Three Oaks offers golfers inexpensive place to play
What is the first thing that comes to mind when Harlem is mentioned?
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Visitors to the Three Oaks Golf Course are greeted by a wooden sign featuring three oak trees.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
The birthplace of Oliver Hardy? The tradition of Harlem High School baseball? What about Three Oaks Golf Course?
The Harlem golf course, at 1300 Three Oaks Drive, is one of only three active courses in Columbia County and is the destination for many golfers who live in the Harlem-Grovetown area of the county.
Three Oaks, built in 1997, is the newest of the county's three existing courses and will be the middle child when Bartram Trail and Champion's Retreat open later this year.
It still remains the most inexpensive course in the county and can be played for less than $20 through the week.
The 6,514-yard, par-71 William Sloane designed course was purchased by Columbia County resident Bill Waters in March 2002 from David Jones, the owner who survived a 1998 accident when a tractor toppled over and submerged him in a pond.
Immediately after Waters bought the course, he made a number of changes at Three Oaks.
Routing problems and criss-crossing fairways were problems that have since been corrected.
The course's clubhouse is framed by boulders and palm trees.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
A number of holes were changed, including No. 8 becoming a par-3 over a pond. Other holes swapped between par 3 and par 4. The golf carts also received an overhaul.
Three Oaks offers memberships.