Monticello Golf Club At Savannah Lakes

Monticello was designed by Tom Jackson. It is a championship layout 6900 from the tips.

Pros : There are 17 fantastic holes on this course and one (2nd) that needs to be redesigned (imho) I know many people who love it so go figure.

Hole 5 here should be on every golf calendar. Greens and fairways are bermuda grass. Greens range from slow in winter to moderately fast in April and May, and again in September/ October. Course is usually in very good shape. Fairways are more than generous but, greens are well guarded by bunkers and water. Undulation is moderate as well.

Eastern SC is experiencing a prolonged drought. As a result, the fairways and hard and fast. Tee yardages play shorter as a result.

Cons: Only con to me is the pace of play. There are no starters or course rangers. The result is members pretty much show up on the tee when they feel like it and play whatever speed they feel like without any regard for holding up faster players. It is common to experience a 4.5 - 5 hr round here.

I love this course and I bet you will too.

Attention retirees and those looking to move South: You don’t have to go all the way to Florida to enjoy great weather year-round.

Savannah Lakes Village is a recreational oasis located in McCormick, South Carolina. This sprawling lakefront community is located at the confluence of the 71,000+ acre Lake Thurmond and Western South Carolina’s Freshwater Coast Region. The Freshwater Coast has some of the nation's most scenic inland waterways and public lands. The community borders 65,000 acres of state parks and national forests and has 25 miles of shoreline along Lake Thurmond. In addition to every imaginable watersport, the community features two member-owned golf courses, two restaurants, a recreation center, community docks, and much more.

There’s a wide variety of community events at the two restaurants - the River Grille and Monti’s – for members and their guests to enjoy. Both cater to members and serve some delicious food.

The recreation center offers several daily activities and exercise programs and enough exercise equipment to work every muscle in your body. After a strenuous workout, relax in either the indoor or outdoor pool. If you’d rather swing a racquet than a golf club, play on one of their many tennis and pickleball courts. And don’t forget, Savannah Lakes Village is surrounded by nature with over 150 miles of forest and water trails to explore. They are also at the forefront of technology, with one of South Carolina's best direct-to-the-home fiber optic broadband networks, allowing residents to stay connected, whether they work from home or just want to be entertained.

With so much to do, the main attractions are the two championship golf courses, Tara and Monticello. Both courses are carved from the rolling landscape wrapping Lake Thurmond and offer beautiful views and challenging golf holes. These 36 holes are recognized as some of the state's most scenic, challenging, and inspiring golf holes. If these two courses aren’t enough, SLV borders Hickory Knob Resort which has a 3rd lakefront golf course.

The Monticello course could be considered a modern-day links-style course with gently rolling fairways and water hazards along a tree-lined shoreline. The course plays 7,032 yards from the back tees and features MiniVerde Bermuda greens with Zoysia collars, and Bermuda fairways and rough. You’ll find water on nine of the 18 holes, and a dramatic lakefront peninsula on the front nine.

The Monticello Course has several memorable holes as well. Number One is a short, 388-yard par 4 (White Tees) It starts with a blind tee shot and from there plays uphill. A good drive that finds the fairway is going to leave a short pitch shot into a rather large green. Make the putt and get your round started on the right foot.

Holes three, four, and five epitomize what Savannah Lakes Village golf is all about. They are three of the course’s most photographed holes. The 3rd hole gives you your first glimpse of Lake Thurmond. It’s a picturesque par 5 – 460 yards from the White Tees – with a fairway bunker on the right and woods on the left off the tee. Longball hitters might have a chance to go for the green on their second shot but beware of the water on the left. Number 4 is a par 3 that plays 139 yards, right into Lake Thurmond. A large bunker protects the front, back, and left sides of the green. It’s a good-looking par 3 hole.

The 5th hole continues to wrap its way around Lake Thurmond. It’s a 346-yard, par 4, dogleg left with two lakes that come into play. Carry the bunker on the left off the tee but don't go too far left or you’ll flirt with the second lake. A good tee shot will leave a mid-iron over water into a green that slopes left to right and is wider than deep. It’s protected on three sides by sand.

Savannah Lakes Village is a bundled community meaning that membership is included with property ownership. It’s a vibrant community with a lot of interaction between neighbors and residents. They recently opened a $3 million healthcare facility on site, which is owned and operated by Self Regional Hospital. Savannah Lakes Village is an easy drive from several major cities including Augusta, Greenville, Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston, and Atlanta.

Went here on a recommendation from a friend at work. It's a little bit of a drive but well worth it. Course was in great shape given it's early in the season. Greens rolled true. Some holes were definitely challenging. Will absolutely play this course again.

Already looking forward to coming back to play again

I had wanted to play the courses at Savannah Lakes since I stumbled across them last fall/winter. The good thing/drawback about playing is that it is recommended to come on the weekends as the members usually take up the play times during the week. I was able to sneak in on a Thursday and play in the afternoon and the course exceeded my expectations.

I really can't wait to get back and play this course again. I hope they keep up the conditions and keep this place looking great.

This course is spectacular, and the views are breath taking. The pictures on their website are exactly what you will see when arriving at the course. We were planning to play only 18, but it so awesone 36 was a must. If you want an awesome lunch and great service, the clubhouse will not disappoint. Awesome staff, awesome course.

the course was in great shape. the only negative is that it was painfully slow. i dont understand how a course this nice doesnt have a marshall on the course. it took three of us just over five hours to finish .i cant enjoy golf like that.

The sign on the driveway reads 'Monticello Golf Club Member and Guests only'. You pull in and you are greeted by... no one. You get you gear together, walk to the pro-shop, there you'll find a small shop with the typical over priced shirts etc. presented more like you just walked into the thrift store rather than a "Country Club". There; you'll find a very friendly lady who will take your green fee; in my case $100 that included range balls and lunch, perhaps the high rate was due to Masters week? You will get a very small bucket of old range balls. The range was in OK condition, I can't really knock it since it was early April, but I will mention the grass tees were very used.. The putting green was in great condition, as was the chipping green. OK, time to tee off! I found the course in very early spring condition, so I can only fairly rank it from a layout point of view. I found it to be a wonderful and interesting layout, great features, really took the natural surrounding into account. The greens were pristine. Unfortunately the course is lined by houses that in some cases encroach a little too close to the course. When getting ready for the next stroke; you should not need to listen to the people talking on the phone while sitting on their balcony. Pace of play, what pace of play? I spent more time standing around than I did playing golf, the course was filled with tourists/out of town (myself included) . I think this led to the slow pace, along with CART PATH ONLY RULES, it took over 5 hours to play, I was a single and I played thru a few foursomes... NOT GOOD. Cart Path Only!, Can't really complain about the course trying to protect the conditions, but I can tell you this, you don't want to play this place when they have cart path only rules, too many hills to climb, the cart path seems to always take the opposite side from where you want to be. The lunch was good, staff was friendly. A nice layout, run not as a country club but more like a family business. This is not a problem and is in fact a good thing, but don't pretend to be a country club with your price and your sign. My overall experience rates this as a 2 star, but could be much better, maybe I visited the wrong day... and payed the high fee. Maybe I reviewed it a bit harsh, but when reviewing a course my expectations are weighted by the the fee charged, in my opinion I was over charged for what I received.

The people at the clubhouse and their restaurant were quite friendly. There was a frost delay, so I had a chance to talk with them more than I normally would. From the tips this is a long course. There are lots of rolling hills and the fairways are fairly wide open; however, they make up for it with lots of bunkers and water. The greens were well maintained. I can think of nothing negative about my game there. It is a little out of the way but worth the drive.

Enjoy playing this course. Greens are never soft even after it has rained the day before.

I loved this course. Beautiful elevations and views from the tee boxes, challenging holes, well maintained and a fair price for the kind of course that Monticello is known to be.

The greens were pretty firm and definitely fast, but much of that had to do with the winter conditions.

It is a course you will probably love to hate as there is a good bit of risk reward, and a good round can turn into a disaster pretty quick. Which in my mind makes for a formidable challenge that most avid golfers would want to undertake.

Several holes play long.Play a shorter tee on these. For example holes 5,6, 16 and 18.