Caledonia Golf & Fish Club is, by consensus, one of America’s top 100 public courses, and it doesn’t take golfers long to see why.
The experience at this Mike Strantz design begins with a drive through a ½-mile alley of Live Oak trees and extends to one of the most spectacular 19th holes in golf. In between, the course is even better than the opening and closing visuals.
The layout is impeccably maintained and the design rewards precision as much as raw power. The front nine, highlighted by the par 3 sixth hole and a green surrounded by azaleas, is outstanding, but the back nine is unforgettable.
The 11th, which features a stream the winds from tee to green, is everything a great par 3 should be, daring better golfers to go flag hunting, in spite of the obvious danger, while providing mid to high handicappers bailout room. The 13th and 16th are different, yet equally compelling par 4s.
But the hole no one forgets at Caledonia is the 18th, a dogleg right par 4 that plays to an undulating green residing in the shadow of the course’s antebellum style clubhouse. It’s a daunting approach, made doubly so by the crowd that typically gathers to watch.