Ohoopee Match Club

Course of Ohoopee Match Club in rural Tattnall County occupies just a tiny portion of the 3,500-acre estate which was previously utilized for the production of onions. It is now owned by an entrepreneur along with "angel" investment guru, Michael Walrath. Ohoopee Match Club is a low-key property where the owners and members, along with their families, play golf without throngs of visitors.

Gil Hanse set out 22 holes in a sloping forest-lined lakeside with broad fairways, and soiled sand that rings oak trees. The style of the clubhouse, lodge, and cabins was influenced by the agricultural structures that are found in the surrounding region, allowing the whole project to blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape.

The Whiskey Route at Ohoopee Match Club

Four extra holes are combined with 14 modified holes from the main golf course to create the alternative "Whiskey Route" layout. Holes 2-5 are omitted and replaced with the additional four holes. The par fives on holes 6 and 11 are transformed into par fours. The 13th hole, a long par three, and the short fourteenth par 4 are reversed. The remaining 10 holes play from the forward tees which results in a 5,610-yard course that is par 69 in comparison to the 7,319-yard Par 72 Championship layout.

Ohoopee Match Club Golf Course Description

Half-par holes offer many chances to score - risk and reward is the motivating strategy. By design, the layout encourages you to take risks to build momentum or pile the pressure on your opponent. Ohoopee Match Club is a winter-time course that is open from the fall through spring but is closed in the summer due to the excessive heat. A walking-only club, golf carts are not permitted.

Paul Rudovksy, an extremely well-travelled centurion, remarks that Ohoopee Match Club is not only well-designed but very strategic. To him, it is reminiscent of both The Old Course at St. Andrews and Kingston Heath in the Melbourne Sandbelt.

Fairways, for the most part, are incredibly large. Often, when you are looking for an approach shot that is safe and playable, you need to be flirting with real danger - mostly tough bunkers and randomly excessive grass… despite there being no manicured rough.

Ohoopee Match Club forces the golfer to make decisions. The greens are massive and look like mergers of multiple bowls separated by high ridges. In many ways, the greens seem inspired by Gil Hanse' work at Streamsong Black.

One of the most appealing aspects of this course is that it includes 18 fantastic holes weaved together to create an amazing routing. The course is a masterpiece of "ebb and flow". Apart from the walk from the 1st green to the 2nd tees, the walks between holes are mostly a short distance. The golf course is home to five distinct looks/feels but the shift from one to the other is smooth and seamless.

Conditions, as you'd expect, are excellent. The course drains incredibly well and the design takes advantage of the sand base both in construction and presentation.

The clubhouse was constructed by the same architectural firm that built that clubhouse in Chechessee Creek. Functional, cosy, simple, and welcoming are the words that immediately spring to mind.