Playing a round of golf is a contest between man and nature, much like betting a tree it can’t drink a gallon of milk. Pit yourself against the elements with today’s Groupon to River Pines Golf Club in Johns Creek. Choose between the following options:

• For $49, you get a golf outing for two (up to a $105 value) that includes:
• 18-hole round of golf for two on Championship course including cart rental and driving-range balls (up to a $45 value each)
• Two lunches including a sandwich, chips, and fountain drink (up to $7.50 each)<p>
• For $59, you get a two-round golf outing for two (up to a $133 value) that includes:
• 18-hole round of golf for two on the Championship course including cart rental and driving-range balls (up to a $45 value each)
• Two lunches including a sandwich, chips, and fountain drink with 18-hole Championship course (up to $7.50 each)
• Nine-hole round of golf for two on the par 3 course on a separate day (a $14 value each). Does not include car rental, driving-range balls, or lunch.
  
  

A lush labyrinth pressed against the banks of the Chattahoochee River, River Pines Golf Club’s 18-hole, par 70 Championship Course spans 6,602 yards of bucolic, tee-to-green terrain. Fortify club-flailing skills before taking to the fairways with a stint at the club’s driving range, which deftly emulates course challenges with grass hitting areas, contoured target greens, a practice sand bunker, and a loitering gang of feral flagsticks. A nimble golf cart accompanies golfers throughout the round, helping track down flush power-draws that bisect the course’s immaculate, bermuda fairways or precise approaches that halt pin-high on the slick surfaces of bent-grass greens. A 32-ounce fountain drink, side of chips, potato salad, or coleslaw, and sandwiches loaded with turkey, ham, or chicken salad can provide gracious postround sustenance or help bribe the ravenous beaks of belligerent waterfowl.

A haven for those in need of shoring up their short games, the club’s 9-hole par 3 course demands apt control of mid- and short-irons throughout 951 yards of compressed clubbing. Duffers still searching for the elusive hole-in-one will have ample chances throughout the round, particularly on the 82-yard sixth hole, where a full swing with any non-noodle-based club may send the ball sailing over the wide-open, bent grass green.

Championship Course at a Glance * 18-hole, par 70 course * Bermuda fairways, bent-grass greens * Length of 6,602 yards from the furthest tees * Course rating of 71.1 from the furthest tees * Slope of 132 from the furthest tees * Five sets of tees<p>

Par 3 Course at a Glance * 9-hole, par 27 course * Bent-grass greens * Length of 951 yards from the furthest tees * Two sets of tees<p>

River Pines Golf Club’s rates fluctuate throughout the day and week.