Perhaps the best course in Georgia very few in the state have heard of, let alone played, is located in the community of Richmond Hill, less than 20 miles south of Savannah on the Ogeechee River.
The Ford Plantation is a Pete Dye design (one of only two in the state) that was originally built in the late 1980s as essentially a plaything for a wealthy Saudi businessman, who then owned the expansive property that was once the winter home of famed industrialist Henry Ford.
Dye recently completed an extensive $7 million-plus renovation of the course, which is now owned by its membership and is debt free.
After the year-long project was completed, the renovated course re-opened in October and is the spectacular centerpiece of a private 1,800-acre sporting club that features ample amounts of amenities and natural beauty, as well as a colorful history that dates back to the mid 1700s.
The modern history of the property, which included three antebellum rice plantations, began in 1925 when it was purchased by Henry Ford, and once encompassed some 70,000 acres (120 square miles) south of Savannah along the Ogeechee River.
Ford built a winter home on the property during the 1930s, and his former residence is now known as The Main House. The architectural treasure’s five guest suites upstairs are used to lodge out-of-town visitors, with the downstairs rooms serving as a meeting place for the club’s members. The downstairs area includes a formal living room, library and cozy breakfast room serving some of the tastiest and heartiest morning meals you will experience.
The atmosphere surrounding both The Main House and the Clubhouse, which overlook the Ogeechee River and low country marshlands, is friendly and accommodating. The Clubhouse serves lunch and dinner upstairs and offers some splendid views along with exceptional dining in a distinctly Southern setting.
The club’s amenities begin with a Marina that has been expanded from the original built by Henry Ford for his cabin cruiser Little Lulu. It can accommodate boats up to 65 feet and features the Ogeechee Outfitters Store, which can equip those with tastes for hunting, fishing and shooting.
Other amenities include an equestrian center, a fitness center and full-service spa, three Har-Tru tennis courts, two pools and 10 miles of hiking trails.
Membership is limited to property owners, with about 100 sites still available among the six neighborhoods within the development. The Ford Plantation has also made two types of National Memberships for non-property owners available by invitation only. In addition to The Main House, accommodations include a number of privately owned cottages and homes.
The renovation of the course was originally planned as a restoration to make infrastructure upgrades, but it expanded into a full re-design, with Dye expanding the corridors, significantly altering the greens complexes and shifting some tees and greens from their original locations.
The level of much of the back nine was also raised along with the addition of major drainage enhancements to enable the low-lying course to quickly recover after periods of heavy rain.
The end result is a course that has already been named by Golf Digest as one of the top new courses of 2014 and is ranked among the best in Georgia.
Dye says it rates with his best Southern designs, which is no small compliment considering his resume of Southern layouts includes TPC Sawgrass, Harbour Town and the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.
The Ford Plantation course, formerly known as Ogeechee Golf Club at the Ford Plantation, features two distinctly different nines with a few notable similarities.
The tree-lined front nine circles around the interior of the property, with six different lakes bordering holes 2 through 7. The compact back nine is surrounded on three sides by Lake Clara, named for Ford’s wife, and was constructed on the site of a rice plantation amid the marshes. The nine is almost devoid of trees, with panoramic views of the entire nine available from several spots.
Dye re-designed the course for member play, although a back set of tees that measure 7,400 yards will give the best tour players a run for their money. Savannah native and resident Gene Sauers, who suffered a life-threatening skin disorder that has since been treated, played his comeback round of golf at the Ford Plantation before resuming his pro career.
The Ford Plantation course features five sets of tees, with a combination set between the gold (6,800 yards) and blue (6,150). The white tees measure 5,763 yards and the forward tees are right at 5,000. The course is rated at 75.9/142 (black), 73.1/135 (gold), 71.4/133 (combo), 70.0/128 (blue) and 68.3/125 (white).
The fairways on the parkland-style front nine have been significantly expanded, but the constant presence of bordering hazards and waste areas – a Dye staple at Atlanta National, his other Georgia design – will prevent you from getting too complacent when viewing the ample fairways in front of you.
With an exception or two, length is not a major concern, with the intriguing group of par 3s on the short side and no monster par 4s, apart from a handful of holes from the tips. The par 5s are inviting from the blue and white tees, with two of them just a shade over 500 yards from the golds.
Although the many lakes and marshes border all but a handful of holes, only a few shots have to clear hazards to reach greens (mostly on pa r 3s), with no forced carries of serious length. However, a number of holes have water not that far removed from the putting surfaces, which will result in some precarious approaches depending on the angle of the shot.
When Dye widened the corridors, he also made extensive changes around the greens, involving bunkering, mounding and the putting surfaces themselves. The greens complexes can be very demanding, with your short game, green reading skills and putting touch all likely to face some tests that can seem as daunting as the SATs from your scholastic days.
A number of the greens are raised up just enough from fairway level as to require some delicate pitch shots to get close to front hole locations. With mounds and slight fall-offs along the edges, you will likely encounter a few shots along the way that leave little margin for error, with Dye also utilizing some tiny greenside bunkers that can produce some awkward lies or stances. Some of them have relatively steep faces that can be a concern if you get too close.
Then there are the putting surfaces themselves. The Tift Eagle greens are excellent, extremely firm and quick and feature plenty of movement, much of it around the hole locations. Downhill putts, even ones that are reasonably flat, tend to roll out, and you can expect to face plenty of comebackers if you get the least bit aggressive.
With the changes Dye made to the greens complexes, the club’s members will have an entertaining, if sometimes perplexing time, learning their nuances, as well as pondering the length of putts they’re going to concede to their playing partners.
From the opening tee shot on the first hole to the last putt on the demanding 18th, the Ford Plantation provides a succession of appealing views and memorable holes, with Dye creating a truly unique and thoroughly enjoyable golf experience that is comparable to the best courses on St. Simons and Hilton Head islands.
The course conditions are superb tee to green, with the Celebration Bermuda fairways providing an outstanding playing surface to go along with the quality of the putting surfaces.
With so many holes that will stick in your memory after you’ve played the Ford Plantation, there is not a solitary “Signature” hole on the course. The tree-lined opening hole is a par 4 of modest length and one of a handful with no water in play. It is among the tightest on the course, with a narrow green protected on the right by one of Dye’s many waste bunkers that frequently serve the role of keeping your ball from ending up in an even more unpleasant spot.
You get your first look at one of the many lakes in play at the Ford Plantation on the second hole, a longer, dogleg left par 4 with the lake and a thin strip of waste bunker all the way down the left side and a friendly mound right of one of many greens with all sorts of movement.
Water remains in play on every hole on the front side until you reach the ninth, the shorter of the two relatively narrow par 5s on the nine, each of which feature some interesting greenside bunker patterns.
Both par 3s on the nine require carries over water, but neither has much length, with the fourth featuring one of the more Dye-abolical putting surfaces on the course, and the eighth sporting a 250-year old oak tree just behind the green.
Holes 5, 6 and 7 all have greens perched precariously close to lakes, with the narrow 6th including OB stakes tight to the right and some trees that can impede approach shots from both sides.
The links-style back nine begins with a short par 4 guarded by the marsh on the left and a waste bunker and Lake Clara on the right. The marshes and/or lakes are in play on the remaining par 4s on the nine, three of which have ample length, with the short-ish 14th surrounded by the marsh but bunker-free.
The 18th is a standout finishing hole, with an angled tee shot that has to clear marsh and a helpful waste bunker down the left side to set up the best approach to a green well-guarded by sand to the right.
Both par 3s on the incoming nine are short but pesky and subject to coastal breezes, with the 17th surrounded by a variety of bunkers and its small, angled green a tough target to hit.
The two par 5s are also on the friendly side, as long as you stay out of the sand on the relatively short 11th and avoid the marsh along both sides of the fairway at the 16th.
Thanks to Dye’s creative re-design, the Ford Plantation is likely to attract more attention for the quality of its golf course, which is just part of a private community with plenty to offer to those able to take advantage of the opportunity.
For membership information, contact Marianne Schofield at 912-756-2013, or visit www.fordplantation.com