Choose Your Club Wisely

A world in itself in perfect harmony. Your next golf
destination awaits.

Since its opening in 1989, the team at Chateau Elan Golf has always been on the move. Comprised of golf lovers of all levels, the team spends their days starting early and ending late – giving lessons and clinics, managing inventory at the Pro Shop, planning endless private events and tournaments at the club’s premier event facilities, managing the upkeep of three pristine golf courses, and so much more. For their patrons, this dedication has long been embraced by everyone who had access to a 6-iron.
Chateau Elan was originally designed and built by renowned course architect, Denis Griffiths. Throughout construction, it was fairly common to see Griffiths behind the wheels of earth moving machines, shaping the bunkers and greens just as he envisioned.

In his youth, Denis Griffiths played numerous sports—but golf, surprisingly, was not one of them. In fact, his entrance into the golf arena only came after a knee injury prevented him from entering the military and fighting in Vietnam. However, once he began working, Denis’ attentiveness and intelligence quickly earned him an increasingly valued position as an architect.
When designing a course, it has never been Denis’ goal to make layouts unplayable for most visitors. His principle focus remained on highlighting the natural character of a geography’s landscape and building it into his design. Around the world, Denis has a reputation for creating challenging courses in this manner, which keeps them interesting and fun to play for players of all skill levels.
Having completed projects in England, Spain, South Africa, Japan, Thailand, and Scotland,
Denis is one of only a few American golf course architects to build course designs in the birthplace of golf – St. Andrews, Scotland. It’s commonly believed in Scotland that courses are not ‘made’ as much as they are ‘found,’ referencing the natural geography of the landscape used in each course’s design. You get to really be creative on a Scottish courses, incorporating rolling lumps and hollows of Scottish terrain and allow your imagination, and golf balls, to run wild.
Now preferring to keep his projects closer to home, Denis has designed or renovated approximately two dozen courses in Georgia – Chateau Elan being home to a few of them.
At Chateau Elan, the goal wasn’t to make an 18-hole behemoth that was unplayable for most visitors. Griffiths was looking for a playable layout that would be interesting and keep players coming back and appreciating the time spent on the course.

That mission was accomplished with the Chateau Course, a par 71 that’s long enough to challenge the serious players who stake out the ground at the back of the tee box, but short enough to be playable and enjoyable for golfers of an average skillset. Throughout the course, there are multiple tees that range from 7,030 to 5,092 yards.
It’s a course that makes you think. In certain areas, players will want to take out their biggest driver and swing big, but Griffiths will force you to consider the target off the tee and reexamine the approach for your second shot.
The Chateau Course’s second hole is a perfect example of is this. The dogleg right par-4 takes a 90-degree turn as it crosses a brook. Players with a big hit will try to fly over the water, but there’s no green to bail out and the risk handedly outweighs the reward. A player who chooses the safer option will need to hit a 160-180 yard tee shot that sets up a straight 150-yard approach to an open green.
Griffiths’ designs constantly mess with your mind – he is a master of illusion.
Whether you prefer the Chateau Course, which affords a beautiful view of the entire property and features water on 10 of its 18 holes, or the demand of the tree-lined fairways of the picturesque Woodlands Course – both are simultaneously serene and challenging.

Aside from its courses, Chateau Elan Golf seizes every opportunity to share its lifelong passion with pros, casual golfers, and everyone in between. Providing lessons to bring new players to the game, whether to men, women, or children, is a special part of what the team does. Our group of golf pros are patient instructors, which is crucial with younger students and their sometimes overeager parents.
For novice golfers, or those wishing to brush up on their game, Chateau Elan Golf offers a complimentary practice facility. It features two TifEagle Bermuda greens, one bentgrass green, a multi-tiered pitching station, and practice bunkers. When they’re ready, they can play the 9-hole Executive Course. This par 3 walking course is also great for those who don’t have time for a full 18 holes. The Executive Course has shorter holes with strategically placed bunkers, small bentgrass greens, and a beautiful landscape.
Still, Chateau Elan’s main bread-and-butter is actually selling tournaments and planning events at the golf club. Weddings, reunions, anniversary or birthday parties, and corporate functions are well-served by the spacious Sarazen’s Bar and Grille, which holds 80 guests at its upscale indoor bar and picturesque wraparound porch, or the stately climate-controlled Golf Pavilion, which holds 220 guests. Every event is customized to include any golf or resort amenities necessary to execute it to perfection and introduce guests to the versatility of Chateau Elan Golf Club.

Chateau Elan Golf Club can accommodate up to 400 guests for a competitive tournament. The club regularly hosts tournaments for the locally headquartered American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), such as the TaylorMade TP5 Junior All-Star Tournament. The club also hosts smaller tournaments for corporate events and charitable fundraisers. Tournaments are tailored to each event and can include catering, accommodations, and other amenities as needed by the event group.
The team at Chateau Elan feels fortunate to have such a wide array of offerings for guests, especially as the pandemic hit in early 2020. As cabin fever set in, people turned to the outdoors and to leisure sports like golf and the influx of clients was unprecedented.

“We hadn’t seen numbers like that since the Tiger Woods era,” said Club Manager, Bryan Easley. “Golfers came out in droves.” Even people who had never played golf before told him, “Well, I need to do something outside. I’ll give it a go.” Nearly every fourth lesson we taught in 2020 was a first-time golfer. Between the experienced golfers and the beginners, Chateau Elan Golf enjoyed sold-out tee times almost every day during its spring and fall seasons at its two 18-hole courses.
With our legacy of excellence that spans over three decades, Chateau Elan remains a quality destination for golfers and looks forward to remaining a haven of great American golf.