The golf resort industry is built in large part on the following premise: it is valuable to play golf holes in interesting settings. Lo and behold, it's also fun to practice in such spots. My two favorite driving ranges are the ones at Sea Island and Quivira because you get to hit balls alongside expanses of water without any fear of repercussions for a poor shot.
My new favorite putting green is one at the just-reopened Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee in east-central Georgia. But not the main one. The main one is up by the first tee, chipping green and driving range, arranged in a sensible way but with no significant views of mighty Lake Oconee. It's fine and functional. The auxiliary putting green, however, has room for just three flagsticks but sits smack in the middle of initial pre- and immediate-post-round action, surrounded by the clubhouse (west), 18th green (north), 9th green (south) and the lake (east). Head down, listening to the lake lapping at the docks, you can hide in plain sight, immersed in the rhythms of a busy golf course: people starting, finishing, making the turn, socializing. It's a clever trick: you're somehow both there and not there.
Golfers don’t tend to practice much, especially after a rough day on slick greens. But there are not many more relaxing spots I've encountered on my travels than Great Waters' lakeside putting green. A few minutes’ extra communion with those waters? Great.
