Hawks Ridge Leads Alpharetta Grand Slam of Golf Courses
categories: Golf Communities, Stuff I like to talk about
It’s a day I’ve waited for since last summer when I first figured a way inside the gates at Hawks Ridge. The ticket, you ask: my son. When all else fails, exploit your children. The ends justify the means when the end is golf.
Yesterday, we made our now second annual trip to Hawks Ridge for an Atlanta Junior Golf tournament. I’m merely my son’s caddie, but any excuse to go to Hawks Ridge is good enough for me. I’m not proud. Hawks Ridge is a special place and I’m just glad to be able to enjoy a small piece of it.
As junior golfers, the kids only play on the par 3 course, but it is so much more challenging than the other par 3 courses they play that Hawks Ridge is played as a par 4 course.
As far as adults go, Hawks Ridge is at the top of the list in terms of privacy, exclusivity and quality. It, along with The Georgia Tech Club at Echelon, The Manor Golf and Country Club and The River Club, represent my grand slam of Alpharetta-area golf. Hawks Ridge, a Bob Cupp design built in 1999, is the top.
All these courses are fantastic, but what makes Hawks Ridge different is the serenity. Don’t get me wrong, the other courses are tranquil and quiet, but Hawks Ridge has something else about it that you just don’t feel at the other places.
Maybe it is a Golf Digest ranking.
I haven’t even played the course - maybe some day I will - but you can just tell by the feel in the air that it is something special. Golf Digest claims that Hawks Ridge is the 100th best course in the country. These lists are always a bit of a beauty contest, sort of like running for Prom Queen, but even it Golf Digest is off by 50 spots, that is still high praise. There are only five courses in Georgia on the list and on is Augusta and another is East Lake, where I own my personal best round, by the way ;->
Hawks Ridge is much further north than the other courses and in Cherokee County. The development centers on a 20+ acre lake and few of the homes are actually on the course. A major difference with Hawks Ridge is that it is an ESTATE community. There are only about 80 lots and most are well over an acre. About half the lots are in the 3-5 acre range with a few upwards of 10 acres. You can put a lot of house on 3-5 acres and people have. The sales range from $1.5M to $2.5M.
Sales haven’t been brisk, though. Last year, according to the MLS only one house sold in Hawks Ridge and that was in January for $2.5M. One lot sold, too, for $190k. Currently there are five homes listed from $1.7M to $3M
There are six lots currently on the market. Most are “smaller”, at about an acre and a half. There is a seven acre lot, the last of the larger ones, available for $515k. You can use your own builder in this neighborhood; golf membership is optional, but I don’t know who would want to live here and not be a golf fanatic. John Smoltz, the avid golfer, I mean hall of fame pitcher, didn’t buy one lot in Hawks Ridge, he bought two side by side. John obviously knows his golf.
Golf membership is by invitation and right now there are only about 150 local members plus another 25 out-of-sate. Getting a tee time is not a problem. Getting a membership, well, every good course is a challenge.
