 Cateechee Golf Club
gets top honor
from Georgia Fairways
TravelGolf.com Staff Report
HARTWELL, Ga. (Jan. 27, 2004) -- Cateechee
Golf Club here has been named the top course in the state daily-fee
category by Georgia Fairways magazine.
"Cateechee easily gets our vote. This Mike Young-designed course ... has a
club with amenities to equal any private club in the Southeast," wrote
Georgia Fairways Editor Judy Putnam.
"Judy's right," said Cateechee General Manager Mike Cofer, who oversees the
highly acclaimed Cateechee Conference Center and Waterfall Grille as well as
the golf operations. "It is as nice as any private club in the Southeast. We
just have to get the word out and let people know about it and that we now
have suites for overnight stay."
While the golf course opened in 1999, the conference center and grille both
opened Feb. 5, 2003, and hosted the first Audubon International Conference
that month. Since then, the Waterfall Grille has become the region's choice
restaurant and the conference center, under event coordinator Jennifer
Murdock, is heavily booked, including four different county proms this April
and May.
Meanwhile, the club has added 400 yards and another stroke to par, as well
as 16 greenside and fairway bunkers and other improvements, so that
Cateechee now tips the scales at just about 7,000 yards and par-72.
"They really shine," Putnam said, who revisited the club recently with a
Georgia Fairways staff member who is a low-handicap golfer. "We got one
extreme perspective to another. The golf course is unique and, as an Audubon
Signature Course, there is so much natural beauty and it is so quiet."
"Their jaws dropped for about 30 minutes, saying, 'What is this doing here
in Hartwell,
Ga.?' " Cofer recalled. "The golf course is in tremendous shape.
The greens are playing phenomenally. Starting in October, we saw
an upswing in golf play. The way the economy goes, so goes golf.
We're seeing consistently better numbers out on the course."
With the Waterfall Conference Center and Grille approaching their first
anniversary, Cofer said they "exceeded our expectations and our goals. We
broke our revenue goal on New Year's Eve, more than a month ahead of
schedule."
Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.
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