Ohoopee Match Club

Ohoopee Match Club- hole 8

History

Businessman Michael Walrath engaged architects Gil Hanse & Jim Wagner to build a special course on a former Onion farm in the Ohoopee Dunes system near Cobbtown in Georgia.

The course was named Ohoopee Match Club, and was specifically designed for Matchplay.

As such the course could be set up more for risk & reward than courses traditionally configured for stroke play.

The club facilities are first class and set up to accommodate every need for member's and their guests.

Ohoopee Match Club opened in 2018.

Course(s)

There are two courses in play at Ohoopee.

On day one we played the 18 hole championship course, which is the longer and the more challenging of the two courses.

On day two we played the Whisky Course which is shorter and a little easier..

There are 22 distinct holes at Ohoopee, with (obviously) 18 holes in play on the Championship course.

The Whisky course includes 10 holes from the championship course, albeit from different tees depending on how the players wish to set up.

It also includes four additional holes not included in the championship course.

And there are another four holes from the championship course with completely different tees and lines of attack.

It is a fascinating concept and works extremely well.

Essentially you play two different courses.

Ohoopee Match Club- a wee dram at the turn on the Whisky Routing

Crawford the caddie for both days was as good a caddie as I have ever employed

He carried a portable speaker and pumped out the 70’s and 80’s rock for the duration of the round.

It was great fun identifying the tunes and artists with him.

Most importantly he was able to communicate the angles of attack and read the greens very well.

Ohoopee is a matchplay course, so naturally Geoff and I played match play both days.

We were able to vary the playing of the hole substantially by going back or forward or sideways within the vast teeing areas.

Likewise many of the greens were larger than normal andoffered multiple pin positions- some of which dare the player to take on a smaller than usual landing area.

You could play for weeks on these two courses and play them differently each time.

Playing matchplay on such a course empowers a player to shoot for the pins a little more- a miss may result in a lost hole, but that can be recovered much easier than a wipe in stableford or stroke competitions.

The overall service levels of the team at Ohoopee were through the roof- from meals and hospitality, to accommodation and golf- the team was humming with professionalism and enthusiasm.

It made for a marvellous golfing experience..

Notable holes include:

Hole 2, a par 4.5 arcing around the lake to an attractively bunkered green on the water's edge

Ohoopee Match Club- hole 2