GREENSBORO, GEORGIA | When Mercer Reynolds Sr. – a local businessman who made his fortune patenting the process for solidifying cottonseed oil – started buying up thousands of acres of woods along the Oconee River in Greene County, Georgia, back in the 1920s to create his family hunting and fishing retreat he called “Linger Longer,” he could not possibly have known what it would become. When Georgia Power dammed the river in 1979 and created a 19,000-acre reservoir with more than four times the shoreline of the entire Atlantic coast in Georgia, the Reynolds family was sitting on a valuable piece of real estate that has grown into one of the premiere lifestyle communities in the United States.
Reynolds Lake Oconee has evolved from a quiet little lakeside retreat community in 1988 with a nice Bob Cupp-designed golf course now known as the Preserve into a world-class destination for families that have redefined the parameters of work-life balance.
Reynolds Lake Oconee opened its seventh championship course (Richland) last October and is building what will become its eighth (Fenmoor) when it opens in the fall of 2026. Along with 11 restaurants, four full-service marinas, a 100-acre sporting grounds, 21 miles of walking and biking trails, a TaylorMade Kingdom, fitness facilities, spas and the Ritz-Carlton’s only lakeside resort, there’s not much you can’t do just 90 minutes (yet a million miles) from the traffic and bustle of Atlanta.
Somewhere along the way, the “Linger Longer” ethos of Reynolds’ original hideaway became something else entirely. It started years before COVID-19 when Reynolds emerged from the housing crisis and receivership, but the pandemic accelerated Reynolds Lake Oconee’s transition from a retirement and second-home retreat into a full-time residential community. With the influx of homeowners who decided to never leave and the resurgence in golf’s popularity, the demand for tee times exceeded the already extensive inventory of Reynolds courses that serve its 4,000 members.
“Our growth has been so, so dramatic since COVID,” said Ryan Frisch, the head pro at the new Richland course. “We needed [Richland] to get open, just to try to take some relief off the other six golf courses.”
Richland, like the Creek Club and the under-construction Fenmoor, is private. No cottage or Ritz-Carlton resort guests can play unless accompanied by a member. “Generational members can’t even bring guests or play it without the primary member in the group,” said Frisch of the membership feature that typically allows the parents/children of a primary member to play the other courses and bring guests.
“During COVID, everyone kind of sold out their second homes. We lost a lot of members that played four times a month. They got traded up for a member coming in playing 25 times a month. And maybe their spouse plays or they have kids who play. It’s a similar number of members, but it’s just the utilization of the club has drastically changed.
“Our average age membership dropped drastically to 47 or something, and it was probably up in the 60s and mostly retirees. Now it’s a lot of working people here and the work balance changed, which allows for more free time to play golf.”
The Richland course’s sixth (left) and 10th holes. Photos: Bill Hornstein, Reynolds Lake Oconee
Reynolds invited architect Tom Fazio to return to turn his 27-hole National – which first opened in 1997 – into two 18-hole courses to bolster the portfolio that already includes Cupp’s Preserve and The Landing, Jack Nicklaus’ Great Waters, Rees Jones’ Oconee course and Jim Engh’s Creek Club. Steve Smyers is designing the new Fenmoor course.
“It’s tough to imagine a finer collection of golf courses in any community in the country,” said John Gunderson, president of Daniel Communities, which is the managing partner for Reynolds Lake Oconee.
The Ridge and Cove nines from the original were combined to become the new National. The Bluff nine was spun off, renovated and combined with a brand-new nine holes to create Richland – joining the Creek Club as the second fully private golf course accessible only to Reynolds Lake Oconee Platinum-level members.
The real strength of the new nine is the significant elevation changes that ask a variety of questions with doglegs, valleys, ravines and a few false fronts to negotiate.
Anyone familiar with the original Bluff nine will largely recognize the first five and the last four holes. All of them got a makeover with some greens shifted or reshaped, trees removed and chipping and fescue native areas added. Extensive bunker work is apparent throughout – with some removed, repositioned, refaced or combined to create larger ones. The lakeside par-3 fourth hole, in particular, was completely rebuilt and deftly realigned to bring the lake more into play.
The new nine holes – Nos. 6 through 14 – meander up, down and in every direction through the 500-acre Richland Pointe community – which opened three years ago and features a restaurant, wellness center and Reynolds’ first on-site, members-only spa, and lakefront pool facilities.
The vibe in the middle changes significantly from the original holes yet blends seamlessly into a cohesive challenge. There’s plenty of room between fescue and love-grass borders, with large and heaving green complexes.
“They have different looks,” said Frisch, who has been at Reynolds for 20 years, of the blended nines. “The original has the lake and a lot more trees, and then you transition into more of a linksy-style look in the new portion. It opens up. It doesn’t have the lake views, but what they made out of it with the fescue and love grass, from the visual side of things, is spectacular.”
The real strength of the new nine is the significant elevation changes that ask a variety of questions with doglegs, valleys, ravines and a few false fronts to negotiate.
“There’s a lot of terrain variation – lots of ups and downs, ins and outs, twists and turns – which is great for golf,” said Fazio before Richland opened last October. “That’s what makes this such a fine natural setting.
“Members will enjoy this golf course because it has character and will never play the same. This new course will provide a challenge and have endless possibilities for a fun and captivating golf experience.”
There’s also a food truck turn house that makes a mean hot dog that’s split and grilled along with burgers, sandwiches and wraps.
Reynolds Lake Oconee has two membership tiers – Silver and Platinum. Silver has access to only the two Cupp courses – Landing and Preserve. Platinum has access to all seven including Richland and Creek Club. Fenmoor will create a third exclusive membership tier called Reserve.
Situated in the northeast corner of the 12,000-acre community, the Fenmoor course site will be unique from all the other Reynolds courses. It features a variety of landscapes at the headwaters of Lake Oconee, with rivulets and streams branching from Richland Creek that create an ever-changing landscape of wooded wetlands, grassy fields, marsh and meadow.
“The land is absolutely ideal for golf,” said Smyers. “We’re very fortunate to have a piece of property this diverse, with the movement of the land – gentle rolls, swales, valleys, hummocks, mounds and ravines – combined with the presence of water running through it. This site allows us to create a course with a distinct look and feel unlike any other at Reynolds Lake Oconee.”
The lake will be visible from much of the course and directly influence play on numerous holes, including nine greens that will be positioned along the water. “The native plants will connect the course to the marsh, the lake and the tree line,” said Smyers. “We want the golf course to feel as if it simply emerges from the landscape.”
Fenmoor will also feature a putting course, numerous short-game areas and expansive practice facilities along with its own clubhouse, restaurant and bar.
“Fenmoor Golf Club reflects our constant vision to thoughtfully grow Reynolds Lake Oconee while preserving the natural beauty and character that make this community so special,” said Gunderson.