Bear's Best Atlanta

I've played Bears Best many times. The last time was approximately mid-2018 and the conditions of the course was great. This time (April 30, 2023) much has changed. The course is in very poor condition. The greens were just aeriated, and so I can not fault them for that.

But the tee boxes were bare, the fairways has weeds, around the greens, there were bare spots and weeds, and the sand traps look like they had not been take care of in years.

In some places, I saw sand washout in the woods which I presume comes from bunkers not being managed and groomed.

As of now (April 2023), this is no where close to even an $80 course. The sad thing is that this course has been in much better shape.

Course was not in good shape, tons of grab grass everywhere, so much, that trying to chip around the practice green was a hassle. Add to that, that the greens had been punched and were still in terrible shape. I received no warning about the greens when booking, nor when I checked in at the pro desk.. Not worth the green fees they charged that is for sure. IMHO, this course should be so much more for what it cost to play here. Disappointing. This is my personal opinion, and you know what they say about opinions, so do not rely on it, play the course and decide for yourself.

Course is in rough shape! Surprised they charge high fees. Of course there is not many courses to choose from in area. I do not the the designer would accept current conditions. I’ll play it again in a couple years

Unfortunately, we knew that the greens had been aerated 3 weeks ago, but assumed they would be ok by now. They weren't. That's on us. The clubhouse appears to be under construction or there was an event, we really could not figure out why we could not get something to eat. If due to construction, they need to figure out a way to provide some type of food. Otherwise, the layout is good. Pretty wide open and easy to find golf balls that decide to go wayward so the pace was decent. We started late (20 minutes after designated tee time). We finished in 4 1/2 hours.

Greens aerated. Tee boxes bare and aren’t level. Fairways need some more grass .

This course needs a change of management or something. Way too overpriced for what it’s worth, greens were just aerated so we got a discount rate of $96, which is double what the course should be charging. Normal price is around $130 and having played more than 20 public courses in the area with price ranges from $40-$130, this place is below average.

Starter is always rude and thinks he’s the Marshall for pine valley. Guy held the keys for the cart from us until he thought we could go up to #1 (2 mins before tee time) so we were left walking between practice areas when we had paid for a cart already

The course is in truly horrible shape. Half the tee boxes were mud or dirt, grass around the green is also nonexistent in many cases, and several bunkers are literal asphalt with a few piles of fresh sand waiting to be spread. Also the golf shop interior is nonexistent and undergoing a complete renovation. Paid a “discounted” $90 rate because greens were punched this past week, but it’s truly playing like a $35 municipal course.

Jack Nicklaus would weep if he saw his namesake course is playing closer to Bear’s Worst than Bear’s Best.

Liked the concept. Enjoyed see and playing different Nicklaus holes.

Course was in rough shape, clubhouse was closed and they charge an exorbitant amount for a run of the mill course. Bunkers were probably the only decent part of the course, minus the ones they had as ground under repair. Would not pay $150 again to play here and that DOESNT include range balls.

In ATL on business in April 5, I wanted to play Bear’s Best as a lifelong fan of Jack Nicklaus. I paid $100 for tee time on GolfNow and, while the layout is very interesting and challenging, feel like they overpriced the experience by about $50.

The clubhouse is closed for renovations due to an interior flood. The fairways were ok for early April and the greens rolled well, despite having plenty of weeds in them. Many parts of the course were under repair. There were no water coolers on the course, though the beverage cart came around from time to time. On one back nine hole a bulldozer was being used next to the green and the operator was screaming into his phone nonstop the whole time we were putting.

I realize work has to be done and the course certainly needs it. However, for $100 I would expect so much more, particularly from a course affiliated with Nicklaus.

If you’re staying in downtown ATL, find a municipal course and save your time AND money. I can’t overstate how good this design is, but upkeep is sorely lacking.

Bears best was a great track! Staff was super friendly and the course layout was interesting with holes inspired by courses around the world!

Great track! BUT…. Understand they are making improvements. Quite a few bunkers under construction and marked appropriately as ground under repair. That doesn’t give you a pass to ignore all the other bunkers. For the price, is it too much to ask to have the bunkers not under repair to be raked once in the morning?

Bears Best is consistently one of the more expensive rounds out there but it doesnt come close to justifying the cost. No grass on many tee boxes, beat up greens, no sand in the bunkers, Maintenance folks running out to work on the greens mid-swing, and hardly any grass on the course. It could be that we caught them at a bad time but if this is the normal condition, then I would be shocked if they are still in business in 3 years.

Going through a bunch of renovations. It looks like they are putting a lot of money into this course. All new sand traps., New grass.

I just wish players would respect the tee box and greens more. Please fix divots and pull out your tees. Might be a good idea to have a sand refill directly on tee box and a box to throw broken tees into.

What about extra divot tools right at the green. Magnetize them to the flag?

Could use a little bit of netting between range and #18 fairway.

One day courses carts will have bottles of prosecco, and uncrustiable PB&j sandwiches for vegetarian options.

This is one of the favorite local courses. Managed very well. They seem to care about your experience here.

I've played this course in the past and it was really nice. It's fallen into disrepair. My round was met with much construction and the grounds crew was driving in the way and operating machinery on many holes. We waited for them. It appears the work on the bunkers and traps will have a very nice result.

The club house had an unfortunate water main break over the Holidays so the club house was closed along with much of the inside except a small pro shop.

Overall, I think the club and grounds will be much improved at my next visit. But I would choose another course in the short term.

Staff was working hard to make the round enjoyable.

I think they could have discounted the round while under this much construction.