Kinderlou Forest

Much of Georgia’s most acclaimed golf is located in the northern portion of the state, linking the cities of Atlanta, Athens, Augusta and Savannah. Thankfully, Davis Love III helped bring an exciting piece of strategic and heroic golf to the Valdosta area, just north of the Florida border.

This public-access track finds the PGA icon walking a line between influences, with one foot in the Golden Age designs of Seth Raynor and one in the more adventurous modern designs of Tom Fazio or Pete Dye. Both will be in view on the front nine.

Several holes loop around a sunken construction pit that since been reclaimed by nature following Kinderlou Forest’s arrival. The pit, now flowing with water and promoting marshland life, provides a series of risk-reward questions for players as they come around the scimitar-shaped par five at No. 4, with a crossing creek adding further intrigue. Players will then make a forced carry over the pit to reach the par three No. 5.

Across much of the course, however, players will notice the deep, geometrical greens that Love has utilized across his portfolio, a tribute to Raynor’s style.