SPORT
Photographs courtesy of Reynolds Lake Oconee
THE ULTIMATE PLAYGROUND A SPORTING PA R A DISE IN GEORGI A OFFERS ACTI V ITIES FOR THE EVERY DAY by Stephanie Trotter
A
s a kid, recess was essential. Twenty minutes of four square and kickball, or swinging from the jungle gym, made the rest of the day tolerable. A similar multi-sport oasis awaits less than three hours from Greenville, but with grown-up activities sure to revive the kid in everyone. Reynolds Lake Oconee, a 12,000-acre golf and lake community, started as a simple, family retreat on the shores of the Oconee River. Early generations of the Reynolds clan first gathered in “Cracker’s Neck” in Greene County 100 years ago, inviting friends for sporting
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weekends to hunt and fish. When Georgia Power built the Wallace Dam on the river in 1979, it formed Lake Oconee, Georgia’s second largest lake. By the mid-1980s, the family was selling property, and building marinas and golf courses, to create a recreational haven 90 miles east of Atlanta and 30 miles south of Athens. Hundreds of privately owned homes are nestled in the wooded hills, while visitors have the option to “linger longer” as the locals say, at the National Club cottages, Lake Club Pointe condominiums, or Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee. But no matter where guests stay, there are plenty of places to play.
Tee It Up Wide-open fairways. Tight, sand-trap-lined greens. Golfers will find a course to suit their preference and ability on Lake Oconee. Reynolds features six courses by five different designers. Tom Fazio, Rees Jones, and Jack Nicklaus are just a few of the top-name players and architects who have created 18-hole wonders to drive, chip, and putt through. “Great Waters is on the lake,” explains director of golf Wes Forester. “On The Preserve and The Creek, you go up and down hills, so you can hit
