McLemore Resort Is Rewriting the Rules of Golf in Georgia

McLemore Resort Is Rewriting the Rules of Golf in Georgia — And the World Is Taking Notice

Rising Fawn, Georgia — If you've been paying attention to the golf world in 2024, one name keeps coming up: McLemore Resort. Perched 2,300 feet above sea level atop Lookout Mountain in northwest Georgia, golf at McLemore Resort has spent the first months of this year collecting national accolades at a pace that's hard to ignore — and most of it centers on one spectacular newcomer: The Keep.

A Historic Debut for The Keep

When The Keep opened to the public in late 2025, the expectations were already high. The cliffside 18-hole course, designed by renowned architects Bill Bergin and Rees Jones, features numerous dramatic holes along the edge of Lookout Mountain overlooking McLemore Cove — dropping more than 300 feet into the valley below. But even the most optimistic observers couldn't have predicted what happened next.

Sports Illustrated named The Keep the #1 Best New Course in America for 2025. To determine the honor, SI enlisted golf course architects, PGA professionals, superintendents, and other industry insiders to evaluate every notable course that opened in the past 12 months. The Keep came out on top.

Golf Digest awarded The Keep runner-up for Best New Public Course for 2025. The publication's architecture editor, Derek Duncan, put it plainly: "The Keep's scenic vantage point, peering over a flank of Lookout Mountain in northwest Georgia from over 300 feet above the valley below, is almost unmatched for an inland course."

And perhaps most impressively, Golfweek ranked The Keep No. 25 in its "Top 200 Resort Courses in the U.S." for 2026 — marking the highest debut of any new course in the history of that prestigious list, and the only newcomer to break into the top 40.

For golfers searching for the best course in Georgia, the conversation has changed. McLemore is no longer a hidden gem — it's the benchmark.

The Highlands Course: Still Standing Tall Among the Top 100

While The Keep steals headlines, let's not forget what started it all. The Highlands Course at McLemore Resort has been ranked a Top 100 Course You Can Play by Golf Magazine — a distinction it has held since 2019. Its 18th hole has been named the "Best Finishing Hole Built Since 2000" by Golf Digest and ranked among the Top 10 Finishing Holes in the World.

That means McLemore is now home to two top 100 golf courses — both cliff-edge, both designed by Bill Bergin and Rees Jones, both unlike anything else you'll encounter when playing golf in the state of Georgia.

Add in The Cairn, McLemore's beloved 6-hole short course, and you have three distinct ways to experience a mountain unlike any other in American golf.

Not Just a Golf Course — A True Golf Destination

The accolades for The Keep are a milestone, but they only tell part of the McLemore story. Golf Digest recently ranked McLemore among the 50 premier golf resorts in the United States — recognition that speaks to the full experience awaiting every guest.

Whether you're booking a room at Cloudland at McLemore Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton — a 245-room resort hotel with 21 suites, five restaurants, a full-service spa, and over 20,000 square feet of meeting space — or settling into one of the community's private home rentals for a multi-day stay with your foursome, McLemore is built for golfers who don't want to compromise.

The vacation rental options at McLemore offer something a traditional resort hotel simply can't: the feeling of arriving home on a mountain. Gather your group, spread out across a beautifully appointed private home, and wake up steps from the first tee. Stay & Play packages are available through both private home rentals and Cloudland to make planning effortless.

What Makes The Keep Different

Designer Bill Bergin described his first walk around the McLemore site simply: "I knew The Keep was unlike any other property I had experienced."

Measuring 7,722 yards from the tips at par 72, The Keep is not a course that whispers. It announces itself from the very first hole and builds to something transcendent along the cliffside stretch. And yet — and this is what separates truly great courses from merely dramatic ones — it's endlessly repeatable. As the course's own description puts it, The Keep offers "the rare combination of challenge and repeat playability that brings golfers back time after time."

For any golfer serious about experiencing the best that golf in the state of Georgia has to offer, or anyone building a bucket list of top 100 golf courses, The Keep is no longer optional. It's essential.

2026: The Year McLemore Arrived

Here's the summary of what Cloudland at McLemore Resort has accomplished since the start of 2026:

• #1 Best New Course in America (2025) — Sports Illustrated

• #2 Best New Public Course (2025) — Golf Digest

• #25 Top 200 Resort Courses in the U.S. (2026) — Golfweek (highest debut of any new course in list history)

• Top 100 Course You Can Play — Golf Magazine (The Highlands Course)

• Top 50 Golf Resorts in the U.S. — Golf Digest

• Best Finishing Hole Built Since 2000 — Golf Digest (Highlands 18th hole)

That's not a run of good press. That's a defining moment for a destination.

Plan Your McLemore Experience

McLemore is located in Rising Fawn, Georgia — just 45 minutes south of Chattanooga and within easy driving distance of Atlanta, Nashville, and Birmingham. Whether you're staying as a guest of the Cloudland resort hotel, booking a private home rental for a group getaway, or exploring vacation rental options within the McLemore community, tee times on both The Highlands and The Keep are available to resort guests and Friends of McLemore.

This is what the best course in Georgia looks like. This is what it feels like to play on a cliff edge above the clouds.

Book your Stay & Play at mclemoreresort.com

Cloudland at McLemore Resort is a Curio Collection by Hilton property located in Rising Fawn, Georgia. McLemore features three golf experiences — The Highlands Course, The Keep, and The Cairn short course — along with a full-service spa, five restaurants, and private home rental and resort hotel accommodations.