Four years ago I’d barely heard of Reynolds Lake Oconee.
Since then, I’ve visited 3 times and I count it as one of my favorite golf destinations in the country.
I mean, there’s just so much to like.
There are 7 golf courses that each provide a distinctly different playing experience.
The Ritz Carlton Lake Oconee is one of the most unique resort hotels in the country with its beautiful lakeside setting.
And if you’re lucky enough to be a Reynolds Platinum Member, you get access to insane amenities, the over-the-top Creek Club – and now, the brand-new Richland Course.
The National at Reynolds was previously a collection of 3 nine hole loops designed by Tom Fazio. All 3 of them ebb and flow through forests, out and back to the lake, and up and down some surprisingly diverse terrain.
But after over two decades, it was time for a change.
The Ridge and Cove 9s are now the “National” course.
And they took the Bluff 9, and added an additional 9 holes to make up the new Richland Course.
And I was one of the first ones to play it.
How’d it turn out? Let’s see.
First Impressions of the Richland Course at Reynolds
One thing I love about Reynolds is how easy it is to get to. For me, I took a direct flight from PDX to ATL, hopped in my rental car, and rolled in right around 3:30 in the afternoon coming off a 6:20am flight – not bad.
In this particular instance, the timing worked out perfectly.
I arrived two days before the soft opening, right as the light was getting good.
I hopped in a cart and essentially had the whole course to myself to get some photos.
Tipped out Richland comes in at 7,090 yards – or a more manageable, yet still stout, 6554 from the members combo tees.
With Richland, the Fazio team got creative with the routing. The first 5 holes of the course are the original 5 of the Bluff 9, then holes 6-14 are all new, and the routing finishes with the last 4 from the Bluff.
I’d played the Bluff 9 once before, so I was excited to see what changes were made and how they fit in with the new routing,.
The first thing I thought to myself when stepping up to the first tee was “this feels Augusta-ish”.
Now before you criticize, hear me out.
The land and setting is very similar to Augusta, and considering Tom Fazio is the consulting architect on the course, it’s not surprising to see some similarities.
Specifically, you feel it in the bunkering and the pine straw.
The National Course was always considered one of, if not the toughest course at Reynolds.
Richland while very playable, definitely isn’t a slouch in the challenge department.
Given the unique nature of the design, it really does feel like there are three distinct acts to the course.
The first 5.
The second 9.
The final 4.
Let’s take a look at each.
The First 5 Holes at Richland
One of my favorite aspects of this course is that you always have something to look forward to – there’s a ton of variety.
This is true within each section of the course as well.
You’re met with a gentle par 4 opener that plays slightly uphill, but a wide fairway gives you plenty of freedom to swing away.
The second amps up the difficulty with a tricky green, and some scary bunkering. They cleared out some trees behind the green, to open up views of 3, improving the early holes’ cohesiveness.
I’d expected the Bluff holes to essentially be the same as when I last saw them, but they made some pretty significant changes to these holes.
The bunker design is completely different, for one. You used to see the grass come down the bunker face much more. But with the new course, and new technology, they were able to have steep white sand bunker faces – that are visually striking.
Here’s the 3rd hole before the renovation and after:
Fazio said they used “Capillary Concrete” to be able to achieve this. This significantly helps drainage and helps mitigate embedded balls in the bunker faces during all but the wettest conditions.
The 3rd and 4th holes are the ones I look forward to during this opening stretch.
The 3rd is a big dogleg right par 5 with a fun tee shot, and provides your first peak at Lake Oconee behind the green.
4 is one of the best par 3s at Reynolds, playing upwards of 200 yards directly along the lake.
The par 3s at Richland are no joke measuring 193, 159, 203 and 211 from the tips.
5 takes a turn inland and lets you swing away off the tee, but forces a thoughtful approach to a slightly elevated green.
The New 9 Holes at Richland
From 9 green you head across the road, up a hill, and all of a sudden the vibe completely changes.
You’re met with a 75-acre parcel of fairly open land that makes up the brand-new 9 holes that Fazio designed.
The new holes have a different feel to the originals, which largely play through tree-lined residential corridors.
You still get hits of this at times on the new 9, but as a whole, everything is much more open – and is unlike anything else at Reynolds.
The par 4 6th is a blast to play.
The hole dips downhill halfway down the fairway, so you can’t see the green from the tee.
But a well-struck drive will get you a big-time roll, and potentially leave you with just a wedge in.
One of the most interesting visual features of the new holes is “lovegrass” that was planted throughout the 9. It adds both a level of added challenge, but also looks stunning.
The 7th is mid-range par 3 that plays slightly uphill to a large green.
The 8th is one of my favorite holes on the property. It’s a downhill par 5 that is reachable in two for big hitters, but an undulating green and thoughtfully placed bunkers force you to be strategic, and consider laying up instead for a better angle in.
The 9th feels the most similar to the original Bluff holes with trees on both sides of the hole. But there’s still ample room to bomb a drive, and some obvious bailout spots both on the right side of the fairway and left side of the green.
Maybe it’s just because they’re both Fazio designs, but the new holes most reminded me of Hudson National in New York as I was playing them – although I have yet to see the renovation work he did on it this year.
At 10 you’re met with arguably the toughest hole on the course.
It’s a long uphill par 4, with one of the most heavily undulated greens on the course.
The newer holes definitely have more severe undulations on the greens than the original 9 – which I loved. They feel more unique, and lead to some interesting putts.
The superintendent was clearly having some fun with us, considering some of the pin positions he gave us the day we played 🙂
11 is the most fun tee shot on the course. A downhill par 4 that felt reminiscent of the 10th hole at Porcupine Creek, despite some different bunkering.
12 is an uphill par 5 that features a tricky approach as the visibility of the green isn’t great. Watch out for the sucker pin directly behind the bunker.
13 is a visually stunning par 4. Bright white, high-faced bunkers married with copious amounts of lovegrass had this hole showing off at Golden Hour.
14 is the second of the new par 3s. It features a giant greenside bunker right that will force the hole to play differently depending on the day’s pin position, and which tee boxes you choose. The further back you go, the further right the tee boxes are – forcing more of a carry over the bunker.
Overall the new holes provide a ton of variety amongst themselves, as well as a set of 9 holes that’s unlike anything else at Reynolds – which is all you can hope for when getting a new course.
The Final 4 Holes at Richland
Coming back to the final 4 holes is a little bit of a shock to the system, as these holes feel very different from the ones that preceded it.
There are a couple of ways to look at this.
It’s hard to ignore the fact that the new vs old holes do have a bit of Jekyll and Hyde vibes. They feel different, and since the new 9 sits sandwiched between the old holes – this feeling is amplified. The good news is that I think this will change over the next few years as the course matures.
The other way to look at it, is that this approach provides a ton of variety.
Every single hole at Richland feels distinctly different from each other which I absolutely love.
I’ll take a little less cohesiveness in favor of variety every single time.
And the most unique of all of the holes may come during the final 4.
The 15th is a big downhill par 5, with a lake guarding the green. It’s reachable in two, but it requires a hero carry over the water.
16 is a long downhill par 3 with a creek all down the righthand side – and is a fun way to end the par 3s.
Throughout the golf at Reynolds there are a number of holes that work prominent creeks into the course design, and these are always among some of my favorite holes at the resort.
I just mentioned 16, 12 on Oconee, 3 at Creek Club, 5 at Great Waters, and 17 at Richland is another one,
I was happy to see this element carried over from the original design. 17 is a great par 4 with a creek that splits the fairway 3/4 of the way up, and then runs all the way up the right side of the green. You really need to be careful when you get a back right pin position.
18 finishes right below the National clubouse, and forces you to be precise with your tee shot. There’s a bit more room right than it looks, but you’ll be left with a tricky approach that’s all carry out of some gnarly Bermuda rough.
Final Thoughts on the Richland Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee
When it comes to clubs or resorts that have multiple golf courses, the most important element to have (for me), is Visit Sitevariety.
I don’t want to see 7 of the exact same course.
And if there’s one thing that Reynolds excels at, it’s providing unique and different golf experiences at each of their courses.
Richland does a wonderful job of continuing this.
The new holes are unlike anything else that’s there, and the original Bluff holes have been thoughtfully edited to make them more cohesive with the new ones – even if they don’t totally feel like it yet.
This new 18-hole course will be exclusive to Reynolds Platinum members, and I know they’re going to be excited.
The other members-only course there is Creek Club, which is quite simply, one of the most fun courses you; ‘ll ever play. But it’s also a wild design that isn’t necessarily a course you’d want to play every day.
Richland on the other hand is a wonderful test of golf, is more straightforward, and is a course you could play day in and day out and never get bored of.
That might be the best compliment I can give it, and I’m excited to see it in another couple of years after it’s continued to mature.
