The Great Waters golf course at Reynolds Plantation

The Great Waters golf course at the Reynolds Plantation is like a knock-out blonde who's so good-looking you can't see past her appearance to her other talents.

"It's by far the prettiest course here," said Pat Ayers, playing it one fall day.

That's saying quite a bit since all are located on rolling earth with forested hills and great stands of trees that, in the fall, shed their leaves like they were being paid to put on a grand lollapalooza of blazing colors.

Add to that your classic Georgia pines and hardwoods, along with azaleas and pink dogwood, and you have a golf course so darn pretty it will make your head swim, which brings us to its best physical attribute.

All of the plantations courses run into big Lake Oconee and its many fingers at some point, but Great Waters treats the lake like a symphony.

The back nine is really something to behold; all nine holes have expansive lake views, and if you're lucky you'll play it when the sun is shimmering off the water. The only other Georgia golf course that utilizes a lake to such great extent may be the Georgia state park course at Lake Russell.