BUFORD - Mike Smith's inaugural tee shot at the re-opening
of the Legacy on Lanier golf course sailed closer to trees
than fairway.
But the Atlanta Falcons' head coach still drew a round of
cheers from those who attended the opening-day celebration
July 1. The adulation was part for the NFL coach and part
for the long-awaited completion of a more than two year
renovation project at the Lake Lanier Islands' golf course
formally called Emerald Pointe.
The new name typifies the swath of changes made to the
course. There are longer holes, new unique greens and a
brand new 10th hole on a track that winds along the slowly
filling shores of Lake Lanier. Thirteen of the 18 holes
utilize the lake as either a hazard or aesthetic and often
as both.
"I am not a golfer and I still enjoy it," said Grier Todd,
CEO of Lake Lanier Islands. "The biggest thing is the lake
and the experience of having the course along the lake."
Straddling the line of incorporating Lake Lanier's shores
and inlets into the new course design without threatening
average golfers with the potential for dozens of lost balls
and infinite penalty shots was architect Billy Fuller.
"The water makes the property so unique and offers challenge
to the golf course," Fuller said. "The goal is to strategize
so the really good player has ample challenge and the
average golfer has fun maneuvering the water."
Must subtle than the water, but unique to the new Legacy
course is its Miniverde Bermudagrass greens. It's a coastal
grass making its way to courses further inland, but East
Lake in Atlanta, host of the PGA's Tour Championship, is the
only other Georgia course currently playing the same grass
on its greens.
The grass's advantage comes with its ability to weather
traffic and the southern heat, while hopefully not dying
during the bursts of cold in the north Georgia winter.
"The jury is still out on what its cold tolerances will be,"
Fuller said. "It's a great surface with less maintenance. We
hope it is a better fit in this part of the country, more
heat tolerant and will survive the winter."
A former golf superintendent for 15 years, including five at
Augusta National, Fuller wears the sun easily. He is tall
and thin, but not gangly, and plays golf close to scratch.
He knows what he enjoys in a golf course and his motivation
with the Legacy course was to make it a throw-back to the
golf of the 1930s and 40s. The course does not punish
players lacking massive distance off the tee, rather it
challenges them to keep the ball in play. Because of its
location and environment along the lake, the course also
gives the feel of an older design since it does not wrap
through a planned unit development. It's a golf course, not
an exclusive gated community where people must cross streets
and trounce through back yards between holes.
Rather than exclusive, the goal of the new course is
inclusivity. The public, resort course's greens fees include
food, drinks and cart.
"We wanted that inclusive, club feel," said Missy Burgess
Director of Golf Sales at Lake Lanier Islands. "To see it
come to its full potential is just thrilling."
To realize its real potential, Fuller wants the course to
attract not just golfers like him, who birdie more often
than bogey. He wants every players to leave the 18th green
challenged, but not bored or exhausted.
"Hopefully it will draw the whole spectrum of golf players,"
Fuller said.
Lake Lanier Islands Resort breaks ground on Emerald Pointe
Renovations
Emerald Pointe is being redesigned and renovated by local
Atlanta golf course design firm Billy Fuller Golf Design.
The
redesign of the course will create more stunning views of
Lake Lanier and will return to the Golden Era of golf. Some
of the new features include:
Completely renovated greens with new mini-verde Bermuda
Larger tee boxes
New bunker design - Billy Bunkers
Additional yardage to lengthen golf course
New concrete cart paths
State-of-the-art-irrigation
New golf cart fleet.
This
Golden Era design will provide new challenges for the
experienced golfer, while providing an exceptional
experience for the casual golfer.
