Sign up and get the full details on the “Fall into Reynolds Lake Oconee” sweepstakes here.
I first visited Reynolds Lake Oconee about 5 years ago.
I didn’t know much about it going in, and honestly, my expectations weren’t all that high.
By the end of day one, I was already trying to figure out how soon I could come back.
I’ve now been back to Reynolds 4 times since then, almost once a year. And it’s hands down one of my favorite golf resorts, and easily in my personal top 3 of most underrated resorts in the United States.
I’d call it a hidden gem, but with a few thousand members and over 10,000 acres of property? I’m not sure it’s all that hidden anymore.
So when I found out they were doing a killer sweepstakes where the winner gets an all-expenses-paid trip to the resort, I knew I had to tell you about it.
That’s what we’re talking about today. I’m going to give you the overview of what Reynolds is all about, walk through the details of their “Fall for Reynolds” sweepstakes, and then give you my thoughts on my 5 favorite things the winner is going to get to do, based on my own experience there.
Ready? Let’s go.
What is Reynolds Lake Oconee?
If you’re not familiar, Reynolds Lake Oconee is a golf resort community sitting between Atlanta and Augusta, wrapped around more than 350 miles of shoreline on Lake Oconee.
It’s home to 8 championship golf courses, all designed by some of the biggest names in golf architecture: Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, Rees Jones, Jim Engh, and Bob Cupp. I’ve written full breakdowns on a handful of them, including Great Waters, Oconee, and the newest addition, Richland.
Beyond the golf, there’s the Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds (more on that below), a TaylorMade Kingdom fitting facility, a wellness campus at Richland Pointe, and eleven different restaurants across the property. And your home base for most of it, unless you’re a member with your own place, is the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee, a 257-room lakefront resort that’s been named one of the best in the state.
It’s the kind of place where you show up for the golf and leave talking about everything else.
The “Fall for Reynolds” Sweepstakes
Here’s where it gets good.
Reynolds just opened up their annual sweepstakes, and this year’s grand prize might be the best one yet. One winner and three guests will win a 4-day, 3-night getaway to Reynolds Lake Oconee valued at nearly $15,000 (official ARV is $14,400), and it is genuinely stacked:
- Round-trip domestic airfare for all 4 guests into Atlanta
- 3 nights at the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee (two rooms)
- Ground transportation during your stay
- A round of golf for four at Richland, the newest Tom Fazio design on property (This is typically private and unavailable for guests of the resort to play)
- An afternoon at Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds (Hands down the most underrated experience at Reynolds)
- A private boat cruise and lakeside dinner
- A spa experience for each guest at the Richland Pointe Spa
- Tickets to the Reynolds Lake Oconee Chefs’ Showcase, where all eight on-property restaurants bring their best dishes, paired with wines from Cakebread Cellars
Timed for peak fall foliage, the trip itself takes place October 7 through October 10, 2026.
Here’s how to enter:
Enter for your chance to win a 4-day, 3-night trip for you and 3 guests, valued at nearly $15,000.
Sign up as a Reynolds Insider for your chance to win. No purchase necessary, and it takes about 30 seconds.
A few important details: entries close at 11:59pm ET on Thursday, September 3, 2026, and the winner will be announced on Friday, September 18. You’ve got to be a legal U.S. resident, 21 or older, and it’s limited to one entry per person. Winner and guests all have to travel on the same dates, so keep that in mind if you’re entering with a group in mind.
Honestly, for something that costs you nothing to enter, this is about as close to a no brainer as it gets. Even if I didn’t love this place, I’d tell you to sign up. Since I do love it, I’m telling you twice.
My 5 Favorite Things About Reynolds (That the Winner Gets to Experience)
I’ve had the chance to do most of what’s included in this prize package over my various trips to Reynolds. Here’s what I’d be most excited about if I were the one who won.
1. Golf at Richland
Richland is the newest course at Reynolds, and I was lucky enough to play it before it officially opened. It’s a Tom Fazio design that is one of the most unique on the property.
The first time I stood on the opening tee, my honest reaction was that it felt Augusta-ish. The pine straw, the bunkering, the way the land moves. It’s not a knock on the rest of the golf at Reynolds, it’s just a different animal, and one of the best rounds you can play on property.
What’s even cooler about this opportunity? Richland is a fully private course that’s typically only available to Reynolds Platinum members. So the fact they’re including this is pretty special.
My full recap of the Richland Golf Course.
2. Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds
This might be my single favorite thing at all of Reynolds, and it has nothing to do with a golf swing.
Sandy Creek is a private sporting facility with sporting clays, a five-stand, off-roading in Ford Broncos, and bass fishing on their own 40-acre lake. I’d never really been off-roading before my first visit, and I spent 45 minutes with a perma-grin driving up, down, and through terrain I didn’t think would be possible for any vehicle to get through.
Then I went and shot my first clay pigeons of the day with a world-class instructor standing next to me.
And I haven’t even had the chance to fish there yet (hopefully next time).
The whole place feels like adult Summer camp, and most resort guests skip it entirely.
If you’ve got non-golfers in your group, this is where they’re going to have the time of their life.
The full “Members Only” Experience at Reynolds that You’ll Experience.
3. Staying at the Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee
Speaking of adult Summer camp, the vibe at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Oconee is very similar. You know, like a really fancy, luxurious, relaxing Summer camp.
The lakefront setting is spectacular, the pool is the kind of place you don’t want to leave, and I’d genuinely recommend requesting a Fireside or Lake View room if you can. Sitting out at my personal fire pit sipping on one of their specially selected whiskey barrels continues to be one of my favorite Reynolds memories.
Even if you never left this resort during your trip, you’d still have a world-class vacation. So the fact there’s so much to do beyond the Ritz is part of what makes Reynolds Lake Oconee so unique and so special.
My full recap of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Oconee Resort experience.
4. The Culinary Scene, Especially the Chefs’ Showcase
Reynolds has eleven restaurants on property, and I’ve never had a bad meal at any of them. Their executive chef has built a genuinely impressive food program, and this prize package specifically includes tickets to the Chefs’ Showcase, where all eight on-site restaurants bring signature dishes paired with Cakebread Cellars wine.
This is a special experience that’s built entirely around the best food and wine on property, and it’s a fantastic way to experience the depth of what Reynolds’ culinary team can do.
5. The Spa at Richland Pointe
This prize includes a spa treatment for each of the four guests at Richland Pointe, and I can tell you from experience it’s worth carving out the time for.
Beyond the treatment rooms, the whole wellness campus there, including the pools and fitness facilities, is one of the more impressive setups I’ve seen at any golf resort in the country. After a round at Richland and an afternoon at Sandy Creek, this is exactly where you want to end up.
The entire Richland Pointe complex is also typically members-only, so the fact you get access to one of the most stunning parts of the member experience at Reynolds is pretty special.
Final Thoughts on the Reynolds Lake Oconee Experience
I keep going back to Reynolds because it keeps giving me new reasons to. The golf is genuinely world-class and varied across all 7 courses, but it’s everything around the golf, the sporting grounds, the food, the lake, that makes it a place I recommend to almost anyone asking about a golf trip.
This sweepstakes is basically a highlight reel of everything I love most about the place, wrapped up into one trip. It costs nothing to enter, takes less than a minute. And if you win, you’re getting something that very few people outside of Reynolds Platinum members ever get to experience – and that alone is something special.
Go enter. Then go tell your buddies to enter too, so if you win, you’ve already got your foursome lined up.
Enter for your chance to win a 4-day, 3-night trip for you and 3 guests, valued at nearly $15,000.
Sign up as a Reynolds Insider for your chance to win. No purchase necessary, and it takes about 30 seconds.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Reynolds Lake Oconee. I’ve visited Reynolds multiple times over the years, and all opinions about the resort, the golf, and my personal favorite experiences are entirely my own.
