The Reserve at Lake Keowee

The Reserve at Lake Keowee – Played May 2014

• Rankings: None of the four lists
• Location: 2960 Crowe Creek Road, Sunset, South Carolina
• Year: 2002
• Architect: Jack Nicklaus
• Course Access: Private
• Walking Rules: Carts Available

Score Card Information:

• Black: 7,112 yards, Par 72, 74.5 Rating/148 Slope
• Blue: 6,810 yards, Par 72, 72.7 Rating/142 Slope
• White: 5,818 yards, Par 72, 70.8 Rating/134 Slope
• Gold: 5,605 yards, Par 72, 67.8 Rating/126 Slope
• Red: 5,019 yards, Par 72, 69.6 Rating/123 Slope

It’s always a nice change of pace when I get to play a local course that I have never had the pleasure of visiting. The Reserve at Lake Keowee fits that description.

I couldn’t find much information on the background of the course past a few details. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus. It has hosted a portion of the BMW Charity Pro-Am on the Web.com Tour for the past few years. It is located on the beautiful Lake Keowee in a mountainous setting that offers many beautiful views. Unfortunately, I did not have my regular camera with me on this day so I was relegated to the old phone camera.

There are five teeing options ranging from 7,112 to 5,019 yards. They also have a family set of tees which measure 2,464 yards. I thought this was a great idea that more public courses should consider. I decided to play the 6,731-yard Blue tees, which played to a par of 72.

The photo below exhibits a good example of the design of the course. This is the seventh hole, a 203-yard par three. As you can see it is downhill over a ravine.

Similar to many Nicklaus courses that I have seen, the course has wide fairways. I found that when there were doglegs there was almost always a bailout if you could not shape your shot how the hole set up. The two par fives on the front side were a good example of this concept. They both curved different ways, but each had plenty of room if you could not execute the desired fade or draw.

The greens were also very large. They were not overly contoured and were relatively easy to read.

The main selling point of the course was its playability. Even when the course showed its teeth there were stunning vistas to take your mind off the difficulty. The fifteenth is a perfect example of this as seen as in the photo below.

This is the approach on a 455-yard par four. The fairway is wide and the green offers a bailout area to the right. Even if you are hacking down this hole, the view makes it much more bearable!

Here is a shot from the right side of the fifteenth green showing more of the beautiful scenery.

The Reserve is a wonderful course. You can tell when you are playing it that the owner was going for a playable and fun golf course. As long as you choose the correct set of tees, this will be an enjoyable round of golf. The club is very well appointed and I enjoyed my time there. It was nice to get out after tax season and smell some fresh air!