I struggled with whether to give Heritage Golf Links 3 or 4 stars. In the end, I decided to give the club 4 stars because the course layout is scenic and fun and the course was in good condition when we played. It was a great value and we enjoyed our round, but it was not without its fair share of problems.
Heritage has three nines: Heritage, Legacy, and Tradition. Tradition is the club's newest nine. When we played, Tradition's greens had recently been aerated so we played Legacy followed by Heritage. From the tips, Legacy-Heritage measures 6,875 yards with a rating/slope of 70.6/138.
The scorecard is confusing because it shows all three nines, but only totals for Legacy-Heritage. Also, the individual hole handicaps on the scorecard don't make sense. I don't know what's the easiest way to explain it other than to say if you play Heritage-Tradition or Tradition-Legacy, you'll be scratching your head wondering while multiple holes have the same handicap. For example, Heritage No. 2 is the No. 2 handicap hole, but so is Tradition No. 1. Huh?
One thing I like about Heritage is it's not located too far from the city and it sure beats most, if not all, of the public courses inside the perimeter. However, Heritage is also a victim of its own success. This place is popular. It's the most crowded golf course I've ever played on, not just in metro Atlanta, but anywhere.
I heard from a member that they schedule tee times 8 minutes apart here. That's fine, but for a public course that sees a lot of beginner and recreational golfers, that might be a bit too ambitious. I don't work in the golf industry, so what do I know? I was told to prepare for a 6-hour round and reviews on Yelp only confirmed the slow play.
Our foursome was able to finish in about 5 hours, which I was fine with. From the 1st tee through the 18th green, there was always a group directly ahead and directly behind us. The course was very busy and they packed the rounds in good. Fortunately, we never had any major holdups and the foursome ahead of us kept pace pretty well.
Our foursome paid $45.99 per golfer for a Saturday morning tee time through TeeOff.com. This was a good deal considering we would've paid $69 each if we booked directly through the pro shop.
Heritage has a nice driving range with a couple different tiers. You hit off of grass as opposed to mats. Tickets for range balls can be purchased inside the pro shop. They have one of those machines where you punch a code into the ball dispenser to get balls. The practice putting green is also nice as is the short game area. Like the course, the range, practice putting green, and short game area were quite crowded during our visit.
It was so crowded that we had problems getting a golf cart for our 10:40 AM tee time. All the carts had been taken. The fellow handing the bag drop had to grab a partially charged cart from the garage. It was missing a windshield, scorecard, and pin sheet. When we pulled up to the starter, he gave us the pin position for the day, but it did us no good because neither of our foursome's carts had a pin sheet. The starter said he'd get us a pin sheet, but we never got one.
The course is very hilly with all sorts of undulations on both the fairways and greens. The greens were in terrific shape, comparable to a lot of private clubs' greens. The tee boxes were different. Some of them were pretty beat up. The fairways and rough were in alright condition. For the price we paid on a public course, I wasn't complaining. The course also has a lot of bunkers. Several of the bunkers had pipes sticking out of them, which isn't aesthetically pleasing, but at least they drain (unlike some other courses I've played on).
Overall, I'd say the layout is challenging, but scorable for most skill levels. I'm not sure I'd recommend this course for a beginner or even too many recreational golfers due to several narrow fairways and hazards. The Legacy and Heritage nines surround a large pond. Those holes where water is in play (I think there's 6 of them) are especially beautiful. The clubhouse also has a scenic view of the water. The clubhouse has a bar/grill and a small pro shop. It's classed up, but still fairly basic.
The employees I've encountered have been polite, friendly, and helpful. During our round, I think we saw a marshal once, maybe twice. There was no food and beverage cart service.
In the end, I do recommend Heritage Golf Links. Just be cognizant of the crowds on the weekends.
Other facts: Dr. J (Julius Erving) purchased this club in 2006 and renamed it Celebrity Golf Club. It foreclosed in 2010. In April that year, Affiniti Golf (now Mosaic Clubs & Resorts) took over and made changes, one of which was naming the club Heritage Golf Links. Yet another ownership group, Triumph Golf, took over in June 2015. I'm not sure if there were other ownership changes between Affiniti and Triumph, but regardless, there seems to have been a lot of turnover here over the years. read more