The Courses Find A Course
Suggestions for Golf Trips and Spur-of-the-Moment Adventures!
Hidden Fairways is about stepping outside your routine and visiting some wonderful golf courses you may not be aware of. To make your choices simpler, we've organized our courses into groups with similar attributes.
In the articles below, you'll find Courses Along the Interstates, Mountain Golf, Owner-built Courses, World-Class Courses and my personal favorites... courses that have lodging options, so you can "Stay-and-Play".You can also view our COURSE MAP. Wherever you want to play, though, and whatever type of course you prefer, this page will help you make the right choice. I know you'll enjoy these courses. And I'm betting the suggestions on this page will plant a seed that sprouts into a full grown Hidden Fairways adventure.
QUICK LINKS
GEOGRAPHICAL GROUPS
Atlanta Area Courses - 7 Super Courses Less Than 2 Hours Away
There are many great golf courses, private and public, in the Atlanta Metro area. But when you're ready to reach out and grab a little adventure, these 7 golf courses and golf resorts are closer than you may think. They're also well worth the drive, whether it's for a golf weekend getaway or a single round. For more information, just click the course name.
- Canyon Ridge Club & Resort, Rising Fawn, Georgia
- Cider Ridge Golf Club, Oxford, Alabama
- Dogwood Hills Golf Resort and Gardens, Flat Rock, Alabama
- LaFayette Golf Course, La Fayette, Georgia
- Old Union Golf Club, Blairsville, Georgia
- The Trails at Chickasaw Point, Westminster, South Carolina
- Trenton Golf Club, Trenton, Georgia
AUGUSTA AREA GOLF - This Course Won't Double Its Rates During The Masters!
Chuck and Tina Baer, owners of Applewood Golf Course, left high-pressure jobs to work in a business where people were happy and to their credit, Applewood may be the happiest golf course I've ever visited. I love this place. If you find yourself in golf's Mecca during Masters Week, you'll appreciate the fact that the Baers don't go out of their way to bleed every last penny out of the legions of golf fans who descend on Augusta for the year's first major.
- Applewood Golf Course, Keysville, Georgia
CHATTANOOGA AREA COURSES - 4 Great Courses Just a Half Hour Away!
If you're lucky enough to live in the Chattanooga area, let me give you 4 more reasons to be happy with your life. These courses are within about a half hour of your fair city and offer 4 variations on mountain golf. The courses are very different, but each one will give you a great golf outing without demanding that you take a long drive (except, of course, off the tee!).
- Canyon Ridge Club & Resort, Rising Fawn, Georgia
- Dogwood Hills Golf Resort and Gardens, Flat Rock, Alabama
- LaFayette Golf Course, LaFayette, Georgia
- Trenton Golf Club, Trenton, Georgia
BIRMINGHAM AREA COURSES - A Short Drive for Great Golf!
Birmingham is home to some wonderful golf courses, but when it's time for some variety, there are some very worthwhile alternatives less than two hours away.
- Cider Ridge Golf Club, Anniston, Alabama
- Cullman Golf Course, Hanceville, Alabama
- Cumberland Lake Golf Club, Pinson, Alabama
- Dogwood Hills Golf Resort and Gardens, Flat Rock, Alabama
- Hidden Meadows Golf Course, Northport, Alabama
SOUTH GEORGIA COURSES - Play Them Once and You'll Be Back for More.
These two courses are very different, but each makes excellent use of the flat topography of South Georgia. Fargo Golf Course is an excellent example of people pulling together to support a great community asset. The only 9-hole Hidden Fairways course, it's inclusion is well deserved, because of superior maintenance and tiny greens that require some quality shots to score.
The latest Hidden Fairways addition, Blueberry Plantation is a gem. It's flat... after all, it's in Southeast Georgia... but challenging and very playable. Plus, it has a great Inn that makes it a wonderful Stay and Play option.
- Fargo Golf Course, Fargo, Georgia
- Blueberry Plantation, Alma, Georgia
NORTH ALABAMA GOLF - There's Great Golf in Beautiful North Alabama!
I love North Alabama. And one of the main reasons is the great golf that is seemingly everywhere! Cullman Golf Course is an amazing small town muni,beautifully run and wonderfully maintained. Outside Pinson, Cumberland Lake Golf Club is an excellent example of an "working man's" golf course, beautifully maintained and very comfortable. Dogwood Hills is a course I could play every day, made more appealing by the story of how it came to be, thru the vision and hard work of owners Bryce and Doris Slater.
- Cullman Golf Course, Hanceville, Alabama
- Cumberland Lake Golf Club, Pinson, Alabama
- Dogwood Hills Golf Resort and Gardens, Flat Rock, Alabama
GULF SHORES GOLF - Two Courses Sure to Please!
The Gulf Shores area of southern Alabama is a well known golf destination, but these two courses may not always be mentioned along with Kiva Dunes, Craft Farms or The Wharf. Located away from the heart of Gulf Shores golfing activities, both of these courses are excellent. Rock Creek has some elevation changes you won't find in another course in the area. Not at all what you'd expect in South Alabama. Soldier's Creek, owned by members of the Woerner family of sports turf fame, understandably has some of the finest grasses in the state.
- Rock Creek Golf Club, Fairhope, Alabama
- Soldier's Creek Golf Course, Elberta, Alabama
TENNESSEE - From Mountain Golf to Middle Tennessee Farmland
The first two new additions to Hidden Fairways since we launched are Tennessee beauties! Laurel Valley, in Townsend, nestles up against Great Smoky Mountain National Park in a lovely, isolated area I could spend a lot of time in. Outside Sparta, just 60 miles east of Nashville, RiverWatch offers a great day of golf on a beautiful course with zoysia fairways.
- Laurel Valley Golf Course, Townsend, Tennessee
- RiverWatch Golf Course, Sparta, Tennessee
UTAH - A Relaxed Oasis and A World Class Wonder
The most recent additions to Hidden Fairways are a result of my past year in Utah. Green River, in Green River State Park, Utah, is a beautiful 9 hole course, and the ultimate distraction as you drive thru the arid countryside of Southeastern Utah. If you're looking for world-class golf in some of the most beautiful surroundings you'll ever see, head for Wasatch Mountain State Park and play Soldier Hollow. Soldier Hollow is actually two courses... Gold and Silver. The Gold Course hosted the 2012 USGA National Public Links Championship.
- Green River State Park, Green River, Utah.
- Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah
CATEGORY GROUPS
GOLF ALONG THE INTERSTATES - Here are some Stops You MUST Make in The South!
If you're like me, and keep your clubs in the car when you're on the road, give yourself a break the next time you're rolling thru the South and try some of these great courses.
GEORGIA
Southeast Georgia - Blueberry Plantation and Fargo Golf Course offer two sides of the Southeast Georgia coin. Blueberry Plantation is a great stay-and-play option, while Fargo offers a very low-key 9-hole track. Both are well worth your time.
Interstate 75 North - You'll have to drive a little bit farther off the interstate to get to LaFayette Golf Course, but this well-run and well-maintained muni is worth the effort.
Interstate 20 East - About a half hour off I-20 South of Augusta, you'll find Applewood Golf Course, my nominee for the friendliest golf course in the South.
Interstate 59 North - Just South of Chattanooga is a cluster of three great tracks: Canyon Ridge, Dogwood Hills and Trenton Golf Club. Dogwood Hills is actually in Alabama, but it's so close to the other two that I mention it here.
ALABAMA
Interstate 59 North - Dogwood Hills Golf Resort & Gardens is just minutes off the highway, less than a half hour south of Chattanooga.
Interstate 65 North - Cullman Golf Course and Canebrake Club are just off Interstate 65 North of Birmingham.
Interstate 20 East - Cider Ridge Golf Club... a Bill Bergin design you'll find to be challenging, beautiful and very affordable... is 5 minutes off I-20 at Oxford, Alabama.
Interstate 20 West - Just outside Tuscaloosa at Northport, Alabama, Hidden Meadows is a little harder to find, but this Mike Young design is well worth the effort.
Interstate 10, Gulf Shores - Just south of I-10 between Daphne and Fairhope, you'll find Rock Creek, a first class facility on all levels.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Interstate 85 South - Just north of the Georgia border and only 5 minutes off I-85 you'll find a comfy little course and some folks who will go out of their way to make you feel welcome... at The Trails at Chickasaw Point.
Charleston Area - Just a half hour from Charleston, you can play one of the newest Hidden Fairways courses, and South Carolina's 2010 Golf Course of the Year. Legend Oaks is a first rate option, and our only Low County course.
UTAH
Interstate 70 - Entering Utah from Colorado, the scenery is blindingly beautiful at first, but it dims a bit as you drive west. By the time you get to Green River, you'll be ready for the restful oasis that is the golf course at Green River State Park.
MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSES- Outstanding Courses You'll Want to Play Again and Again
You'd expect to find mountain golf in the North Georgia mountains, and we've found 3 of the best. We also have some suggestions in Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee, so click the links below to find out more. Some of these courses may not technically be "Mountain" courses, but elevation changes and their fairly rugged nature make them play much the same as many mountain courses.
- Old Union Golf Club, Blairsville, Georgia
- Canyon Ridge Club & Resort, Rising Fawn, Georgia
- Trenton Golf Club, Trenton, Georgia
- Dogwood Hills Golf Resort and Gardens, Flat Rock, Alabama
- Cider Ridge Golf Club, Oxford, Alabama
- Hidden Meadows Golf Course, Northport, Alabama
- Rock Creek Golf Club, Fairhope, Alabama
- The Trails at Chickasaw Point, Westminster, South Carolina
- Laurel Valley Golf Course, Townsend, Tennessee
- Soldier Hollow, Wasatch Mountain State Park, Utah
OWNER-BUILT GOLF COURSES - 4 Gems That Give "Owner-Built" A Good Name
Designing and building a golf course is a monumental task. From initial routing to designing drainage to meeting federal and state regulations to constructing a manmade landscape that will hold up thru years of play, it's a job best left to the professionals. But Dogwood Hills, Applewood and Trenton Golf Club were all built by folks whose love of the game and willingness to do the research and hard work to build a quality track yielded some great results.
Dogwood Hills Golf Resort and Gardens is the work of Bryce and Doris Slater, two of the nicest folks you will ever meet. The course they created with their own hands is one that stands up well enough to have received Golf Digest's 4 Star Rating many times.
Applewood Golf Course was designed and built by Doug Baer, and it's a gem. Doug and his wife, Tina, left pressure packed corporate jobs to create a business where people were happy! Go figure.
Trenton Golf Club was originally called Air Castle Golf Club and is a lovely rural course outside Trenton, Georgia designed by then-owner, Doug Porter. Doug no longer owns the course, but he still plays his baby regularly. And the folks who own and operate Trenton Golf Club today are doing a great job of carrying on Doug's legacy.
Old Union Golf Club - The fourth "owner-built" is a little different. Designed and built by well known golf course architect, Denis Griffiths, Old Union is a world class track. And while Denis didn't start the project with intentions of owning the course, the recent dip in our economy put him in a position to purchase the project he was hired to build. So, technically, it's an owner-built course, though Denis has designed and built many others.
WORLD-CLASS GOLF COURSES- These Beauties Will Knock Your Socks Off!
Hidden Fairways features a wide variety of golf courses, including these tracks that will qualify for almost anyone's short list of great golf courses. Do yourself a favor and give them a try.
Rock Creek Golf Course, in Fairhope, Alabama, is a first rate facility. They're a perennial recipient of 4.5 Stars from Golf Digest.
Nestled comfortably in the mountains of Northwest Georgia, Canyon Ridge Club and Resort occupies some of the most beautiful real estate in the South. You'll feel like you're playing in a national park.
Old Union is located in the mountains north of Blairsville, Georgia, and is a beautiful mountain meadows course. Denis Griffiths did himself proud with this one.
Mountain golf doesn't get any better than Soldier Hollow, in Wasatch Mountain State Park in Utah, host of the 2012 USGA National Public Links Championship. This Gene Bates design is heaven on earth.
STAY AND PLAY GOLF - These Courses Are Ideal for your next Golf Getaway!
Play golf until dark, and then wake up ready for more at these three courses.
On-Site Lodging - Dogwood Hills has 4 beautiful log homes on the property, exclusively for golfers, while Canyon Ridge offers condos and private homes for rent year 'round in the midst of some of Georgia's most spectacular scenery.
Motor Homes Welcome - Soldier's Creek, in Elberta, Alabama, is the only Class "A" Motor Coach Resort and Golf Club in the Southeastern United States. It's the place for you if you have a motor home. Sitting right next to the course is a first class place to park your land yacht while you play Soldier's Creek and enjoy all the Gulf Shores area has to offer.
Smoky Mountain Getaway - Laurel Valley Golf Course, in Townsend, Tennessee rests in a peaceful little valley that backs up to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. There are tons of private cottages, homes and condos in the valley that rent for as few as two nights, and the rates are very reasonable.
South Georgia at its Best - Blueberry Plantation is in the midst of a genuine effort to upgrade its golf course to top flight conditioning, and The Inn at Blueberry Plantation is a very fine place to stay. Call for packages. They have some excellent offers.