Highland Golf Club (Semi-Private)

2271 Flat Shoals Rd., Conyers
770-483-4235; www.highlandgolf.com

STAFF: Jody Stephens is the PGA golf professional; Leroy Reed is the Superintendent

PAR/YARDAGE: Highland GC is a par 72 with 4 sets of tees: Gold (6,817 yards); Blue (6,362); White (5,915) and Red (5,383).

COURSE RATING/SLOPE: 72.9/129 (Gold); 71.0/125 (Blue); 68.6/121 (White); 71.0/123 (Red).

ABOUT THE COURSE: Among the metro Atlanta area’s most time-tested layouts, opening for play in 1961. A long time area favorite, Highland offers a quality layout with excellent course conditions considering the affordable fees. Its mostly level, compact nature makes it an easy course to walk, and you will not find many facilities in all of Atlanta that provide more value for the cost. With only a handful of holes where length is much of a factor, Highland is a comfortable layout for players of modest ability, but it is far from a pushover. The tree-lined, straightforward front nine offers little in the way of serious trouble, at least until you reach the short but potentially perilous par-5 ninth, which includes one of only two hazards in play on the outgoing nine. The par-3 10th comes back to the clubhouse, with the nature of the course changing markedly once you tee it up on 11. The back nine includes a number of challenging and distinctive holes, with the 11th one of the metro area’s stouter par 4s, owing to a pond that protects the front left of a sizeable green with multiple levels and some devilish pin positions.

Coming in, you will encounter a well-placed tree in the fairway (13), one of Atlanta’s finest and most appealing over-water par 3s (15), a lengthier par 5 with water in play (17) and a true road hole (16), where the tee shots have to take into account traffic coming to and from the clubhouse parking lot. The excellent putting surfaces are on the small side and mostly open in nature, and require some precision from the fairway and a deft short game touch to produce a score you would expect from a course with neither significant length nor an abundance of trouble. An enjoyable, modestly challenging layout that is well worth the trip out 1-20 for those who don’t live in Conyers.