Horseshoe Bend Country Club (Private)

2100 Steeplechase Lane, Roswell
770-992-1818; www.horseshoebendcc.com

STAFF: Allen Jones is the General Manager; Andreas Boberg is the Golf Professional.

PAR/YARDAGE: Horseshoe Bend plays to a par of 72 with four sets of tees – Blue (6,629 yards); White (6,114); Green (5,531) and Red (4,990).

COURSE RATING/SLOPE: 72.9/135 (Blue); 70.5/130 (White); 67.7/122 (Green); 70.3/122 (Red).

ABOUT THE COURSE: One of metro Atlanta’s premier private clubs during the 1980s, Horseshoe Bend was surpassed by newer arrivals in the north Fulton suburbs during the ‘90s and had some struggles of its own. The club is now on the way back, and is finally reaping the benefits of course renovations in the late ‘90s. Joe Lee’s original design was given a few tweaks, with some fairly significant changes to a number of the greens complexes, as well as alterations to a few of the holes. The biggest change was to the par-4 14th, which is now drivable with plenty of risk to go with the reward. The character of Lee’s quality design hasn’t changed, however, with Horseshoe Bend remaining a layout that favors placement over power, with a handful of exceptions.

The course is among the tightest of Atlanta’s private clubs, especially the stretch of holes on the front nine that parallel the Chattahoochee River. Because of the absence of serious length on all but a few holes, Horseshoe Bend is vulnerable to those who hit it straight off the tee, but you don’t have to stray far to find the tree lines that border just about every hole on both sides. To add some challenge to the relatively short layout, undulation was added to the putting surfaces and the greenside bunkers were re-positioned and expanded, allowing for some well-protected pin positions with the possibility of some big-breaking putts. There are plenty of water hazards in play in addition to the Chattahoochee, with Horseshoe Bend beginning and ending with a pair of short but watery par 5s. The 18th remains a wonderful finishing hole, although modern technology has taken away a little of its bite. In between, there is a nice mix of holes, with a very strong trio of par 4s (4, 9 and 15) and several shorter two-shotters that offer some scoring opportunities. Course conditions are currently excellent, with Horseshoe Bend on the path back to regaining its status in the highly competitive Atlanta market.