Golf in Brunswick

Founded in 1976 and managed by the same owner ever since, Lauden Golf instills that prolific experience into every transaction, from its custom-built equipment to lessons taught by seasoned golf pros, including 10 members of the PGA tour. Private lessons help players refine a number of shots, from tee shots with drivers, to iron-approach shots, and transcendent putts requiring no club at all. Lauden Golf also fills bags with custom clubs such as exclusive Logo wedges, hybrids, and putters, personalized with etchings ranging from names and business logos to a caddy's invaluable advice: "Hit the ball kind of far."

A State Amateur Champion a former Nike/Nationwide Tour Member, Nicky Martin has more than 30 years of experience playing and instructing golf an a competitive level. With the belief that no two students are the same, he customizes instruction for each individual’s swing with the goal of creating solid, repeating shots. As a teacher, some of his students have gone on to acclaim such as winning the Florida State Amateur Championship and walking on to the University of Florida golf team.

The golfing gurus at Edwin Watts Golf Academy diagnose and correct their students' poor swing and putting habits in an effort to help them improve their shots and lower their scores. In one-on-one swing-analysis sessions, students learn a repeatable swing that eliminates tendencies they may have to slice, hook, push, or pull the ball. A special laser attaches to the end of the player's club and tracks the swing path while JC Video swing-analysis software records the session from two separate angles, lest analysis be thrown off by only looking at the golfer’s good side. Putting analysis employs Tomi technology to measure eight separate parameters of the putting stroke, from clubhead orientation at address to swing path and tempo. After swing and putting lessons, students may access the recordings on a password-protected website, so they can forward videos to friends or sports-documentary filmmakers.

Nestled in the scenic shadows of the Smoky Mountains, Bent Creek Golf Course's 18-hole layout stretches across 6,182 yards of fairways that rise and fall among rolling foothills and pristine valleys. Golf legend and course designer Gary Player made deft use of a babbling mountain stream by running it through the course and seamlessly uniting two distinct nines: a front nine that sprawls across the valley floor and a back nine that roams the hilly mountainside like a forlorn sasquatch. The overall effect is a course that does justice to both the sheer scope of the rising peaks with bottom-up views and the panoramic splendor of Great Smoky Mountains National Park when seen from the cresting hilltops of the back-nine. The inventive layout is perhaps best characterized by the 11th hole, a 362-yard par 4 where a 90-degree dogleg-left plays into a green completely surrounded by the creek's rippling waters. A blend of bent and bermuda grasses grows resiliently for golfers striving to play all year-round, and fragrant wildflowers blossom at every tee to warm the hearts of world-weary nine-irons.

Bent Creek bolsters the pin-hunting prowess of its golfers with a staff of PGA-certified instructors that conducts lessons and presides over the domain of their full-service pro shop. A practice putting green helps players trim their score by reading dicey slopes, and the Creek Side Grill hosts postround revelry and community gatherings to decry the historical hardships of the mashie niblick.:m]]

Course at a Glance:

• Designed by three-time Masters and British Open Champion Gary Player
• Bermuda-and-bent-grass combination
• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 6,182 yards from the farthest tees
• Three tee options
• Link to scorecard

From Paragon Golf Center's multifaceted practice complex, Peter Yum improves pupils' swings by channeling wisdom accrued from a junior golf career and time spent under the tutelage of Tom Ness and Ben Doyle, two of golf’s most revered instructors. Peter dissects swings from the comfort of a covered 90-stall driving range with heaters, fans, and automated tee technology that raises golf balls onto hitting mats on command or in exchange for a shiny divot tool. While tweaking their swings, golfers can look at their reflection in stall-side mirrors, helping them better grasp Peter’s corrective advice on how to properly strike the ball or bedazzle their golf glove.