County has plenty for golf fans, shoppers

As visitors flock to Augusta to watch the world's top golfers vie for the green coat from the 2006 Masters Tournament, they also will notice more amenities available in Columbia County.

For starters, two new golf courses have opened since last year's tournament.

Bartram Trail Golf Club, at 5393 Columbia Road near Grovetown, opened its gates to the public in August. Robby Watson, the head golf pro at Bartram Trail and former general manager and head golf pro at Forest Hills Golf Club, said on Monday that there were still tee times available during Masters Week.

"Well, with us being brand new, I don't think our name is out there to a lot of people coming in from out of town to play (golf) that week," Watson said, adding that by next year he expects his reservation book will be filled well ahead of Masters Week.

The 150-acre, 18-hole course features bent-grass greens and an atypical course - it has five par 5s, five par 3s and eight par 4s.

"All the local people who play say they really like it," Watson said.

A second course in the Riverwood Plantation subdivision opened in Evans a month before Bartram Trail.

The Champions Retreat Golf Club, a private 27-hole course, was designed, in part, by Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

Shae Stancil, the head golf professional at Champions Retreat, said the national by-invitation-only course is expected to be busy with golfers Masters Week.

"We are expecting 2,000 members and their guests to play our golf course from Monday through Sunday," Stancil said. "We are a national club, and we have quite a few national members that reside in California, Washington,