Golf Vacation? Reynolds Plantation is your Destination!

Writer Andy Reistetter continues his exclusive "Play-Write" series with a trip to the premier golfing destination in the Southeast—the Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee. Perfectly situated within an hour of Atlanta and not far from the I-95 corridor this lakefront community is truly one of a kind. Play along with Reistetter as he brings you along on his recent visit after the PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Reynolds Plantation—it's a place you don't want to ever leave once you get there.

After a challenging yet fair round of golf, a refreshing shower in impeccable accommodations, there you sit with your loved one having a refreshing drink at the open-air bar at Gabby's by the Lake.

The full moon rising over Lake Oconee sets the stage for the indulgences of the evening much like the rising sun this morning set the tone for a day's worth of pleasure playing golf, tennis, hiking or being on the water.

Truly it does not get any better than this.

Whether a long weekend of fun and relaxation or a year round home, Reynolds Plantation is just right for you.

I know it was just right for me after a long week of "work" at the PGA Championship.

Hey we were on the air for 28 hours within a four day period.

I know what you are thinking…

Can "play" at Reynolds Plantation be as much fun as "work" in golf broadcasting?

At Reynolds Plantation there is lots of activity or none at all, whatever you wish.

It is a beautiful, peaceful and inspirational place to simply yourself with family and friends. 

So the answer is "yes," being at Reynolds Plantation is living life the right way—fully and actively!

Bobby Jones passed closely by this area on his way back-and-forth from Atlanta to Augusta in the early 1930s as he and Cliff Roberts built Augusta National and organized the Masters golf tournament.

While Jones surely had his focus on the Fruitlands Plantation, he undoubtedly noted the beauty of this area as he crossed over the Oconee River.

Oconee is a Native American word meaning "great waters."

Lake Oconee, the largest lake in the state of Georgia, came into existence in 1979 when Georgia Power completed a dam for hydroelectric power.

A native of Greene County, born like Jones near the turn of the 20^th century, Mercer Reynolds Sr. would never forget nor be too far away from his favorite place on earth.

Though he moved to Tennessee in the 1920s his heart would never be far from home.

Both he and his cousin James Madison Reynolds would acquire land in the Oconee River Valley and build a family hunting and fishing lodge.

Mercer would dread leaving and always wanted to "linger longer" at the family retreat.

The rock house is now underwater, but the nearby Greensboro home where James Madison was born has been relocated to Reynolds Plantation.

Grandsons Mercer and Jamie have preserved and continued the legacy of their grandfathers with the Jackson House of Steamboat Gothic architecture sitting in splendor perched high above Linger Longer Road which brings visitors and residents into Reynolds Plantation. 

“I’m most proud of the fact that, even in developing the land, we’re maintaining the look and feel of what we knew long ago,” stated Mercer Reynolds III, who served as a United States Ambassador under President George W. Bush.   (Quote courtesy of Patty Rasmussen article published March 2007 in GeorgiaTrend magazine)

Perhaps the Reynolds family has done more than simply maintain their heritage with the addition of six golf courses on the 10,000 acres of Reynolds Plantation. Many of the 117 holes (The National has 3 nines) play at the water's edge.

Where can you get Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Bob Cupp, Jim Eng and Rees Jones together?

Playing their golf courses at Reynolds Plantation.

Cupp has two designs and I played them both—The Plantation, designed with the help of Fuzzy Zoeller and Hubert Green, and The Landing, the first course built on Lake Oconee and acquired by Reynolds
Plantation in 2005.

The Plantation course made me realize that Reynolds Plantation is "the land of many ponds and one big lake." 

The ponds, some in play some not, with their signature willow trees, were a sight of beauty.

It made for a relaxing and refreshing round of golf.

The Landing has more generous fairways than the Plantation and I scored my best round there.

The combination of holes 3,4, and 5 is quite memorable—a short par-3 over a pond, a medium length par-4 that takes you out to lake Oconee and then a tricky short par-4 with the lake down the entire left side, with a hidden inlet just short of the green.

Though I enjoyed and relish the thrill of a par-3 on the long par-3 11^th hole. The angled sliver of a green is perched high with deep bunkers short. Not really sure where the level horizon was I chip putted from 60 feet and somehow made the 10-footer coming back.

The third course I played in 28 hours was The National designed by Tom Fazio.

Reynolds Plantation is small enough that by happenchance I was paired with a gentleman named Bob for both The National one morning and then at the Plantation the following morning.

Playing the Cove-Ridge nines was fun and I snuck out on the Bluff nine as well and scenic par-3 4^th hole along Lake Oconee.

I hope to return one day and play the other three courses—The Oconee by Rees Jones, the Great Waters by Jack Nicklaus and the private Creek Club by Jim Eng.

Here's your opportunity to play golf at Reynolds Plantation and stay in a cottage or
condominium at unbelievable rates through the end of the year:

http://www.reynoldsplantation.com/visit/vacation_packages

Back to that drink at Gabby's by the Lake…

Whether you stay at the Five Diamond Ritz-Carlton Lodge, in a modern Cottage or at a private residence, your visit to Reynolds Plantation will be a lifelong memory and hopefully a reoccurring one…

Don't we all want to linger longer?

To read more articles in Golf Writer Andy Reistetter's exclusive "Play-Write" series go to the following links:

1.   Daniel Island Club (Charleston, SC): Home of the Nationwide Tour Championship and the Charm of Charleston, South Carolina.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/281587-the-charm-of-charleston-the-daniel-island-golf-club

2.   St. Johns Golf & Country Club (St. Augustine, FL): On the Road to the PGA TOUR.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/301493-st-johns-golf-country-club-on-the-road-to-the-pga-tour

3.   TPC Four Seasons (Las Colinas, TX): Home of the HP Byron Nelson Classic.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/400754-play-tpc-four-seasons-experience-byron-nelsons-legacy

4.   Cog Hill Dubsdread (Lemont, IL): Deserving of a Future U.S. Open.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/406212-pga-tour-jemsek-family-cog-hill-deserving-of-2017-us-open

5.   Greenbrier's Old White Course (White Sulphur Springs, W VA): A Charles Blair Macdonald Masterpiece enveloped with the essence of Slammin' Sammy Snead at America's Resort.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/422692-pga-tour-the-greenbrier-americas-resort-takes-center-stage

6.   Scioto Country Club (near Columbus, Ohio): Scioto CC: The Bridge from Jones to Nicklaus and Beyond.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/423359-scioto-cc-the-bridge-from-jones-to-nicklaus-and-beyond?

7.   Orlando's Grand Cypress to Host 2010 LPGA Championship.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/521768-orlandos-grand-cypress-to-host-2010-lpga-championship

8.   Puerto Rico's Royal Isabella Golf Links.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/650676-play-royal-isabela-in-puerto-rico-be-inspired

9.   TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/694852-2011-players-preview

10.   Sawgrass Country Club, Original "Home" of THE PLAYERS.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/698128-original-home-of-the-players-sawgrass-country-club

11.   Bayonet Golf Course, Seaside, CA on Monterey Bay.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/712165-the-next-tiger-woods-lil-jordan

12.   The Golf Club at Quail Lodge, Carmel, California.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/714633-carmels-quail-lodge-californias-golfing-destination

13.   En Joie Golf Club, Endicott, New York—home of the Dick's Sporting Goods Open on the Champions Tour.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/743237-en-joie-your-hometown-golf-course

14.   Erin Hills Golf Course, Site of 2011 U.S. Amateur and 2017 U.S. Open

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/825372-erin-hills-host-to-2011-us-amateur-and-2017-us-open         

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer as well as a Spotter,
Research and Broadcast Assistant for The Golf Channel, NBC and CBS Sports. He
spends time on all four major American golf tours—the PGA TOUR, Champions,
Nationwide and LPGA Tours.

Reistetter resides within two miles of the PGA TOUR
headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte
Vedra Beach.

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World
Golf Hall of Fame and THE PLAYERS while pursuing his passion for the game of
golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net
or by e-mailing him at [e-mail]