Greensboro, Georgia–Reynolds Lake Oconee, the award-winning resort community situated on 19,000-acre Lake Oconee located between Atlanta and Augusta, will host the LPGA Tour Drive On Championship at Reynolds Lake Oconee, October 22-25, 2020. The Reynolds community stepped in to host the world’s best women golfers after the LPGA Tour was forced to change its fall schedule due to the covid-19 pandemic. The four-day official full-field event will feature a purse of $1.3 million with Golf Channel broadcasting all four rounds with three hours of coverage each day. There will be no spectators allowed.
The event will be played at Great Waters, one of six outstanding championship courses available to Reynolds members and guests. Great Waters, which first opened in 1992, recently underwent an extensive renovation led by its designer, 18 Time Major Winner and World Golf Hall of Famer, Jack Nicklaus. The completely modernized and reconditioned course is a visually breathtaking test of golf along the shoreline of Lake Oconee.
“It is great that Reynolds Lake Oconee and Great Waters are stepping up to help the game of golf,” said Jack. “The course we designed and opened 28 years ago was already very special, but after this latest renovation, I believe we added some polish to this gem. I think the ladies will absolutely love playing Great Waters and find it a good test but a fair one. I hope the LPGA has a tremendous week, and the competitors enjoy the course and the unique Reynolds Lake Oconee hospitality.”
Reynolds Lake Oconee is both an outstanding outdoor recreational paradise and an enchanting place to call home. Their ensemble of activities includes the Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds, an award-winning tennis center, pedestrian trails, wellness campus, swimming pools, and full-service
marinas to facilitate fishing and water sports.
“I am so excited to show the LPGA athletes and our global fans this incredible place that so many of us call home,” said Mike Whan, Commissioner of the LPGA Tour who is both a member and resident of Reynolds Lake Oconee. “For me and my family, Reynolds is our escape. I
come here to relax. I’m sure the LPGA players will quickly see why I choose to live here and will enjoy much that Reynolds has to offer as they compete in this exciting event.”
The Kingdom at Reynolds Lake Oconee
In addition to the courses, five of which have been selected by Golf Magazine in the Top 10 to play in the Peach State, the newly named The Kingdom at Reynolds Lake Oconee is one of only two elite TaylorMade club-fitting facilities in the U.S. Recently TaylorMade has added a second club-fitting trailer, which spent 10 years on the PGA TOUR fitting the world’s best players at over 350 events turning out over 75,000 clubs. The new trailer will be used solely for building metal woods and putters and houses 800 club shafts, 700 metal wood and hybrid components, and 1400 grips. The original TaylorMade trailer that has been at Reynolds since 2008 will be converted to manufacture only irons and wedges, holding 700 club shafts, 460 clubheads, and 1,200 grips.
“We’re excited to extend our partnership with The Kingdom at Reynolds Lake Oconee and to offer these custom TaylorMade club-fitting services to all golfers,” said David Abeles, CEO and President of TaylorMade. “Outside of the PGA Tour, there’s no other place where our golfers can be custom fit and be playing with their new personalized clubs the same day.”
Separating the club-building process into two fully-equipped trailers will make it more efficient, allowing Reynolds’ expert fitters and club builders to create a complete set of personalized fitted clubs in a matter of hours, and individual clubs even faster for the golfers.
“We’re over the moon,” said Sean Cain, Director & Lead Instructor for The Kingdom at Reynolds Lake Oconee. “We want to provide our members and guests the same attention to detail that any PGA TOUR Professional receives. Our goal is to create a facility where you can get fitted in the morning and leave with your full set of clubs before the close of business that same day. At capacity, we will be able to fit and build four sets of clubs per day, added Cain, an award-winning PGA Professional who joined The Kingdom in 2018.
Guests can choose private accommodations that include luxury resort condominiums and cottages or the AAA Five Diamond Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee, a 251 room luxury lakefront resort and spa on the property. Reynolds Lake Oconee is a member of the Georgia Golf Trail , a group of superior resorts and golf courses throughout the Peach State. For more information please visit ReynoldsLakeOconee.com.
