The Keep at McLemore Resort
Every once in a while you come across a place that immediately leaves you at a loss for words. McLemore, which is situated on Lookout Mountain in the northwest corner of Georgia, is one of those places. You really need to see it.
It starts upon arrival at the new Cloudland Hotel at McLemore Resort. The 245-room Curio Collection hotel by HIlton features two outstanding restaurants as well as 25,000 square feet of conference space, a spa and fitness rooms, a sky bar and infinity pool.
The views from the aptly named Skybar, the pool, and the hotel are more than 50 miles in three directions. You can see three states – Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These vistas are a big part of what makes everything about this resort incredible. But the hotel amenities and comfort, and the design of the golf courses, both the current one and the one that’s about to open, put everything over the top.
If you’ve never been to McLemore, you’re going to want to check this out, especially if you’re a golfer, and definitely after the second golf course opens soon.
Let’s talk about golf first
What you should know is that the existing golf course, The HIghlands Course, more than holds its own. But the new layout that’s almost complete, with a soft opening scheduled for sometime this fall and official opening in 2025, may turn out to be one of the most stunning golf courses ever created. It’s called The Keep, and it was designed by Rees Jones and former tour professional Bill Bergin, the same pair that actually redesigned The Highlands, which was a course that was part of the old Canyon Ridge Club & Resort before Scenic Land Company bought it and rebranded it as McLemore a few years ago.
The Keep is a 7,700-yard championship test that brings in so many elements. The most obvious are the views that may even be more stunning than they are at Cloudland, but it goes way beyond that. This once-forested mountain plateau was cleared away more than four years ago. It revealed a canvas that allowed Bergin and Jones to create a masterpiece. We got to see this as some of the last brush strokes were being applied this summer, and we are eagerly anticipating a return visit after it opens.
Anyone who gets to play this course for the first time will simply be blown away by its beauty and quality of holes. And, as Director of Golf Greg Lecker notes, “after they putt out on the 18th hole, they’ll immediately want to play it again.”
The vistas, however, aren’t just relegated to the Blue Ridge Mountains off the edges. This is a course where you can stand on an elevated tee and see the majority of holes. The fairways are wide, the greens are huge with lots of undulations, and no two holes are remotely alike. There are rock croppings that frame holes and greens (like the 17th) streams and ponds, and infinity fairways and greens. There are lots of elevation changes, whether it’s off a tee to a fairway below or to an uphill green. There’s something different at every corner.
The course is grassed with Stadium Zoysia grass. What little rough there is will be light, sort of Augusta-like. And the greens are A-1 victory bentgrass. This definitely isn’t overhyped.
“I think in six or seven years, this place is definitely capable of holding an event of any scope,” said Lecker, who was hired in late 2023, following stints at some impressive clubs, including Oakmont. “How wonderful would it be to see a Walker Cup or Curtis Cup here.”
Indeed, the course is set up well for either stroke play or match play with risk-reward holes like drivable short par-4s, long par-3s and reachable par-5s.
“You know how much fun this is going to anyone who loves golf and a challenge?” Lecker said. “You throw a 15 mph wind at this, it’s buckle up, boys.”
The entire 479-acre property, which forms a natural amphitheater, is an ideal spectator course, so it definitely could host some big events.
The Keep at McLemore Resort
The Highlands is pretty lofty too
For members and resort guests, however, the two courses at McLemore certainly complement each other. And they couldn’t be more different.
The Keep is a heathland course. The Highlands is a mountain course with lots of elevation changes. At The Keep, “you really have to hit a bad shot to lose a golf ball,” Lecker said.
On The Highlands, golfers definitely have to be more accurate with drop-offs on many holes that are also surrounded by forest.
Still, The Highlands is incredibly fun to play, especially if you’re in control of your golf shots. This 7,000-yard plus, par-71 layout isn’t as long as The Keep, but in some ways it’s probably more difficult.
There are three kinds of holes on The Highlands Course – cliff edge, highland, and canyon holes. Holes 2, 3, the second half of the par-5 sixth, and the entire 7th are all laid out in a canyon.
Let’s look at the sixth, with former tour player, announcer, and executive vice president of McLemore, Charlie Rymer. (He’s also on the GPS on your golf cart to give you advice before you play the hole.)
“It’s probably the most controversial hole on the course,” Rymer said. “You’re either going to love it or you’re going to hate it.”
If you hit a great tee shot and go for this green in two, according to Rymer, there’s a 48-yard drop to the green below. A 215-yard approach might only play 170 yards, so it’s a good opportunity for birdie or eagle. But if you didn’t get your tee shot to that 220-yard mark or so, a layup over the cliff is difficult because it’s blind. Depending on how you hit it, finding your ball could be a challenge.
But even more memorable is par-4 18th. Off the tee, the wide fairway slopes left, so a cut would play best to avoid running off the cliff on the left. From there, you play uphill to a green perched off an even higher cliff, with a view you’ll definitely never forget. It’s a scary approach, to one of the most dramatic finishing holes we’ve ever seen.
In addition to The Highlands, there’s also a short course right next to McLemore’s sensational clubhouse. The Cairn is a fun six-hole routing, and perfect way to warm up before your round.
The Highlands at McLemore Resort
Staying at Cloudland is special
There is much to love about Cloudland – the dining, the rooms, the infinity pool, and The Library, and of course, the location. Perched above the clouds, as the tagline says, it was certainly an engineering feat to build this resort hotel. To get there, you take up and down winding highways through forests until Cloudland reveals itself.
We were able to take advantage of Cloudland’s two main restaurants. Croft is a great breakfast spot, as well as a nice option for lunch and dinner. The flat iron steak was a wonderful dinner choice.
But the signature restaurant is Auld Alliance, which has a number of gourmet offerings in the tradition of French country cuisine with a Scottish twist and terrific views of the mountains. The dry-aged beef selections are particularly tantalizing.
Inside the hotel is a wonderful bar area, a cafe, and an elegant library, which is a great spot to relax and even look through a telescope into the vastness beyond. We did that more than once at McLemore Resort.
The Clouldland Hotel