Who says golf has to be expensive? Historic College Park Golf Course is a great value. It's budget…read moregolf. You can play 9 holes with cart for $17.44 or 18 holes with cart for $26. This course is as unpretentious as it gets. The staff is very friendly and there are no tee times. You just walk up and play. It's first-come, first-served.
Note: This is a 9-hole course.
The course is located just 2-3 miles west of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It's less than a 10-minute drive from the airport. Airport employees, College Park residents (30337 zip code), seniors, students, military, and law enforcement can play at discounted rates.
Now you may be wondering, at rates this low, what the condition of the course is like. In my experience, the course conditions have been surprisingly good from (most) tee boxes to fairways to greens. I've paid more to play on courses in worse shape. Tee boxes are often neglected at public courses, but several of the tee boxes here have been in relatively good shape (for a muni) the times I've played.
One reason this course can get away with such low prices is it's no-frills. The clubhouse is tiny. It's got a check-in counter, a little kitchen, fridges, a couple tables, a TV, and a mishmash of golf equipment including old clubs and rentable push/pull carts if you decide to walk. There is only one restroom for each sex. There are no locker rooms or various amenities or anything like that.
The range ball machine is old and operated using arcade machine tokens. Sometimes, the tokens won't catch so you'll have to keep trying until the balls start coming out. A bucket of 30 range balls costs $3.21, 60 range balls costs $5.89, and 90 range balls costs $8.56. Range balls are a grab bag of Nike, Pinnacle, and Wilson Staff. The range is small and you can hit off either grass or mats. The range doesn't have club stands, further evidence of the no-frills description above. There is a tiny practice putting green with only two pins. The practice facilities are in adequate shape.
As for the course, there are no bunkers. There is a creek (Camp Creek) and a pond. There are three sets of tees: blue (2,987 yards), white (2,835 yards), and red (2,147 yards). The course rating/slope is 67.2/116 which means it's not very difficult and great for beginners. There are two par 5s (holes 4 and 9), five par 4s, and two par 3s (holes 6 and 8). The longest hole is No. 9, the finishing hole, coming in at 465 from the blue tees.
On the 5th hole, don't hit your approach shot too far or skull your pitch or chip. If you do, your ball might wind up hitting a car driving down Camp Creek Parkway. This almost happened to me. The 3rd and 9th holes run along either side of the driving range so the driving range net comes into play. If you hit your ball over the driving range net, it's considered out of bounds (OB). However, according to the local rules printed on the scorecard, if your ball winds up under the driving range net, you get a free drop (no penalty). You must drop the ball with just enough distance from the net so that you can perform a full swing. However, you cannot advance the ball any closer to the hole.
The par-5 9th hole plays straight off the tee, but then severely doglegs left, around the range and up a hill to the green. You'll want to keep your drive and second shot right of center in order to have a playable angle to the green in regulation. Otherwise, the driving range net will be in your way, forcing you to lay up and add a stroke to your score.
During a wet round, where we were eventually rained out, I was told holes 3 and 4 were cart path only. The course uses fuel-injected Yamaha golf carts that are fairly nice. There are water coolers on the 4th and 6th tees. There's an old ball washer on the 7th tee.
In general, this is a compact course with rolling fairways and moderate elevation changes typical of a Georgia course. Despite the slow, mostly postage stamp greens, the holes are quite scorable so long as you keep your ball in play. This is far from the most scenic or memorable course in Atlanta. The design is simple and the layout is pretty straightforward. In the end, if you just want to get out and play a quick 9 (or 18), Historic College Park Golf Course will definitely help you scratch that golf itch.
This course is not on any discounted tee time websites like GolfNow and TeeOff.com.