For at least one day in mid-March of this year, Legacy Golf Links was on fire. Literally.
An electrical fire of undetermined origin burned the clubhouse of the executive golf course and practice facility in Smyrna, resulting in a total loss of the structure.
The reconstruction of the clubhouse is expected to begin soon, but for the past three months or so, the facility has been operating out of its cart barn, with plans for a trailer to assume that role in the near future until the new clubhouse is completed.
Legacy Golf Links general manager Gautam Patankar says dealing with the impact of the fire has been “a royal pain in the rear end.” But the facility resumed operations after being closed for four or five days, and play is beginning to pick up as the club’s clientele discover that despite the absence of a clubhouse, Legacy Golf Links is open.
The fire did not impact either the course or Legacy’s practice facility, which along with next door sister course Fox Creek is among the busiest in all of metro Atlanta. Both Legacy and Fox Creek are managed by Atlanta-based Mosaic, which has two decades in the club management field.
Mosaic has made $2 million in improvements since taking over the operation of Legacy and Fox Creek in 2016, with the recent enhancements including the Fox Creek clubhouse, which has expanded customer areas and added an outdoor patio.
From a golf course standpoint, the main improvements Mosaic has made at Legacy and Fox Creek are replacement of the bunkers, some tree work to open up the two courses and a dredging of the pond on the first hole at Fox Creek that has since been filled in.
The two courses, which are located along the well-traveled Windy Hill Rd. in Smyrna within close proximity of the new Braves stadium, have long been a popular destination for golfers who live or work in or near Cobb County.
Fox Creek opened in the mid 1980s with Legacy following about five years later. After operating separately in their early stages, the two facilities have been jointly owned and operated for some time, and serve as an excellent complementary pair.
Fox Creek plays to a par of 62, with six par 4s and a seventh hole of par-4 yardage that is listed as a par 5. Legacy is a par 58 with just four par 4s, all of which are positioned in the middle of the round. While Fox Creek features small, mounded greens that are reminiscent of greens complexes from several decades ago, Legacy’s more modern putting surfaces are no different than those you will find at upscale daily fee courses in metro Atlanta in terms of both design and quality.
The par 3s at Legacy range from just over 100 yards to a maximum of around 150 from the back tees. A few require carries over water, most notably the short but scenic third hole, which features some imposing boulders and a creek just short of a wide green.
Three of the par 4s are under 300 yards, but the first three (holes 10, 11 and 12) require considerable accuracy off the tee with very tight tree lines. The most entertaining of the four is the short 14th, which features a tree within the left side of the fairway that obstructs a direct path toward a drivable green.
PGA Hall of Famer Larry Nelson, a long-time Marietta resident, designed Legacy, which like its sister course, attracts a diverse group of golfers. The two executive courses are very accommodating to beginners, women and juniors who may not yet be ready to tackle a full-length layout. But both are also enjoyable visits for more experienced players looking to get in some work on their iron game or simply get in a quick round at a very affordable cost.
Each course is easy to walk, with greens and tees in close proximity, mostly level terrain and the reduced yardage as compared to a regulation layout.
Both facilities feature expansive practice areas which can handle a sizeable number of players, with both featuring lights, although Legacy is the only one of the two where the lights are currently in use.
“They both are extremely busy,” says Patankar, with two facilities sharing three veteran teaching pros who are well established members of the Georgia PGA. Brian Dixon, Bill Spannuth and Dan Rozek have all been teaching out of Legacy and Fox Creek for years and give the facility an experienced trio of instructors.
In addition to the improvements to the two courses, Mosaic has also invested in upgrading the experience of those utilizing the practice facilities, as well as upgrading the clubhouse at Fox Creek, with a new one coming to Legacy in the near future.
For information on Legacy Golf Links and Fox Creek, visit www.legacyfoxcreek.com, or call 770-434-6331 (Legacy) or 770-435-1000 (Fox Creek).