Author: Sean Ogle

When I visited Reynolds Lake Oconee I was excited to experience all that it had to offer. And for as much as I was looking forward to experiencing the renowned Great Waters course, it was a lesser-known course I was secretly even more excited about. What is it? The Creek Club. The Creek Club is a 2007 Jim Engh design that is the most under-the-radar course at Reynolds Lake Oconee. Why is it under the radar? Because, unlike its five sister courses, The Creek Club is the only course in the Reynolds Lake Oconee community that’s fully private. Because of…

Before my recent trip to Reynolds Lake Oconee, I’ll be honest, I didn’t know much about the area. I knew there was a beautiful lake. I knew there was a Ritz-Carlton resort. And I knew they had a golf course that was supposed to be phenomenal called Great Waters. It’s one I’ve wanted to see for a long time, dating back to my original quest on this site of playing the Top 100 public courses in the USA. I was a little disappointed as early on in the trip planning it looked like it might not happen due to a…

When you live in the Pacific Northwest, Reynolds Lake Oconee isn’t generally the first place that comes to mind when you’re thinking of golf destinations. I’ve heard wonderful things about the golf courses and the Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee, but to be honest? I really didn’t know much about the Reynolds community until recently. This is too bad, because I’ve clearly been missing out. I recently spent 4 days experiencing all that Reynolds has to offer. Rather than bury the lede, I’m just going to come right out and say it: Reynolds Lake Oconee exceeded all of my admittedly…

Over the last few years, I’ve had the pleasure of wearing a bunch of different pairs of TRUE Linkswear golf shoes. From the sexy leather OG Premium, to the svelte summer Knit iis – I’ve always been genuinely impressed. Recently, I took a little gamble though. This past week I took my first flight in 20 months to head down to Georgia for half a dozen rounds at Reynolds Lake Oconee and around Atlanta. I brought the new TRUE Linkswear Lux Sport straight out of the box (er, bag as it were). No break-in period. No warming them up. Straight…

I feel like Breaking Eighty, the blog as we know it now, really started when I took my first real golf trip. Sure I’d played a round or two here and there. But the first proper “golf trip” I ever took was through Wisconsin and Northern Michigan. The goal was to knock off as many Top 100 and Top 100 public courses as possible – I ticked off 14 total on the trip. Well, there was one round on the trip that was effectively a bonus round: The Lake Course at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. Yes, I get it, California…

When I started Breaking Eighty way back in 2012, I had an idea that I wanted to play the Top 100 public golf courses in America. That goal has since evolved, but I still recall the very first course I played when I made that goal: Cog Hill #4 – also known as Dubsdread. The Cog Hill golf facility is one of the best public facilities in the Chicago area, and their residents are very lucky to have such variety there. Despite it being nearly a decade later since that first round, Cog Hill #4 has continued to remain in both…

Every once in awhile, out the blue a golf course completely surprises and captivates you. During my very first golf road trip, there were a number of courses I was really excited for: Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run, Medinah, Oakland Hills to name a few… Arcadia Bluffs is one of the best public courses in America, yet for some reason I think my excitement was overshadowed by my previous round at Whistling Straits, which is largely regarded as one of the very best public golf courses in the country. I hadn’t heard much about Arcadia, except that it was difficult, and set…

Second to Merion, Aronimink Golf Club is probably the club I was most familiar with before heading to Philadelphia. It’s always on the back end of some of America’s top 100 courses lists, and it’s widely regarded as one of Donald Ross’ best courses ever. So much so, that upon returning two decades after building it, he said: “I intended to make this my masterpiece, but not until today did I realize I built better than I knew.” Aronimink Golf Club is straight-up one of the toughest golf courses I’ve played. The rough is thick, the holes are long, and…

With the Ryder Cup this past week at Whistling Straits, the golfing public got a great look at one of the very best public courses in the country. But it begs the question, is it the best. For years there’s been a constant debate among golfers and the various golf publications about which course is the best public golf course in the country, and it always comes back to a battle between three stalwarts: Whistling Straits Pebble Beach Pacific Dunes What I love about this, is the fact that these three courses are about as different from one another as can be.…

I was nervous during my 20 minute drive to Whistling Straits. It was easily my most heavily anticipated round of golf, on my very first big golf trip – not to mention the most expensive of my life. “What if it rains? Or if I make a fool of myself in front of my caddie? What if we can’t play due to bad weather? Or worse, what happens if we can play and the round is miserable?” When you’re paying $360 greens fees ($410 now in 2021), plus $65 caddie fee, plus $50 gratuity, it’s hard not to feel like…