
The National
The Creek Club
Harbor Club
The Preserve

 

[mts25]

My Ranking:

Great Waters
The Oconee
Cuscowilla
The Landing
The National
The Creek Club
Harbor Club
The Preserve

Interestingly enough I have the exact same ranking after playing there though I could probably toss a coin for spots 2, 3 and 4. I thought I would write a little review for anyone else heading there.

1) Great Waters (shot 74) - Jack Nicklaus course. This one is the prettiest of the group. Interestingly enough it was not ranked as high by the guys who lived there. As a guest, the scenery probably influenced my thoughts some, but I really did like the course. Tough green complexes on this one and we played it on a really windy day (for that area) which made the water holes tougher than usual. I may have played my best round on this course (which always colors your thoughts on a course)

2) The Oconee (shot 74) - Rees Jones course. This one seemed to be the favorite of the guys that lived there. I liked it a lot, but was playing a team match play even for this particular round and was locked in on the competition and didn't really get to take in the course as much as normal. This one played the least "resort course" of the group of courses at Reynolds I played.

3) Cuscowilla (shot 81/85) - Coore Crenshaw course. We had 3 groups of guests and I believe the superintendent gave us the "full treatment" for the day. The best anyone did was a 77 and that guy is a +5 handicap. They had the greens running full quick and tough pins. Pretty much everyone putted the ball off the green more than once during the 36 holes. It left me wanting to curl up in the fetal position and suck my thumb for a while after the 2nd round. If I didn't know differently, I would have said it was an old Donald Ross course with crowned greens and tight run off areas on all sides of every green. I could not believe the course was just opened in 1997. The layout is not that hard, generous landing areas and I was able to avoid the tougher fairway bunkers pretty much all day. The green complexes were brutal. I had multiple holes where I had a birdie putt from 5-6 feet (but in the wrong spot) and felt like I either had to make it or putt the next one from off the green. If the greens had been a touch slower, or the pins had been in easier spots I think I would have ranked this one higher. It really was an enjoyable course even if it kicked my butt big time.

4) The Landing (shot 72) - Bob Cupp course. The oldest course in the Reynolds group built in 1986. I really enjoyed this one. It has a few pretty holes on the water and the shortish par 5's were reachable for me, but are the high risk kind with water or other trouble around the smallest greens on the course. I always enjoy that feature. I could easily have put this one #2 on my list. It did not seem to be a favorite among the Reynolds members for whatever reason.

5) The National (shot 75) - Tom Fazio course. I'm honestly not sure why I didn't like this one more. I can't really put my finger on it. A few guys visiting with me had this one ranked right at the top, but I thought it was a little meh. I just didn't think it was Fazio's best work. Also, Reynolds had gotten some rain right before we got down there and this course seemed to drain poorly, it was the wettest of the group of courses and every shot was a "mud-ball" so we played it lift clean and place.

6) The Creek Club (shot 69) - Jim Engh course. I had an absolute blast on this course. My 69 could have easily been a 65 or lower with a little better luck putting. This one was unique in that man of the green complexes were in giant bowls. You could miss 20 yards left or right sometimes and have it bounce down on the green. While I had a lot of fun playing it, it would suck if you played it every day. This seemed to be the sentiment of the Reynolds members as well.

Overall the greens were pretty quick on every course with Cuscowilla being the fastest of the group. All the courses were wet (except Cuscowilla). The Reynolds members all complained that they put way too much water on the fairways as a regular course of business. It did make everything play longer and totally neutralized the knuckleball I hit with my driver. It didn't matter how low my spin was, things were not bouncing there. We got unlucky on the rain, but the Reynolds members indicated it didn't play firm ever.

It was a very nice experience in a very nice area with magnificent homes. If you get the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it.

 

[Leftyuk]

Played most of them in 2019 when I was visiting the Masters. Great Waters was being upgraded but I enjoyed the rest.All very similar except Costcowilla.