Before it hit a financial bump in the road, Reynolds Plantation, the expansive golf community on Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA, was faulted by potential homeowners for only one thing –- its distance from civilization. “Nothing outside the gates,” was a popular refrain from some who visited and otherwise sang the golf community’s praises.

        With its financial woes behind it -– the deep-pocketed financial giant MetLife has put its might behind the community -– and the leisure residential market showing strong signs of a comeback, I decided to visit Reynolds for the first time a week ago, expecting to be fortunate to find a cell-phone signal and little else outside the community’s front gate. But on my drive to the terrific Tom Fazio designed National Golf Club course, one of 6 ½ layouts at Reynolds, I was surprised to pass a large supermarket (Publix), medical offices, a steakhouse, and myriad other conveniences, all within five minutes or so of the most remote areas of the sprawling golf community. And during a closer inspection after golf, I noted multiple doctors' shingles hanging outside the modern buildings that comprise Lake Oconee Village. (Ground has been broken for a hospital two miles away.)

Lake Oconee Village, just outside the gates of Reynolds Plantation, features a large supermarket, multiple doctors' offices, restaurants and an eight-screen cineplex (shown here).

        During my two nights at Reynolds, I ate dinner in two of the local establishments –- a decent steak dinner in Lake Oconee Village and a smashing dinner of baked ziti and sausage at the local “saloon,” the Silver Moon Tavern, five minutes down the road. Okay, art museums and minor league baseball parks have not yet made their way out to Greensboro, but Atlanta and its international airport are just 90 minutes away, close enough for retirees looking to get away from traffic, pollution and the stress of a near-urban existence, but not the benefits. For a couple looking for an upscale, golf- and lake-oriented retirement lifestyle, or a family looking for a deluxe vacation spot, Reynolds’ remoteness is more myth than reality.

        I will have much more to say about Reynolds Plantation in this space in the coming weeks. But if, in the meantime, you would like more information on Reynolds, whose current real estate offerings begin at $40,000 for lots and $290,000 for a 3-bedroom, 2 ½-bath single-family home, please contact me.

The accent at Reynolds has always been on golf, with Tom Fazio's National golf course layout, one of 6 1/2 immaculately conditioned courses on the property, considered among the top courses in Georgia. (Approach to #2 shown here.)

by Tim Gavrich

        Willard Byrd designed the original Wexford Golf Club course in 1983. And it was a good one, albeit not mentioned in the same breath as its more celebrated Hilton Head Island neighbors Long Cove Club and Harbour Town Golf Links. But a team from the Arnold Palmer Design Company led by Brandon Johnson, a promising young golf architect, undertook a considerable slate of renovations to the course in 2011, and their efforts should have the raters moving Wexford up the “best of” lists.

        In that all the holes at Wexford weave between homes — big, impressive homes that thankfully sit well back from play — Johnson and the rest of the Palmer team began by removing hundreds of trees that had constricted the playing corridors of the course over the years. Holes that previously demanded a hit-the-fairway-or-else mentality now present players with options off the tee and give those who stray a bit a reasonable chance to recover.

        One key part of the increased recovery options at Wexford is the elimination of a large amount of long Bermuda rough in favor of pine straw, presenting a variety of recovery shot possibilities instead of merely hacking the ball forward. Not only do the pine needles increase the playability of the course, they also add some excellent visual contrast as well.

        In addition to greens and deep oranges, white is a dominant member of the palette at Wexford. Johnson and the Palmer team eliminated many of Byrd’s bunkers, built some new ones, and gave all sandy areas a more rugged, natural look. In many cases, a bunker that appears to be flush with the edge of a green is a good 30 to 60 yards away. This trompe l’oeil is not only amusing for the first-time player but a renewable part of the psychological intrigue of a round at Wexford for its club members.

        A word about the conditioning of the Wexford Golf Club course: It is as well maintained as any course the author has played in the South. Greens are firm and fast, making the relationship with their at-times wild undulations a great joy. The fairways are brand-new sheets of zoysia grass, a breed whose stiff blades prop golf balls up as though on a short tee. Hitting the fairway is a great scoring advantage because of these perfect lies. The same goes for the extensive chipping areas around the greens — also zoysia — from which the player can hit a variety of shots, including a professional-style hop-and-stop shot.

        There are no “clunker” holes at Wexford, but there are a few standouts. The par 3s, in particular, are fantastic, where the Palmer team drew particular inspiration from Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor, two Golden-Age architects who applied numerous “templates” to most holes of their courses. One of the most famous of those is the Redan concept, originally found at North Berwick in Scotland but reproduced across the world. The 13^th hole is Wexford’s Redan, with a green that slopes and angles from front-right to back-left. A low right-handed draw with a long iron has the chance to land on the front of the green and trickle some 30 yards to a back-left hole location, avoiding a large bunker that guards the entire left side of the green. It is a fun shot that not many courses permit.

        Wexford’s practice facilities, also redone by the Palmer group, are second-to-none as well, sculpted to reproduce many of the visuals one encounters on the course. The clubhouse overlooks a marina surrounded by the property’s most opulent houses and accompanying yachts. The entire scene at Wexford is high-rent but far from stuffy, with a consistently kind, welcoming staff and relaxed vibe. It is a Hilton Head Island paradise.

         [Editor’s Note: Current golf homes for sale at Wexford Plantation range in price from the high $300s to $3.2 million. The couple of dozen lots for sale range from under $100,000 to over $1 million for dramatic water views. If you are interested in a visit to Wexford, please contact us and we will put you in touch with a Hilton Head real estate professional who knows the island extremely well.]

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        Tim Gavrich is a public relations coordinator for The Brandon Agency, a marketing firm in Myrtle Beach, SC. He played collegiate golf at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA.