Big Canoe (Private)

10586 Big Canoe, Big Canoe (Pickens County)
706-268-3323; www.bigcanoe.com

STAFF: Roger Klask is the General Manager; Linda Hunt is the PGA Professional.

PAR/YARDAGE: Big Canoe is a 27-hole facility with three nines (Choctaw, Creek and Cherokee). Each nine has four sets of tees. The original Choctaw/Creek 18 measures 6,274 yards (Blue); 5,878 (White); 5,297 (Gold) and 4,765 (Red), with comparable yardages for Creek/Cherokee. The Choctaw/Cherokee combo is about 90 yards longer from the golds and 175 yards longer from the other three tees.

COURSE RATING/SLOPE: (Average of the three nines) 70.3/136 (Blue); 68.5/133 (White); 66.1/121 (Gold); 68.5/122 (Red).

ABOUT THE COURSE: One of the most enjoyable courses in north Georgia, Big Canoe is a short drive from metro Atlanta’s northern suburbs, with golf privileges available to non-members staying at the cabins on the property. Designed by Joe Lee in the early 1970s, the original 18 (Creek/Choctaw) is a straightforward traditional layout, with the dramatic downhill ninth on Choctaw (150 foot drop from tee to green) the only true mountain-style hole. The short Creek nine features several scenic but perilous holes with water very much in play, most notably on a wonderful risk/reward par 5 (No. 3), a treacherous par 3 (3) and a splendid little finishing hole, part of a group of inviting par 4s where accuracy is the most prized asset. That also very much applies to the narrow par-5 fifth, with trouble lurking on every shot. Choctaw is longer but less hazardous, although a few creeks early on the nine will penalize miss-hits. The fairways are a little more generous, with the nine including a nice mix of uphill and downhill shots. The tee shot on the ninth requires some precise distance control to carry the ravine short of the green but avoid a testy bunker shot from the back of a wide but shallow and sloping putting surface. The Cherokee nine, which was added after the original 18, is the most mountainous of the three, especially the second and ninth holes.

The tee on the par-5 second is some 450 feet above the fairway and will both take your breath away and enable average length hitters to launch 300-yard drives. A pond fronting the green makes the second shot something of a risk, and helps make the hole one of the true treasures in Georgia golf. The other par 5 on the nine is not quite as awe-inspiring, but a creek snaking along the fairway and in front of a tiny green provides sufficient drama. The nine finishes with a dangerous downhill par 4 that requires a little local knowledge to handle the precise nature of the tee shot and the significantly downhill second over another ravine. Renovations in recent years to all three nines have given the greens complexes more character, with the overall atmosphere conducive to a pleasurable day all the way around.