GEORGIA GOLF TRAIL: See The Historic Sites

When you play golf along the Georgia Golf Trail, you will see there’s more to the Georgia Golf Trail than golf.  You will get to visit and learn about some of Georgia’s most historical and significant moments, mementos, and monuments.  In some respects, it all starts in Atlanta, if you happen to fly to Georgia.

After leaving the Atlanta airport, your nearest Georgia Golf Trail destination is the Stone Mountain State Park where you can play two highly acclaimed golf courses, Stonemont and Lakemont.  After golf, climb to the top of Stone Mountain, one of Georgia’s most unique geological formations.  The view from the top of Stone Mountain in all directions is worth the trek to the top.  Of course, check out the Mount Rushmore-like sculpture on the side of Stone Mountain which features the images of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson on horseback.  The artwork, completed in 1972, is the largest bas-relief artwork in the world.

Another great historical destination worth visiting is the City of Savannah, which is the oldest city in Georgia, as it was founded in 1733.  Later, Savannah was the first state capital of Georgia.  After playing golf at the Club at Savannah Harbor, a Bob Cupp and Sam Snead design, which is one of the courses along the Georgia Golf Trail, you should walk the city streets of Savannah where you can check out the city’s many ‘attractions’ — Southern cuisine restaurants, riverboat cruises along the Savannah River, architectural tours, spectacular art galleries, Civil War re-enactments, and the city’s number-one attraction — the Savannah Historic Theatre, which was established in 1818.  Of course, any visit to Savannah would be incomplete without a stroll along River Street or a visit to the Historic District of Savannah.

Very few golf course are blessed with such natural beauty and diversity as the Highland Walk Golf Course at Victoria Bryant State Park in Royston, Georgia.  This course’s ability to deliver customer satisfaction each and every round is one of the main reasons why Highland Walk is one of the 20+ destinations on the Georgia Golf Trail.

After golf at Highland Walk, visit the Traveler’s Rest State Historic Site, which is located near the intersection of Old King’s Highway and Unicoi Turnpike.  Traveler’s Rest is Georgia’s last stagecoach inn and the long-time residence of the Jarrett family.  The inn provides visitors a glimpse into early American travel and will give you a look at life in 19^th Century Georgia.  This stagecoach inn, and later a plantation home, was first built around 1815 by James Wyly.  In 1833, Wyly sold it to his neighbor Devereaux Jarrett, considered the wealthiest man in the Tugaloo Valley.  Jarrett kept it open as an inn but doubled its size to make it the home of his vast 14,400-acre plantation.  Three generations of the Jarrett family inhabited the site until the state of Georgia purchased the remaining few acres of the once-vast plantation in 1955.  Because of its architectural significance and its role in the early history of the area, Traveler’s Rest was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964. Today, visitors can tour the house and see many original artifacts and furnishings.

When you visit Callaway Resort & Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia, you get access to the Mountain View and Lake View golf courses.  Mountain View is the former home of the PGA Tour’s Buick Challenge.  Lake View is the original golf course at Callaway Resort & Gardens.  When the Lake View course was designed by J.B. McGovern and Dick Wilson, they were instructed to design a course that is as beautiful to visit as it is fun to play.  They were successful in their mission.

After golf, visit the historical venues in the area, specifically the Little White House that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had built in 1932 when he was the governor of New York, just before he was inaugurated as U.S. President in 1933.  Roosevelt visited nearby Warm Springs as he hoped that swimming in the nearly 90-degree spring water might help him cure his infantile paralysis (polio) that struck him in 1921.  The therapeutic water did help improve his physical mobility, but it did not cure him of polio.  Visitors who tour FDR’s home get to see it as he left it when he died on April 12, 1945.

If you visit Cordele, Georgia to play golf at the Georgia Veterans Memorial Golf Course at the Lake Blackshear State Park & Lodge, there’s a military museum on the premises of the park which is guided by the theme:  “Serve the Living, Honor Our Heroic Dead.”  Here, you’ll find inspiring indoor exhibits and outdoor installations which include a B-29A Superfortress, jets, tanks and a helicopter.  This is a must-see exhibit for families, school-age children, and those who served in the U.S. military.

“Clearly, there’s more to the Georgia Golf Trail than golf, as there is as much to do off the course for non-golfers as there is to do on the golf course for golfers,” said Georgia Golf Trail founder Doug Hollandsworth.

For more information about places to visit along the Georgia Golf Trail, please access www.GeorgiaGolfandTravel.com.