Waterfall Club – Played Fall 2024
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 1105 Waterfall Drive, Clayton, Georgia
- Year: 1999
- Architect: Scott Pool
- Course Access: Private
- Walking Rules: Carts Available
Score Card Information:
- Black: 6,674 yards, Par 71, 73.7 Rating/145 Slope
- Blue: 6,363 yards, Par 71, 72.8 Rating/139 Slope
- Members: 6,153 yards, Par 71, 71.7 Rating/137 Slope
- Gold: 5,947 yards, Par 71, 69.7 Rating/132 Slope
- White: 5,488 yards, Par 71, 67.3 Rating/125 Slope (Men’s), 73.4 Rating/138 Slope (Women’s)
- Brown: 4,748 yards, Par 71, 64.9 Rating/121 Slope (Men’s), 69.5 Rating/126 Slope (Women’s)
- Forward: 4,384 yards, Par 71, 66.7 Rating/123 Slope
I added to my tradition of playing golf on the Wednesday of Thanksgiving week at the Waterfall Club. There wasn’t much history on the course to be found, so we’ll be diving right into the course tour. Let’s go.
Hole 1 – 305 yards – Par 4
Right out of the gate, you have options. Try to drive the green, fit one in between the bunkers, or be somewhere in the middle? The choice is yours.
Hole 2 – 185 yards – Par 3
This is one of the biggest elevation changes from tee to green that I’ve ever seen. Standing on the front of this green could make you a little dizzy. I don’t know what to tell you about how much to club down. Pick a club and swing confidently!
Hole 3 – 376 yards – Par 4
Be careful with club selection here because while the fairway seems wide, you can run out of room on the left and straightaway. With plenty of slope on the left side of this hole, you’ll want to err towards the right side all the way to the green.
Hole 4 – 199 yards – Par 3
Left and long is not good from this tee. The front bunker is deep, but it’s not the worst place to miss.
As you can see, the green is bisected by a ridge. You’ll need to be on the correct section to have a simpler putt.
Hole 5 – 433 yards – Par 4
If you didn’t know by know, Waterfall Club is a mountain course and with that comes severe elevation change. The fifth is a prime example of that. Keeping your drive on the right section of the fairway provides for the best angle to the green.
You can see the undulation of the green from the fairway so it’s crucial to find the proper level with your approach shot.
Hole 6 – 357 yards – Par 4
Driver isn’t a necessity on this pinched-in, uphill hole. Rather than distance, you want to avoid the fairway bunkers with this tee shot.
Spin control is important to the elevated green that has a small slope fronting it.
Hole 7 – 232 yards – Par 3
The architect is not playing any tricks here. This is just a big and brawny par three that will likely require a club with a headcover.
Hole 8 – 307 yards – Par 4
The eighth is one of the most interesting holes at Waterfall Club. On your first visit, you’ll definitely be wondering what is around the corner of this dogleg left. Pick a club that can get you to the fairway and clear of the mounding.
Once you get past the landmass, the green presents itself slightly perched in a cool spot of the property.
Hole 9 – 493 yards – Par 5
This is a chance to go get a birdie. The fairway is wide but you’ll want to stay to the right since the slope drops off on the left. You can see the green in the distance to the right.
As with the tee shot, the name of the game here is to not miss left.
Hole 10 – 450 yards – Par 5
The back nine starts you off with another gettable par five. Big hitters can challenge a downslope in the fairway to produce extra long drives. From there, it’s all about judging your distance to the elevated green with plenty of slope and a false front.
Hole 11 – 147 yards – Par 3
This hole is a bit of a mirror image of the fourth hole. It plays shorter but features the large, front bunker, but this time it is on the right side. When the course is firm, the slopes on the left should feed shots down onto the green.
Hole 12 – 347 yards – Par 4
As you can probably guess, you don’t want to be on the left slope. Drives in the fairway should set up good looks at a green where the only bad misses are long or right.
Hole 13 – 390 yards – Par 4
Your aim will be critical here along with figuring out the downhill adjustment. Longer players can take a daring line to the left of the fairway bunkers, but if they don’t make it, an awkward sidehill lie in the rough awaits. With the leafless trees, you can see the entirety of the hole from the tee, which I imagine influences a bit more aggression.
Hole 14 – 454 yards – Par 4
With the length of this hole, I was thankful for the elevated tee box. You’ve got all the room in the world right but the hole gets shorter if you challenge the left side.
A good tee shot is the primary difficulty here, but don’t sleep on the green that has a bit more slope than it appears to from a distance.
Hole 15 – 532 yards – Par 5
Trees on the left and a steep slope on the right make this wide fairway feel a bit more narrow. The hole doesn’t really open up on the left side so you can’t stray too far that way. If you find the fairway, the second shot is wide open and begs for you to go for it even if you will come up short.
The green has a massive ridge that can’t be fully appreciated from the fairway. So take note of the pin position and make sure you’re on the correct level.
Hole 16 – 495 yards – Par 5
I found this to be one of the most intimidating tee shots at Waterfall Club. Sure there is some rough on the right, but if you miss anywhere left it’s an infinitely tougher hole. The architect does give you the option to play it as a three shot hole and lay back off the tee though.
The hole doesn’t get any wider as you go along.
This is one of the more unique green sites on the property because it is nestled next to this large rock face. Add to that the pronounced slope and there is a lot to take in here.
Hole 17 – 218 yards – Par 3
I couldn’t confirm it, but I believe this is the signature hole at the Waterfall Club. Thankfully, the tees were up a little, and I didn’t have to play this hole at the listed yardage.
Hole 18 – 443 yards – Par 4
Keep your drive up the right side here or it’s going in the hazard. The approach shot is a good bit easier than the tee shot. It plays to a green that is a generous target and slopes from back to front.
Waterfall Club is nestled onto a pretty severe piece of property, but the layout does it’s best to stifle the bad breaks that can be common with mountain golf. There is still severe elevation change and you have to be on point with your distance control. You don’t see are overly contoured fairways that penalize good drives though. Bring a camera and enjoy the scenic views while you’re tested on the course.