City Club Marietta (Public)

510 Powder Springs St., Marietta
770-528-4653; www.cityclubmarietta.com

STAFF: Al Morrison is the Golf Professional; Ken Dixon is the Club Manager.

PAR/YARDAGE: City Club Marietta is a par 71 with three sets of tees: Blue (5,721 yards); White (5,396) and Red (4,715).

COURSE RATING/SLOPE: 68.2/122 (Blue); 67.0/119 (White); 67.4/114 (Red).

ABOUT THE COURSE: The shortest regulation course in the metro Atlanta, but also among the most enjoyable places to play and not the easy mark the yardage numbers might suggest. The absence of length enables golfers who don’t ordinarily tee it up from the tips to do so, and get some idea of how things are for more talented golfers by hitting a number of short iron approaches. The yardage figures on at least a few of the holes are quite deceiving, with a trio of par 4s in the 350-yard range playing significantly longer because of their uphill nature. But length isn’t what City Club Marietta is about. The greens complexes are plenty challenging, with the large, rolling putting surfaces among the most demanding in the metro area. Although there are a few holes with generous landing areas, the layout has its share of extremely narrow tee shots, and some decisions are required regarding club selection off several tees.

Water is seriously in play on only three holes, and those are among the more interesting on the course, including two of the three very interesting and diverse par 5s. The 8th is one of the best par 5s in all of Atlanta, with ample length, a sharp dogleg, frequently visited woods, and a pond fronting a wide, shallow, multi-tiered green. Both 4 and 14 are much shorter, but require considerable accuracy off the tee. Bunkers fronting the green on the downhill 4th make getting close to front pin positions next to impossible, with the second shot on the slightly quirky 14th having to negotiate water on one side and a tree line on the other. The over-water 12th is the best of an otherwise inviting group of par 3s, with the mostly short group of par 4s offering come scoring opportunities if you can find the fairway, hit some deft approaches and solve the puzzle of the frequently sloping putting surfaces. A lot of ifs. Conditions are typically excellent, and the compact nature of the layout is very conducive to walkers.