Cuscowilla Golf Club

Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw designed the Golf Club at Cuscowilla in 1997 as their first Georgia project, one of the earliest courses they took on after Sand Hills vaulted the duo to the top of the architectural profession. The result is 6,730 yards par-71 of minimalist design that works with the natural rolling terrain and nearly 100 feet of elevation change on Lake Oconee's east shore in Eatonton, 70 miles east of Atlanta. Slope rating 133 from the tips. The hallmark Coore/Crenshaw design vocabulary shows up across every landing zone: minimal earthmoving, native-grass framing on the rough edges, strategic bunkering rather than punitive bunkering, and large greens with complex short-game demands. Cuscowilla is a semi-private residential resort with public-access tee times available. Peak green fee runs $145-225 for resort guests. Fits a Lake Oconee trip as the architectural-heavyweight round for groups specifically drawn to minimalist design, pair with Reynolds' Fazio Great Waters or Harbor Club's Weiskopf for architectural variety.