A Labor Day Weekend Stop at Savannah’s Municipal Golf Course

SAVANNAH, Ga. - The city of Savannah itself drips with history. From its celebration of Georgia's founding father James Ogelthorpe to its role in recent Hollywood lure as the scene of Forrest Gump's bus stop bench, the first colonial capital of Georgia is a living, breathing museum.

Each year thousands of tourists descend upon this Southern treasure to witness its remarkable beauty first hand, stroll through its squares, walk along its river and enjoy a charm and elegance that few modern cities can match. 

Basically, you can't go wrong with a visit to Savannah.

Fortunate enough to live just 45 minutes from the historic old haunt, I packed up my golf clubs and headed out to Bacon Park, a municipal course just outside of the downtown area, with my best friend from college for a little Labor Day Weekend golf.

Bacon Park is a 27-hole facility that features three different nines - Live Oaks, Magnolia and Cypress. We played the Live Oaks/Magnolia combination.

Live Oaks was originally built in 1926 by the legendary Donald Ross. It is the longest of the three courses, measuring 3428 from the back tees. Magnolia was added as the third nine in 1985 and was created by the design team of Denis Griffiths and Ron Kirby when they redesigned the entire golf course.

J. Porter Gibson was the other architect to work on this course; he redesigned nine holes and added three others in 1971.

It's no secret that one of the first things we all notice about a golf course is the cost. Bacon Park is quite a bargain at $38 for green fees and a cart on the weekend.

There were moments and images throughout the round that reminded us that this was a municipal course. There were dead spots on the first green and patches of weeds and crab grass surrounding some of the bunkers and greens. But at times, we completely forgot we were playing a muni because of the beautiful scenery and course conditions.

For the most part the 18 holes we played were very straightforward and reachable in regulation. There were even a few par 4's that were drivable. A few of the par-5's required carries over water and turned out to be rather difficult. As expected, the greens were firm and took a little getting used to. In late August, quick putting surfaces should be expected, especially at a municipal course.

We did encounter some confusing routing that made it difficult to tell which hole was next or what green we were aiming for, but overall, this course is an excellent value for the money and has tremedous potential to be a fantastic layout if more resources were at its disposal. The length is there as is the beautiful scenery you'd expect from this amazing city . It's definitely a great alternative to the pricey Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort and the private Savannah Golf Club.

The laidback atmosphere can't be overlooked. A higher price tag generally means more crowds, a longer list of rules and regulations and greater pressure to shoot a better score. At Bacon Park, you can just kick back and enjoy yourself for an afternoon and maybe remember a time when you enjoyed playing the game and didn't take it so seriously.

For more information on this golf facility, call 912-354-2625 or visit www.baconparkgolf.com. Bacon Park is located just off the Harry S. Truman Parkway at 1 Shorty Cooper Drive.

Here are some photos from our day at Bacon Park. 

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