Capital City Club: Crabapple

Capital City Club, one of the oldest in Atlanta, opened their new Crabapple course in the far northern suburbs in 2002, and a year later it hosted the WGC American Express, won by Tiger Woods. The course sits on a vast property with no intrusion of development or homes other than the clubhouse, and though a treeless wetlands runs through the center of the course, the surrounding space gave Tom Fazio and his team room to explore. That freedom provides the course a look and playability that's distinct from almost all other courses in the market, moving in and out of different ecosystems with a minimal of hill-climbing. Crabapple excels is in this layout varietty, with holes running through pines and hardwoods and others canvassing the fields surrounding eight through ten and 15 through 18. There are split-level fairways, a drivable downhill par 4, par 3s that range from pitching wedge to long iron and a great closing trio of holes that include a reachable par 5 and two back-breaking par 4s. Though details are vague, rumor is that the entire course is going to be rebuilt soon by Fazio, including the instalation of sub-surface air systems.