Bent Tree Country Club

The terrain here is genuine southern Appalachian foothills, which means elevation change, wooded ridgelines, and the kind of scenery that makes a wayward shot at least briefly forgivable. Pickens County sits about an hour north of Atlanta, where the Georgia piedmont begins its climb toward the Blue Ridge, and the course plays through exactly the sort of mature hardwood and pine landscape you'd expect from that geography. Fall color can be striking, and the cooler elevation makes summer rounds more comfortable than much of the Atlanta metro area.

As a private members' club, Bent Tree rewards those who learn its contours — the foothills terrain almost certainly produces uneven lies, elevated greens, and holes that demand local knowledge to score well on.