First opened in the early 1980s, the community and resort are being developed by the family-owned Linger Longer Development, chaired by Mercer Reynolds of Cincinnati. Reynolds Plantation is for active visitors and residents seeking tranquility in a breathtaking natural setting. But during the day, sports lovers can feast on three superb golf courses, miles of biking and hiking trails, tennis, a fitness center, and water sports serviced by a marina. The complex also has business facilities and two excellent dining rooms at the clubhouses. Growing numbers of homeowners, including politicians Sam Nunn and Newt Gingrich, are making Reynolds Plantation either their primary or secondary abode.
Some residents commute to Atlanta.
Here, sensitive planning assures that the rich natural endowment will not be spoiled. The site's abundant wildlife includes deer, red fox, bald eagles, wading birds and otters. The biggest event in the area's recent history was the damming of the Oconee River in 1979 by Georgia Power to create Oconee, Georgia's second largest lake. The plantation includes 50 miles of shoreline. The outward eight holes in the uplands is undistinguished, but the layout comes alive at No. 9, a 376-yard downhiller to a green perched tightly against a thumb of the lake.