Arrowhead Pointe Golf Course sits in the middle of Richard B. Russell state park in Elberton, GA near the South Carolina border of the sate.
The reservation and check in process was simple. We asked for a preferred tee time online and the course got back to us in a couple of hours with a time very close to the one we requested. Upon arrival, the starter came out of the club house and gave us a very friendly and thorough overview of the course, pin placements, cart rules, etc.
Front Nine:
Since the course is situated on Lake Russell we expected to see some water, but none was in view throughout the front nine. What we did see was a beautiful, lush challenging layout with lots of great elevation changes. There were multiple doglegs with a few blind shots and a few hazards hidden from view of the tee box. Here we would like to see a scorecard that points out those hazards for first timers. The scorecards did include pin placements that were accurate.
We had real challenges on the putting surface and in the greenside bunkers. The bunkers were very inconsistent throughout the course with some solid hard pan and others with more of a gravel & sand mix. The Bermuda greens were long and that meant very slow speeds. Our home course plays about a 10-12 depending upon the season, but I would have to estimate these were an 8! We found ourselves pounding the ball just to get close to the hole, which should make putting precarious when we get back to our greens.
Back Nine:
We played as a twosome on the front side and made great time, but we caught up to a foursome on the 10th tee with a threesome in the fairway and another foursome on the green, which really slowed things down. To make matters worse the rough on the course was dense and even a well-placed drive that just trickled into the rough, meant people were having to spend a lot of time trying to find their balls.
Lake Russell finally comes into sight around the 11th hole and remains throughout much of the back nine providing some breathtaking views. The stretch of holes from 13-15 is beautiful and looks simple on the scorecard, but can end up eating your lunch. Not sure what they consider their signature hole, but for us it had to be 14, an uphill par 4 that is surrounded on both sides by the lake creating a beautiful view. (see cover photo)
We really started to bog down on the 13th with two groups on the tee and us just finishing up on 12. Eventually the foursome in front of us teamed up with the threesome in front of them and played a sevensome the rest of the way in. The back nine ended up taking twice as long as the front so close to a 5-hour round. We never saw a marshal out on the course that could move the groups along. While we never found out the reason for the back-up I can only imagine looking for balls in that rough and the slow greens impacted playability.
At the end of the round there was a cold, wet towel that was soaked in lemon water for all players. After being in the sun for 5 hours on a 93-degree day that was a really welcome and unexpected perk from a state run golf course.
We’ve played a number of the Georgia State Park golf courses and Arrowhead Pointe is by far the jewel in the ROUGH! Would we go back and play it again? Absolutely!
COURSE SCORE:
Reservations/Check-In: 5/5
Facilities: 4/5
Course Layout: 4/5
Course Condition: 3/5
Playability: 3/5
Total Score: 19 out of 25
Designer: Bob Walker
Par: 72
Yardage:
Gold 6788 Yds
Blue 6248 Yds
White 5971 Yds
Red 5220 Yds
Contact:
Arrowhead Pointe Golf Course
Richard B. Russell State Park
2790 Olympic Rowing Drive
Elberton, GA 30635
706-283-6000