If James Bond is ever portrayed as a gentleman golfer doing his cloak-and-dagger sophisticated hijinks at a luxurious Southern spa, filmmakers likely will pick the Reynolds Plantation and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Georgia as the locale.

After all, that's one of the few places in the world where you can combine five-diamond accomodations with five-star golf.

Tucked away on Georgia's beautiful Lake Oconee off Interstate Highway 20 near Greensboro halfway between Atlanta and Augusta, the sprawling 10,000-acre Reynolds Plantation includes five world-class golf courses, internationally-acclaimed tennis and a plethora of recreational water activities along 80 miles of Lake Oconee shoreline.

All this and a highly-acclaimed spa as well.

Naturally, all this does not come cheaply. But if your wallet can stand it you will be hard-pressed to find a better place to play golf, smack a tennis ball, wet a fishing line, rein a horse through a pine forest or soak away in a lux spa.

Named the "Best of the Best" Golf Community by the Robb Report, Reynolds Plantation features 99 holes of championship golf from designers Jack Nicklaus, Bob Cupp, Tom Fazio, and Rees Jones. The facility's fifth full 18-hole course, the Creek, designed by Golf Digest "Architect of the Year" Jim Engh, opened for member play this spring.

In addition to its championship golf, Reynolds Plantation features award-winning dining, swimming pools, tennis courts, pedestrian walking trails, three full-service marinas and a lakefront Lake Club and tennis complex. GOLF Magazine chose Reynolds Plantation as the site of the 2004 Golf Dream House, their first-ever attempt to build "the ultimate home for a golfer," with their first-ever such home, opening this year.

The first four courses are open to members and anyone staying at The Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation, a $125 million 251-room lakefront resort and spa with its grand lawn sloping down to the lake,

. In the early 1900s, the plantation was a hunting and fishing retreat for the Reynolds family, which still owns the property. Inventor Mercer Reynolds Sr. called his lodge "Linger Longer," reflecting the family's desire to linger just a little longer when it was time to leave the tranquil setting. The road leading to the area is now called Linger Longer Road. Both of the current principals in the community, Mercer Reynolds and Jamie Reynolds, have homes at Reynolds Plantation.

At the world-class spa the air is filled with the smell of juniper, and Southern-inspired treatments include the "Bamboo Lemongrass Body Polish" and "Aqua Latte Milk Bath" for two.

Man-made Lake Oconee has 375 miles of shoreline. Georgia Power Co. formed the lake to produce hydroelectric energy, completing the damming of the Oconee River in 1979. It's 100 feet deep in some places.

Bike paths and running trails meander along the edges of golf fairways and through the woods. Families can lounge by an infinity pool and on a small, sandy beach.

Membership in the various courses range from $15,000 to $90,000 for initiation and monthly dues range from about $76 to $439. Home sites range from 1/2 acre to 9-plus acres, with an average being roughly 3/4 of an acre. Home sizes range from 2,500 to 5,000 square feet. The Plantation now has about 1,600 private homes, with the first being built in 1987. Reynolds Plantation has some of the best tennis facilities in the world, but the star of the show is the fantastic golf layouts.

Here is a thumbnail about each course:

--The Creek Club: Reynolds Plantation's fifth golf masterpiece opened for member play on June 1, 2007. The Creek Course is Reynolds Plantation’s first-ever member only course, and was designed by 2003 Golf Digest Architect of the Year Jim Engh. Featuring Engh’s distinctive, rolling bunkers, exclusive Zoysia grass fairways and stunning home sites, The Creek Club continues the legacy of golfing excellence synonymous with the Reynolds name.The natural detail of this property includes rolling topography which lends itself to spectacular view corridors from every angle. The well-appointed clubhouse has been purposefully designed to capture the same enchanting feeling and refined atmosphere as the meticulously detailed Creek Club course. Richland Creek and its tributaries flank many of the 18 holes at The Creek Club. The course features a unique blend of turfgrass that has only been used on a handful of courses around the world. Although each of the holes offers many memorable features, the finishing hole has a rugged rocky ridge and three separate greens in order to allow members to have a unique golf experience each time the course is played.


--Great Waters: Opened in 1992, this is one of Jack Nicklaus's signature courses and offers players some of the most dramatic golf scenery in the Southeast. Nine holes line the shores of Lake Oconee, offering both exciting challenges and spectacular views. The spectacular million-dollar plus homes that permeate the 7,051 yard golf course are an architecutural attraction in themselves. Golf and Travel magazine ranked Great Waters among its top 40 American courses for real estate. This course has already hosted several national tournaments and will be the site of the last two rounds of the $550,000 PGA Professional Tournament in 2008.

-- Reynolds Landing: This will be the site of the first two rounds of the 41st PGA Professional National Championship, the showcase event for PGA Professionals, which will be contested June 19-22, 2008. The national Golf Channel will telecast all four rounds of the tournament. Designed by Bob Cupp and opened for play in 1986, Reynolds Landing (formerly Port Armor) was the first golf course built on Lake Oconee, the second largest lake in Georgia. At its opening, it was called one of the state's finest golf courses. It features a variety of holes that wend through naturally wooded areas and rolling hills, with three holes that wrap along the lake shoreline. It is one of the premium tests of golf on Lake Oconee.

--The National: The new Fazio nine at the National Course is a delight, with vast, rollicking fairways framed by flowering dogwoods that lend an Augusta National-like touch in the springtime. Designed by Tom Fazio, the National is the third gem at Reynolds Plantation. Boasting 27-holes, The National features impressive elevations, wonderful views and several holes skirting the shores of Lake Oconee. The site, with dense forests of hardwoods, pines, flowering wild dogwoods and some of Lake Oconee's most dramatic lakefront topography, provides a perfect canvas for the artistry of Fazio, one of golf's premier modern architects.


--The Oconee: A beautiful course with some of the most stunning closing holes to be found anywhere, with streams, waterfalls and a signature wooden bridge over an inlet connecting the 18th tee to the fairway. This Rees Jones course is within walking distance of the Riz Carlton Hotel and provides an idyllic Georgia setting for an authentic golf experience. With his traditional philosophy of golf architecture that features strategic design, Jones has created a classical masterpiece. The course is also near the new Reynolds Golf Academy. In September 2007 the Oconee Course will host the 22nd PGA Cup, a Ryder Cup-style competition matching a United States team of PGA Professionals against Great Britain and Ireland.

The Ritz-Carlton is certainly a first-class hotel with customer service as one of its greatest credits. The hotel was named among the "World's Best Places to Stay" in Conde Nast Traveler's 2006 Gold List and ranked No. 7 on the list of "Top Hotels and Resorts in America" by Travel + Leisure.

Guests checking in are greeted in the lobby with offerings of fresh lemonade and cups of pecan nuts.

The hotel has a half-dozen places to dine, including two full-service restaurants.

Though an obvious first-class operation, we found some less than attractive flaws that one would not expect to find in such a ranked hotel. A light bulb was out in one of our room lamps, for each day there was inconsistent hotwater flow (with up to 30-40 minutes of nothing but cold water), the ice machine was located in a secondary room not marked (very difficult to find), elevators are not easily found and the nearest guest parking is about 300 yards away at the parking lot of the Oconee Golf Course. Valet parking is available, but not everyone wants to deal with this system.

Ritz-Carlton rates are seasonal, starting from $180 per night for standard rooms (from $350 during high season, mid-March to mid-November); from $375 for cottages ($850 in high season). Special packages are also available. For information or reservations, call 800-241-3333 or go to www.ritzcarlton.com.

For information on Reynolds Plantation,100 Linger Longer Road,Greensboro, Ga., 30642, call 1-800-800-5250 or visit their website at www.reynoldsplantation.com

This story was published on 11 Jul 2007.