Georgia Golf: Augusta National, Sea Island and the Peach State's Best Courses
Georgia's golf identity centers on one course above all others — Augusta National Golf Club, home of the Masters and the most recognized course in the world. But the state's golf landscape extends well beyond Augusta National to the coastal resort excellence of Sea Island, the restored Donald Ross history at East Lake in Atlanta, and a growing resort corridor at Reynolds Lake Oconee that provides accessible quality golf for visitors who cannot get inside Augusta National's gates.
Augusta National: The Most Famous Golf Course on Earth
Augusta National Golf Club, designed by Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones and opened in 1932, is the most analyzed, most discussed, and most recognized golf course in the world by a significant margin. Its hole names, its flowering trees, its lightning-fast greens, and the annual drama of the Masters Tournament have made it known to golf fans worldwide regardless of whether they have ever visited Georgia. The course is private, membership by invitation only, with no public access for tee times. Playing Augusta National is one of golf's most coveted experiences and one of its most inaccessible.
For the golf fan who wants to experience Augusta, Masters week provides the most realistic option. Practice round patron badges (Monday-Wednesday of Masters week) are more accessible than tournament round tickets and provide a full walking experience of the course. The azaleas, the magnitude of the terrain changes that television cameras cannot capture, and the compression of golf history onto 365 acres create an experience unlike any other sporting venue in the world.
Sea Island: The Golden Isles Golf Resort
The Cloister at Sea Island on St. Simons Island in coastal Georgia operates three courses — Seaside, Plantation, and Retreat — as part of one of the most celebrated resort complexes in the American South. The Seaside Course, a Tom Fazio design that hosts the RSM Classic PGA Tour event each fall, is the region's best publicly accessible resort course and the most decorated single course in the Golden Isles golf ecosystem.
Sea Island hosted the Walker Cup in 2001, providing the Seaside Course with major amateur championship credentials alongside its Tour pedigree. The Cloister hotel and The Lodge at Sea Island provide accommodation at the very top of the American resort market, making Sea Island appropriate for golfers who want the full luxury experience alongside serious course quality.
East Lake Golf Club: Bobby Jones's Home
East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta is the restored Donald Ross course where Bobby Jones grew up playing golf, the home course of the man who co-designed Augusta National and won 13 major championships as an amateur before retiring from competition at age 28. The club fell into significant decline in the mid-20th century as the East Lake neighborhood deteriorated, and the restoration project funded by Tom Cousins and the East Lake Foundation in the 1990s — which simultaneously rebuilt the golf course and invested in the surrounding community — is one of golf's most celebrated comeback stories.
The Tour Championship, the PGA Tour's season finale awarding the FedEx Cup, has been played at East Lake since 1998, giving the restored Ross design annual national television exposure. The club is private but its historical significance to American golf makes it one of the most important addresses in the state.
Reynolds Lake Oconee: Central Georgia's Golf Resort
Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, 75 miles east of Atlanta on Lake Oconee, operates six courses on a resort and residential development that provides accessible quality golf without the exclusivity barriers of Atlanta's private club scene. The Great Waters Course and the Oconee Course — both Jack Nicklaus designs — are the most celebrated, offering resort-level design quality with lake views that make the central Georgia location genuinely worthwhile as a golf destination.
FAQs About Georgia Golf
Can I play Augusta National Golf Club? No. Augusta National is strictly private with no public access. Only members and their invited guests play the course outside of tournament week.
How do I get Masters tickets? Practice round badges are available through the Masters patron application process (applied for years in advance) or the secondary market. Tournament round badges are extremely scarce and primarily available through the secondary market at significant premiums.
What is the best public golf in Georgia? Sea Island's Seaside Course for the coast; Reynolds Lake Oconee's Nicklaus designs for central Georgia resort golf.