RISING FAWN, Ga. — For nearly four years The Highlands golf course, part of McLemore resort in Northeast Georgia, has wowed golfers with its mountaintop views and cliffside 18th hole. But The Keep makes the resort a true golf keeper.
McLemore, located on the eastern side of Lookout Mountain, two and a half hours northeast from Atlanta and an hour from Chattanooga, Tenn., offers plenty of eye-candy views as you would expect, but what sets them apart is not one, but two dramatic courses.
The Keep, which recently opened to preview play, is designed by Bill Bergin while The Highlands, which opened in 2019, is a collaboration between Bergin and Rees Jones.
The Keep is located a few miles away from the resort and an early look shows the views are more plentiful and equally spectacular as the original, while located at 3,200 feet above sea level overlooking the dramatic Georgia valleys with views into Tennessee.
The course starts with mountains and canyons in the distance, but like a fine opera, gradually warms up with holes 7-8-9 playing right up into the edge of Lookout Mountain as do 16-17-18 for a spectacular finish. The par-4 18th, 468 yards from the back tees, give you enough of a rush to make you want to play again.
There are views of the mountain scenery from almost every hole. This course is longer than the original, stretching 7,600 yards from the back tees with a par of 72, but with views which take the sting out of any bad score.
Jones, hailing from a rich family of golf architects, has already bragged that The Keep is the more spectacular of the two courses after a recent visit and that it could host a professional event when fully grown-in. There is already talk of a Korn Ferry Tour event here.
Plus, he claims the course is walkable with caddies, something you would be hard-pressed to do at The Highlands.
Adding to the vibe is the Cloudland resort, a luxury Hilton property offering 245 rooms and 19 suites overlooking the golf scenery. Fine dining, 19th-hole drinks and fun overlooking the landscape—including a six-hole putting course, the Cairn—means McLemore is not a one-trick, or even two-trick mountain golf facility, but a complete resort scenery overload experience.
Eat, sleep, majestic views, golf, repeat. Sounds like a proven winner and by the size of the crowds already making the trek to the new getaway in the north Georgia mountains, you could be right.
McLemore was named for John McLemore, whose father, Charles, arrived in the area from Scotland early in the 18th century and helped settle it, reportedly marrying a local Cherokee Indian princess along the way. John was minor chief of the Cherokees and a U.S. Army captain in the War of 1812.
The resort motto is “Above The Clouds,” certainly truth in advertising as the entire facility sits 2,000 to 3,000 feet above McLemore Cove with views crossing state lines and stretching for miles.
Local course visionary Duane Horton purchased the original land in 2017 and brought in Jones and Bergin to reconfigure a lackluster layout into what is stunning today. The original Highlands Course, a par-71, is split into three groups, the Canyon holes, Cliff holes and Highland holes.
The Canyon holes comprise Nos. 2, 3 and 6 through 9. They are located on an elevated ridge line on the eastern side of Lookout Mountain and around a lake. The par-4 2nd hole drops 50 feet from tee to fairway and plays over a large lake left of the green, with plenty of chances for watery disaster.
The par-3 3rd hole plays 148 yards from the back tees and features a greatly elevated tee shot with a small creek to the left. The par-3 7th hole plays 192 yards, but again back into a canyon with water in play in front of the green.
The Highland holes comprise the majority of the course, Nos. 4, 5, 8 and 10 through 16, giving the layout its overall name. Local legend has it that when John McLemore discovered this land with his father, he named the cove below McLemore because it reminded him of the highlands of his native Scotland.
These holes sit on the plateau of Lookout Mountain, overlooking the large valley almost like a island in the sky, but playing as much more traditional golf holes.
The show stoppers are the Cliff holes covering the opening par-5, which is headed straight downhill along with par-5 17th and the stunning par-4 18th.
The closing par-4 layout is laid out on the eastern edge of Lookout Mountain, with any shot missing left of the fairway edge lost hundreds of feet below to McLemore Cove. Common sense prevents you from looking along the left side of 18 for lost balls, while the steep drop-off should be enough as well.
The closing views from the fairway and green are spectacular enough to make you want to book another round post-haste after climbing the steep hill back to the clubhouse.
But first, retire to Cloudland, the first new hotel to be built on top of Lookout Mountain since the Great Depression.
Along with the scenic rooms there are three restaurants, a small café and a sky bar which feels suspended over McLemore Cove.
There is a cliff-edge infinity pool along with the Selah full-service spa and a large fitness facility—truly rooms with a view. You can also walk to the Cairn 6-hole short course.
Mountain golf is often memorable and scenic, but with the total resort package provided by McLemore, this may soon become the most popular sky-high golf destination east of the Mississippi.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Discovering a Keeper of a Resort at McLemore, Above the Clouds in Georgia.
