Windermere (Private)

5000 Davis Love Drive, Cumming
678-513-1000; www.canongategolf.com

STAFF: Ray Garbiras is the PGA Golf Professional; Tommy Hewitt is the Superintendent.

PAR/YARDAGE: Windermere plays to a par 71 with four sets of tees: Black (6,805 yards); Blue (6,283); White (5,532) and Red (4,635).

COURSE RATING/SLOPE: 73.3/139 (Black); 70.3/134 (Blue); 67.5/121 (White); 68.0/118 (Red).

ABOUT THE COURSE: One of the most popular Atlanta area daily fee courses from the day it opened in 2000, the course went private several years ago as part of the expansion of the Canongate family of courses. Among the earliest courses from Davis Love’s design group, Windermere was carved out of some rugged terrain that resulted in several elevation changes of significance and only a handful of holes not impacted by the rolling terrain. With a handful of exceptions, length is not a vital necessity, and Love has provided an ample amount of fairway width on just about every hole. Some well-placed fairway bunkers are in play here and there, and longer hitters will want to leave the driver in the bag on several holes with sharp doglegs and serious trouble.

The high slope rating is mostly a product of the number of hazards in play, as well as some large, undulating greens that will result in plenty of chances for three-putts. Love deftly mixes demanding holes with a number of scoring opportunities, tempting longer hitters to take a few risks in order to reap rewards. The risks, however, are considerable, especially on the back nine, where the majority of the holes can inflict damage to your scorecard if you miss a shot in the wrong place. Three of the par 5s fall into the risk/reward category, although the risk on the downhill third comes on the tee shot, one of the few on the opening nine that demands accuracy. Things change on the back nine, where most of the trouble is found and the decisions regarding club selection and positioning from the tee are crucial. The large, rolling greens, most of which are well guarded by sand, water or both, don’t make things any easier when it comes to chipping and putting. But if you can avoid the obvious trouble spots, Windermere will yield decent scores, although they won’t come easily.