Greensboro, Georgia | When Mercer Reynolds Sr. – A local businessman who made his fortune, the process for solidifying cat seed oil – started buying thousands of hectares forest along the Ocapee River in Greene County, Georgia, in the 1920s to create his family yacht and fisherman’s retreat, he could not know what it would be won. When Georgia Power Damde Damde in 1979 and a 19,000 hectare reservoir created the coastline of the entire Atlantic coast in Georgia more than four times, the Reynolds family sat on a valuable piece of real estate that has grown into one of the premiere lifestyle communities in the United States.
Reynolds Lake Ocreee evolved in 1988 from a quiet small retreat community of the lake with a beautiful golf course designed by Bob Cupp that is now known as the reserve as a destination of world class for families who have re-defined the parameters of the balance between work and private life.
Reynolds Lake Oconee opened its seventh championship course (Richland) last October and is building what will become its eighth (Fenmoor) when it opens in the fall of 2026. Along with 11 restaurants, four full-service marinas, a 100-acre sporting grounds, 21 miles of walking and biking trails, a Taylormade Kingdom, Fitness Facilities, Spas and the Ritz-Carlton’s Only Lakeside Resort, there is not much that you can not only do 90 minutes (but still a million miles) of the traffic and the hustle and bustle of Atlanta.
Somewhere along the way, the “longer” ethos of Reynolds’ original hiding place became something completely different. It started years before COVID-19 when Reynolds came from the home crisis and the recipient, but the pandemic accelerated the transition from Reynolds Lake Ocapee from a pension and second home retreat to a full-time residential community. With the influx of homeowners who decided to never leave and the revival of the popularity of the Golf, the demand for Tee times the already extensive inventory of Reynolds courses that serve its 4,000 members.
“Our growth has been so dramatic since Covid,” said Ryan Frisch, the main procedure on the new Richland course. ‘We needed it [Richland] To open, just to try to take some lighting from the other six golf courses. ‘
Richland is, just like the Creek Club and the Fenmoor substructure, private. No cottage or ritz-carlton resort guests can play unless accompanied by a member. “Generation members cannot even bring or play guests without the primary member in the group,” said Frisch of the membership function with which the parents/children of a primary member can usually play the other courses and take guests with them.
“During Covid, everyone sold out their second houses. We have lost many members who played four times a month. They were traded for a member who came in 25 times a month. And maybe their husband plays or have children who play. It is a similar number of members, but it has just changed the club has changed dramatically.
“Our average age membership fell drastically to 47 or something, and it was probably in the 60s and mostly pensioners. Now it has changed many working people and the work balance here, which offers more free time to play golf.”
The sixth (left) and 10th holes of the Richland Course. Photos: Bill Hornstein, Reynolds Lake Oceree
Reynolds invited architect Tom Fazio to return to his 27-holes National-Die was first opened in 1997 to turn into two 18-hole courses to strengthen the portfolio that already includes Cupp’s Preserve and the Landing, Jack Nicklaus’ Great Waters, Rees’ Jones’ Ocapeee Jones. Steve Smyers designs the new Fenmoor course.
“It is difficult to introduce a finer collection of golf courses in every community in the country,” said John Gundeson, president of Daniel Communities, the managing partner for Reynolds Lake Ocreee.
The NOK and Cove nines of the original were combined to become the new national. The Bluff Nine was split off, renovated and combined with a brand new nine holes to create Richland member of the Creek Club as the second completely private golf course that is only accessible to Reynolds Lake Ocreee Platin level members.
The real power of the New Nine is the important height changes that ask different questions with doglegs, valleys, canyons and a few false fronts to negotiate.
Everyone who is familiar with the original Bluff Nine will largely recognize the first five and the last four holes. They all received a makeover with some greens shifted or reformed, trees removed and chipping and fescue native areas added. Extensive bunker work is clear everywhere – with some deleted, repositioned, reference or combined to create larger ones. Especially the fourth hole of Lakeside PAR-3 was completely rebuilt and agile again to bring it more to the game.
The new nine holes nos. 6 up to and including 14 stages up, down and in each direction the 500-hectare Richland Pointe Community-Die opened three years ago and a restaurant, wellness center and Reynolds’ first on the spa and more members of the members and the pool of the lake has.
The atmosphere in the middle changes considerably from the original holes, but fits seamlessly into a coherent challenge. There is enough space between Fescue and Love-grass edges, with large and heavy green complexes.
“They have different looks,” said Frisch, who has been in Reynolds for 20 years, from the blended Nines. “The original has the lake and many more trees, and then you turn into a leftsy-like look in the new part. It will be opened. It does not have the view of the lake, but what they have made of the fescue and love grass, of the visual side of things, is spectacular.”
The real power of the New Nine is the important height changes that ask different questions with doglegs, valleys, canyons and a few false fronts to negotiate.
“There is a lot of site variation – many ups and downs, ins and outs, twists – which is great for golf,” Fazio said before Richland opened last October. “That is what makes this such a beautiful natural environment.
“Members will enjoy this golf course because it has character and will never play the same. This new course will offer a challenge and have endless possibilities for a fun and fascinating golf experience.”
There is also a turn in food truck that makes a mean hot dog that is split and grilled together with hamburgers, sandwiches and wraps.
Reynolds Lake Ocapee has two membership level – silver and platinum. Silver has access to only the two cupp courses – countries and storage. Platinum has access to all seven including Richland and Creek Club. Fenmoor will make a third exclusive membership layer, reserve called reserve.
Located in the northeastern corner of the 12,000-hectare community, the course site of Fenmoor will be unique of all other Reynolds courses. It has a variety of landscapes on the upper reaches of Lake Ocreee, with streams and streams that branch from Richland Creek that creates an ever -changing landscape of wooded legs, grass fields, swamp and meadow.
“The country is absolutely ideal for golf,” said Smyers. “We are very happy to have a piece of ownership that this diverse, with the movement of the country – soft roles, weaves, valleys, hills, hills and canyons – combined with the presence of water that runs through it. This site enables us to create a course with a clear look and feel to another at Reynolds Lakeeee.”
The lake will be visible from a large part of the course and have a direct influence on playing on countless holes, including nine greens placed along the water. “The indigenous plants will connect the track with the swamp, the lake and the tree line,” said Smyers. “We want the golf course to have the feeling that it will just come from the landscape.”
Fenmoor will also have a put course, numerous short game areas and vast practice facilities, together with its own clubhouse, restaurant and bar.
“Fenmoor Golf Club reflects our constant vision of growing Reynolds Lake Oceree well -thought -out while maintaining the natural beauty and character that makes this community so special,” Gundeson said.
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