The Frog at the Georgian, Villa Rica, GA. Tom Fazio, 1998.

Far enough west of Atlanta that it doesn’t seem to get as much press as other courses, this is a typically solid Fazio layout with more local character and quirk than I generally expect from him.

I liked the long par 3 8th where you can try to bounce one in from the slope front right, but you have to beware of the lake just long left of the green, especially when the grass is dormant and running fast.

The back nine has a good mix of longer and shorter holes, raised greens and low profile ones. There’s a creek that comes into play on several holes on the back to good effect. The reachable par 5 18^th is a fun finisher with a creek in front of the huge three-tier green that makes reaching the putting surface far from the only challenge. But I think the greensite at the 17^th was my favorite spot on the course, squeezed between woods and a creek with a bailout area left of the creek for those who can’t fly it in.

If rankings are correct and this really isn’t one of the 10-15 best public courses around Atlanta, then that city’s golf options are way better than I’ve been led to think.

#2 (of 2) in Southeast [2013]