5 elite golf pros reveal their favorite public golf courses around the South

No need to be a pro to tee up at these five courses
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Pinehurst No. 2, Hole 14

Photo courtesy of Pinehurst

Chesson Hadley
Pinehurst No. 2, Pinehurst, North Carolina

“Mine would probably be Pinehurst No. 2. There’s so much history at that course. They’ve hosted U.S. Opens, a PGA Championship, a Ryder Cup, and Tour Championships, but undoubtedly what everyone remembers is Payne Stewart’s winning moment at the ’99 U.S. Open. You can’t leave without getting a picture beside his statue on the eighteenth green. I also grew up playing junior events there, so there’s some sentimental value.”

Brandt Snedeker
Harpeth Hills Golf Club
, Nashville

“My favorite is Harpeth Hills Golf Club in Nashville. It’s where I learned how to play golf. My dad would take my brother, Haymes, and me out to the course every weekend. My brother is four years older and an established golfer as well. I couldn’t hit it as far as him and had to rely on my short game to compete with him and his friends.”

Justin Bolli
Harbour Town Golf Links
, Hilton Head, South Carolina

“My favorite in South Carolina is Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island. I enjoy the challenge it provides—it’s very narrow. The surrounding trees and harbor make it a really scenic and fun course to play, too. The lighthouse on the eighteenth hole is cool and makes the hole a memorable one.”

Charles Howell III
Great Waters at Reynolds Lake Oconee
, Greensboro, Georgia

“My favorite is the Great Waters course at Reynolds Lake Oconee. You get lake views on ten of the eighteen holes. There’s really no other golf course quite like it. They just completed a massive renovation, and its condition is just phenomenal. Of all the public courses I’ve played, that’s my favorite by far.”

Stewart Cink
Bobby Jones Golf Course
, Atlanta

“If I had to pick one to play in the Atlanta area, I would pick Bobby Jones because of the namesake. It’s been redesigned and redeveloped in the last couple years. You get a nice slice of the intown golfing population, and it’s a neat, intriguing facility. I love how you can play the course from tee to green with different routing based on the day. It’s like multiple courses all wrapped up in one.”

This article appears in the Fall/Winter 2020 issue of Southbound.

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