My friends consider me as a golfer that is not loyal to any course because I play somewhere ... (more)

My friends consider me as a golfer that is not loyal to any course because I play somewhere differently every week. My dream is to play every course in Georgia at least once. I live on the Southside and I have made my way as far down as Warner Robins, but I had yet to experience many courses north of Atlanta. The LMTT deal was so tempting that I decided to venture up to Acworth to play this course. I ususally do not give a course 5 stars for overall condition, but hats off to Bentwater. I have played many courses in many states, public and private, but I have not seen one this well manicured. A lot of times, you can see a course from the road, and it looks great; but when you play it up close, you see all of it's flaws. This course was close to perfect, and the only point that I would have to take away from it was that the fairways were so lush that it was hard for me make good contact with the ball using my long irons. I hit forged blades, so good contact is a must. Mind you, this is no fault of the people at Bentwater; it is just that I am not used to such nice fairways. When I first drove up to the course, I was amazed by how green it was, considering how hot it has been and how the drought has taken a toll on the courses in the area. There are signs all over the course that lets you know that they use "reclaimed water". Every hole from tee to green was immaculate. Not a weed in sight, and not a strand of grass out of place. This course is in good enough shape to play a PGA event, and this is no exaggeration. The greens were medium speed, and the fairways gave just enough roll to reward good shots. It was not possible to bring anything into the greens low, because the shots would not stick. Everything had to come in high. The course is very deceptive because there are not many trees in play. The lack of trees in play is compensated for by rough like you would never imagine. The problem with the rough is that it does not look like rough. It looks like well manicured grass, but it can cost you three to four shots on any given hole. The view from every tee-box makes you feel like a king. I like the fact that you can see the flagstick from the teebox on all the par fours. The par fives are a different story. Reaching the par fives in two shots on this course is close to impossible. Be satisfied with a bogie on at least two of them. The course probaly plays longer than it measures due to the elevation changes, and the rough that you face from time to time. There was not a lot of water that came into play, and the sand was only a nuisance here and there. You can shoot a nice score here if you don't get wild off the tee. Recovery is very hard if you venture far off the fairways. I tend to get distracted by courses with homes on them, but this course is well set up. The homes are either far enough away from the fairways, or protected by trees so that they do not distract from your play. I saw one marshall, but the pace of play was fast enough that he was really not needed. I think that this course is awesome, and I would really like to play it again. I don't think that I would be able to consciously pay the full retail price of $78 though. If there is a course in Georgia that is manicured better than this one, I would love to see it.
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