Golf Guide: Atlanta - GA

With more than 5 million people in the 28-country metro area Atlanta is the South's largest and fastest growing city and as home of Martin Luther King Jr., thus a civil rights mecca. Its striking glass and steel skyscrapers like Westin's Peachtree Plaza's mirrored-faced round towers, the 55-story Band of America Plaza along with other glittering structures, create a striking panorama.

Venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta is a big sports town, head base for the Atlanta Braves, NFL Falcons, NBA Hawks, and NLB Braves. Sprawling over more than 8,000 square miles, you can find pretty much anything you want from places to stay and dine and things to do including golf. More than a dozen courses are located in the city itself while others are in suburbs like Alpharetta and Marietta, many built as centerpieces for gated residential communities.

Some courses come with an interesting history like Bobby Jones Golf Course in Buckhead. a John Van Kleek design with roots back to the Civil War when The Battle of Peachtree Creek took place in the valley of the golf course. Today, Peachtree Battle Creek winds through this tree-lined track coming into play on five holes and players get a view of Atlanta's tallest buildings.

There are golf resorts like the French-inspired Chateau Elan Winery & Resort with two 18-hole courses, a par 3 nine hole course and an inn and there are solid municipal courses. Also find The Marietta Conference Center and Resort where guests play the City Club Marietta golf courses and Evergreen Marriott Resort at Stone Mountain 16 miles from downtown with two courses.

In the heart of the city find Centennial Olympic Park with its joyful fountains and tons of shopping everywhere. Check out the fun and funky neighborhood of Decatur right on the MARTA line, your conduit in, out and around Atlanta, cap off the evening at one of Atlanta's very in nightclubs or catch the Atlanta Jazz Festival. Your options are unlimited.