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RANKED: What are the top 15 Georgia golf courses that don’t require a membership to play?

EDITOR’S NOTE: EDITOR’S NOTE: A link to an article explaining our “points system” is at the bottom. Keep in mind that “total points” isn’t a grade or a review. All of the golf courses on this list are highly-recommended by the different golf websites.

Although the idea is to not put your golf ball in the water, there’s still something about golf and water that go together.

Out of the top eight Georgia golf courses on our list, for example, seven are located along either Lake Oconee or the Georgia coast.

Two names on the list below absolutely reign supreme – Reynold’s Lake Oconee and Sea Island. All Reynolds and Sea Island courses are quasi-public courses that double as country clubs. It’s a model known as “stay-and-play,” where there are basically three ways to get on the course:

• Become a member.

• Befriend a member and convince them to let you go with them.

• Reserve a hotel room or short-term rental on the property and play while you’re there.

The first option would be seriously expensive, and the second option would probably feel dirty and take way too long, which leaves the third option as the best and most realistic one.

Here’s the complete list, ranked 1-15:

1. Sea Island – "Seaside"

  • TOTAL POINTS: 75
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: definitely coastal; feels timeless and classic (celebrating its 100th birthday soon); primarily a links course; panoramic ocean views; good place to lose some golf balls
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Stay-and-play
  • PRICE: The price points for the different stay-and-play packages aren’t promoted on the website. You basically have to submit an online form and then they’ll get back with you on costs.
  • LOCATION: 100 Retreat Avenue, St. Simons Island, GA 31522
  • DESIGNERS: Charles Alison and Harry S. Colt
  • FIRST OPENED: 1929
  • LENGTH: 7,005 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: The Sea Island Seaside course scored a perfect 75 out of 75 possible points in our rankings. Along with routinely being ranked as the best in Georgia, Seaside also routinely ranks high in all of the different “100 golf course you can play” lists. Golfweek/USA Today, for example, most recently ranked Seaside 30th, while Golf Digest had Seasdide at 36th. Seaside also has hosted  PGA Tour playoff stops, known as the FedEx Cup.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “Beautifully manicured fairways and greens, sweeping dunes mixed with native grasses, wildflowers, and bunkers. And a wind that creates a different golf experience daily. Seaside is an ocean-side links course that combines a beautiful natural setting with a golf course that is both challenging and fun. It’s tough to have a bad day on a course like this.”

2. Reynolds Lake Oconee – "Great Waters"

  • TOTAL POINTS: 67
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: further away from all the Ritz-Carlton and the other Reynolds courses by land; “Augusta National Jr.” (pinetrees, hardwoods, azaleas, narrow fairways); back nine hugs closesly to the lake; routinely ranks as top course on Lake Oconee
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Stay-and-play
  • PRICE: The price points for the different stay-and-play packages aren’t promoted on the website. You basically have to submit an online form and then they’ll get back with you on costs.
  • LOCATION: 112 Plantation Drive, Eatonton, Georgia, 31024
  • DESIGNER/S: Jack Nicklaus
  • FIRST OPENED: 1992
  • LENGTH: 7,400 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: Great Waters is the other Georgia course likely to appear on the national “top 100 courses that you can play” lists, most recently checking in at No. 77 on Golfweek/USA’s Today’s rankings and No. 82 with Golf Digest.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “With a perfect balance of both wooded and lake holes, Great Waters winds through densely wooded evergreens and opens to picturesque lake views.”

3. Reynolds Lake Oconee – "National"

  • TOTAL POINTS: 55
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: hillier than Great Waters, but still definitely a Reynolds course
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Stay-and-play
  • PRICE: The price points for the different stay-and-play packages aren’t promoted on the website. You basically have to submit an online form and then they’ll get back with you on costs.
  • LOCATION: 112 Great Waters Drive, Eatonton, Georgia, 31024
  • DESIGNER/S: Tom Fazio
  • FIRST OPENED: 1997
  • LENGTH: 7,034 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: The National course is actually 27 holes, and Reynolds touts it as “three distinct back 9s.”
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “The National’s trademark is its dramatic elevation changes from tee to fairway, as well as on approach shots — some as much as 60 feet…No two holes are alike in these three unique playing opportunities, but all share a consistency in feel for the way they feature the natural undulating contours of the region, making it a total 27-hole experience.

4. Reynolds Lake Oconee – "Oconee"

  • TOTAL POINTS: 54
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: closer to the Ritz-Carlton; be careful on the Par 3s
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Stay-and-play
  • PRICE: The price points for the different stay-and-play packages aren’t promoted on the website. You basically have to submit an online form and then they’ll get back with you on costs.
  • LOCATION: 1031 Cottage Cove, Greensboro, Georgia, 30642
  • DESIGNER: Reese Jones
  • FIRST OPENED: 2002
  • LENGTH: 7,158 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: Oconee is perhaps the most “risk/rewardish” Reynolds course.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “This Rees Jones-designed course was created to give the golfer a true risk/reward play, often forcing golfers to choose between direct tee shots over inlets of Lake Oconee and long drives down tree-lined doglegged fairways. The course offers five holes in which Lake Oconee comes directly into play and four others tendering magnificent lake views.”

5. UGA Golf Course

  • TOTAL POINTS: 29
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: on campus; not as narrow as Lake Oconee courses but still similar; tee off from the “Bulldog Tees” for a legitimate challenge
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Public
  • PRICE: 50-something dollars during the week with cart and $80-something on weekends with car
  • LOCATION: 2600 Riverbend Rd, Athens, GA 30605
  • DESIGNER/S: Trent Jones, Sr.
  • FIRST OPENED: 1968
  • LENGTH: 7,258 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: The course obviously is really popular, so it’s best to try and make reservations online a few weeks out.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “Located on the beautiful campus of the University of Georgia, the 18-hole course provides affordable, first-rate facilities and services to students, staff, alumni, and the general public.”

6. Harbor Club

  • TOTAL POINTS: 28
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: closer to the interstate than the other Lake Oconee courses; plays a lot like the Reynolds courses
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? open to the public
  • PRICE: $80–$180
  • LOCATION: 1111 Polo Circle, Greensboro, Ga., 30642
  • DESIGNERS: Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish
  • FIRST OPENED: 1991
  • LENGTH: 7,048 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: Harbor Club is the only Lake Oconee course on the list that’s not a Reynolds property. It’s also the only Lake Oconee course that’s not a “stay-and-play.”
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “Harbor Club’s award-winning, 18-hole golf course spans rolling hills to curving lakeshore, offering players of all skill levels a game that’s as breathtaking as it is challenging.”

7. Sea Island – "Plantation"

  • TOTAL POINTS: 23
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: next to the Seaside course but plays much different; way more of a parkland course and way less of a links course; lot less sand and bunkers than Seaside
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Stay-and-play
  • PRICE: The price points for the different stay-and-play packages aren’t promoted on the website. You basically have to submit an online form and then they’ll get back with you on costs.
  • LOCATION: 100 Retreat Avenue, St. Simons, Georgia, 31522
  • DESIGNERS: Walter Travis and H.S. Colt
  • FIRST OPENED: 1928
  • LENGTH: 6,671 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: The course has recently played host to one of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cut playoff events.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “Inspired by the traditional profile of Walter Travis’ 1928 original nine-hole course, our beloved Plantation Course was completely redesigned by Davis and Mark Love of Love Golf Design in 2019.”

8. Reynolds Lake Oconee – "Landing"

  • TOTAL POINTS: 18
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: the OG Lake Oconee course; not as many water hazards; Reynolds touts it as Scottish-style variety of holes
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Stay-and-play
  • PRICE: The price points for the different stay-and-play packages aren’t promoted on the website. You basically have to submit an online form and then they’ll get back with you on costs.
  • LOCATION: 1104 Landing Drive, Greensboro, Georgia, 30642
  • DESIGNER: Bob Cupp
  • FIRST OPENED: 1986
  • LENGTH: 6,991 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: Reynolds purchased the old “Port Armor Golf Club” around 20 years ago and re-branded it as The Landing. 
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “As the original course of Lake Oconee, The Landing set the stage for what has become a premier golf destination. Featuring a variety of holes that wind through naturally wooded areas and rolling hills, this course provides enjoyable play for golfers of all levels.”

9. Barnsley Resort

  • TOTAL POINTS: 17
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: convenient to Atlanta (about halfway to Chattanooga off of Interstate 75; sort of hilly (in the foothills); extra fast greens
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Open to the public and stay-and-play
  • PRICE: $90-$150, depending on the day of the week and the time of the year.
  • LOCATION: 598 Barnsley Gardens Road, Adairsville, Ga., 30103
  • DESIGNER/S: Jim Fazio
  • FIRST OPENED: 1999
  • LENGTH: 7,189 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: The actual property dates back to the 1840s and was an English-style garden manor dreamt up by Godfrey Barnsley, a cotton broker and one of the richest men in Georgia at the time.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “One of the most sought-after golf courses in Georgia, the Fazio course has some of the fastest greens in the Southeast, elevation changes off the tee and one of the best collections of par 3s anywhere.”

9. Old Toccoa Farms

  • TOTAL POINTS: 17
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: definitely hilly (in the foothills); everything feels new because it is new; about 80-90 minutes northeast of Atlanta
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Open to the public
  • PRICE: Between $95 to $165 for 18 holes depnding on the day of the week (public players must call at least a week out to make a tee time)
  • LOCATION: 596 Curtis Switch Rd, Mineral Bluff, GA 30559
  • DESIGNERS: David Axland and Dan Proctor
  • FIRST OPENED: 2015
  • LENGTH: 6,707 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: The front 9 first opened in 2015 and the back 9 in 2019, and Old Toccoa Farm subseqently came in at No. 8 on Golf Digest’s “Best New Courses in America – 2020” list.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “The course winds through 125 acres of ridges and meadows, featuring over 280 feet of elevation change with spectacular views of the Chattahoochee and Cherokee Nation Forests and surrounding valleys.”

11. McLemore Club

  • TOTAL POINTS: 13
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: definitely in the mountains;  feels like you’re in The Last of the Mohicans, except no one dies; some serious changes in elevation; previously was “Canyon Ridge;” right off of Interstate 59 and about 25-30 minutes southwest of Chattanooga
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Open to the public and stay-and-play
  • PRICE: You can become a “Friend” for free, and it’s basically just to get on their e-mail list. Becoing a “Friend” allows you to play four times a year at a discounted rate.
  • LOCATION: 14653 Highway 157, Rising Fawn, GA 30738
  • DESIGNER/S: Bill Bergin and Rees Jones
  • FIRST OPENED: 2005
  • LENGTH: 7,005 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: This is the one course on the list that’s definitely “in” the north Georgia mountains and not necessarily a foothill purporting to be a mountain.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “Play above the clouds. Come experience the McLemore, an award-winning, cliff-edge par 71 course re-imagined by Bill Bergin and Rees Jones.”

12. Bear's Best Atlanta

  • TOTAL POINTS: 12
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: design primarily inspired by Muirfield and Gleneagles courses; about 35 miles from midtown Atlanta; not too pretentious
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Open to the public
  • PRICE: roughly $50-something to $120-something depending on the day of the week and the time of the year.
  • LOCATION: 5342 Aldeburgh Dr, Suwanee, GA 30024
  • DESIGNER/S: Jack Nicklaus
  • FIRST OPENED: 2002
  • LENGTH: 6,824 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: Bear’s Best also has a nice clubhouse/retsaurant/bar/golf shop that’s also open to the public.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH:“We are proudly open to the public – our aim is to offer the experience of a high-end exclusive club, at a beautiful facility that is open to all. With a practice facility recognized as the best for public use in Atlanta, bent grass greens and excellent course conditioning, our golfers enjoy a first-class experience.”

12. Cateechee

  • TOTAL POINTS: 12
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: large property and few holes that hug each other; dont have to worry about hitting somebody on the next fairway over; has a Ledbetter Golf Academy;
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Stay-and-play or public
  • PRICE: not immediately available online
  • LOCATION: 140 Cateechee Trail, Hartwell, GA 30643
  • DESIGNER: Mike Young
  • FIRST OPENED: 1997
  • LENGTH: 6,874 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: Also has really big practice and warmup amenities
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH:“Cateechee was carved from 420 acres of virgin forests and open meadowland. By contrast, most courses are developed on less than 250 acres of land. No need to worry about balls from adjacent holes finding their way onto your fairway. The site features dramatic elevation changes.”

13. Club at Savannah Harbor

  • TOTAL POINTS: 11
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: giant clubhouse; plays somewhere between a links course and a parkland course; right smackdab across the water from River Street
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Open to the public
  • PRICE: $80-someting per 18 holes to $200-something per 18 holes, depending on day of week and time of year.
  • LOCATION: 2 Resort Dr., Savannah, GA 31421 |
  • DESIGNERS: Robert Cupp and Sam Snead
  • FIRST OPENED: 1999
  • LENGTH: 7,300 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: Club at Savannah Harbor is basically the golf course that’s behind the giant Westin Hotel that you can see from River Street.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH:“The Club at Savannah Harbor offers unparalleled views of historic downtown Savannah while it gently winds its way through tidal wetlands.”

15. Sea Island – "Retreat"

  • TOTAL POINTS: 11
  • OFT USED DESCRIPTIONS: separate from Seaside and Plantation courses; wider fairways and less treacherous; definitely a parkland course as opposed to a links course
  • STAY-AND-PLAY OR PUBLIC? Stay-and-play
  • PRICE: The price points for the different stay-and-play packages aren’t promoted on the website. You basically have to submit an online form and then they’ll get back with you on costs.
  • LOCATION: 100 Retreat Ave, St Simons Island, GA 31522
  • DESIGNER: Joe Lee
  • FIRST OPENED: 1974
  • LENGTH: 6,723 YARDS
  • DESCRIPTION AND PICS
  • RANDOM: Retreat is located about four miles inland from its two sister course. It was built roughly 50 years after Seaside and Plantation.
  • STRAIGHT FROM THE GOLF COURSE’S MOUTH: “While geographically set apart from our other two courses, Seaside and Plantation, Retreat is not a course to be overlooked. But like its sister course Plantation, Retreat has also seen a redesign at the hands of Sea Island Touring Professional Davis Love III and his brother Mark, who redesigned the course in 2001.”

WONK ALERT: Ranking Georgia’s ranking system for golf courses is basically a composite of rankings fron the following experts – Golf Week, Golf.com, Golf Digest, and Golf Pass.

Anyone familiar with the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll, it’s basically like that. However, instead of 60 college football experts ranking their Top 25 teams, we have four golf experts ranking their top 15 golf courses in Georgia that don’t require a membership.

For starters, the golf courses were compiled into four different top 15 lists – a top 15 list from Golf Week, a top 15 list from Golf.com, a top 15 list from Golf Digest and a top 15 list from Golf Pass. Once all of that information is neatly formatted, points are awarded. If a certain golf course is ranked No. 1 in one of the lists, that’s worth 15 points, while a 15-place ranking on one list is worth 1 point. Sea Island’s Seaside course, for example, ranked No. 1 on all four top 15 lists, which adds up to 60 points.

There’s one caveat, though. The different top 15 lists had a decent amount of variance, and it was somewhat rare for one golf course to appear on all four Top 15 lists. So, in the instance that one course appears somewhere on all four Top 15 lists, 15 bonus points are added to that restaurant’s score, bringing the highest possible score to 75. 

Basically, a perfect score of 75, which was achieved by Seaside,  only happens if a certain golf course was ranked No. 1 on all four lists.

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