Take on the Thrilling Ups and Downs of Smoke Rise

Smoke Rise Golf & Country Club is proud of its 18-hole championship golf course designed by award-winning architect Gary Roger Baird of Nashville, Tenn. The par-72 course ambles over a setting of rolling terrain and offers many dramatic elevation changes and scenic views of Stone Mountain.

It’s a picturesque location with thick stands of hardwood and pine and creeks that create beautiful settings for greens and fairways. You’ll see very few houses in the area and you’ll be experiencing lots of birds and wildlife as you play.

The greens are fast and undulating and the lies can sometimes be a challenge. But length is not a problem.

“Most courses are so long that you really have to boom it,” said Dominic Stephens, our head golf professional. “But this is definitely a player’s course. It’s truly unique in the area. You don’t always have to take out your driver. You need to finesse many of your shots.”

There are lots of hazards on the course but the thinking golfer will enjoy the tests of strategy and accuracy.

You’ll start your round with a dogleg right par-4 (370 yards from the back tees and 277 from the front). Make your drive with a long iron or fairway wood to a generous landing area. But watch out for heavy bushes on the left and an overgrown hillside on the right. Your approach shot will take you downhill to a big green.

To book your tee time call us today at (770) 908-2582!

“You face an intimidating tee shot on No. 4,” said Stephens. This difficult dogleg left par-4 plays at 393 yards from the back and 289 from the front tees.

The issue is that you’re making a downhill tee shot to a landing area guarded by marsh on the left and an overgrown hill on the right. “Your ball really has nowhere to run,” Stephens said.

Yet you need to hit your tee shot far enough to carry the marsh so that you can make your second shot between large trees and over a creek to a wide but shallow green.

“The par-3s are among the most beautiful and scenic holes at Smoke Rise,” Stephens said.

And that’s certainly true of No. 11, regarded as our signature hole. You’ll be hitting your ball on this par-3 (188 yards from the back tees and 106 from the front) over a small lake to a green that is very wide but shallow from front to back. The green also has a large saddle in the middle. The left-hand and middle pin positions can be difficult to hit.

Our most demanding hole has got to be the 13th, a par-5 measuring 625 yards from the back tees and 441 from the front. Not only do you need distance here off the tee, you also need to cross a ravine on this tree-lined hole in order to reach the long, wide fairway. The third shot is slightly uphill to a shallow difficult green that is sloped from back to front. Many putts roll off the false front of the green and some of them end up in a bunker.

As you reach the last few holes, prepare yourself, says Stephens, because they can be tough.

Typical is the 16th, a beautiful par-5 dogleg left that measures 494 yards from the back tees and 410 from the front. Lots of scoring chances here but lots of trouble, too.

“You need a premium tee shot to position yourself for your next shot,” Stephens said. “You have to cross a creek that’s about 150 yards out.”

Distances, ratings and slopes at Smoke Rise: 6,783 yards (72.7/139); 6,306 (70.6/133); 5,794 (68.7/131-men; 74.3/139-women); 5,074 (69.6/123).

The par 72 course has a rating of 73.1 and 6799 yards from the black tees; see the scorecard for full yardages and handicap information from all tees.

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For more information on our course, please contact our golf professional staff:

Dominic R. Stephens, Head Golf Professional   

Jason Hall, Assistant Golf Professional 
 
Gabe Macon, Assistant Golf Professional   

Mike Lawrence, Golf Course Superintendent 

To book your tee time call us today at (770) 908-2582!