It has taken 30 years to become an overnight sensation, but that is what has happened to Atlanta-based Bill Bergin and his firm, Bergin Golf Designs.
The architect of record for the design and planning of more than 120 projects, including a dozen original designs and more than 30 renovations — the majority in the southeastern U.S. — Bergin has catapulted onto the short list of firecracker-hot architects. Helping propel him are his design projects at McLemore Resort in Rising Fawn, located in the farthest reaches of northwest Georgia.
His reworking of the resort’s first course, now known as the Highlands, achieved copious accolades for its stunning par-4 18th hole. While Bergin is proud of the reception the Highlands received, he is positively bursting when it comes to his latest course at McLemore, The Keep, a co-design with Rees Jones. Opened for preview play in September 2024, The Keep will enjoy a grand opening this summer. Late in 2024, Bergin shared his insights on The Keep in an exclusive interview with The First Call.
The First Call: In what ways was the property/terrain for The Keep similar to the original Highlands course and it what ways was it different?
Bill Bergin: The routing on the Highlands went through valleys and over canyons and up on highland flat areas. So, a little bit more diverse terrain on the first course with just a glimpse or two of the edge, with 18 showcasing the edge.
The only thing about The Keep that’s like the Highlands is there are rock outcroppings on both courses. Otherwise, The Keep lays on basically a mountain plateau. The other course dips and moves through, with big elevation changes. This course does not have those kinds of elevation changes. It just sits like an amphitheater looking over the valley.
TFC: Not everyone realizes that Georgia has mountains. Describe why this location inspires architects and the golfers who tee it up here.
BB: What’s interesting is Georgia has mountains on both sides, the western edge and the eastern edge. I’ve worked a ton on the eastern edge, which borders North Carolina. That’s very much rhododendron, streams, trout, hemlocks—You don’t see around the corners much. That’s Wade Hampton’s land in Cashiers [N.C.], and that’s eastern Georgia. This [McLemore] is western Georgia. It’s more like being out in Wyoming or Colorado. It’s big views, it’s lots of rock, it’s rattlesnakes. It’s rugged, big and bold. That difference is exciting to me. You look for 70 miles out into the mountains. You have a down view of 1,200 feet to McLemore Cove. When you go to the eastern mountains, you’re not seeing very far. The reveals on this course are massive. You can look straight over the edge of the mountain and in all different directions, 180 degrees.
TFC: Are there any well-known courses that remind you of the canvas you had and what you accomplished with The Keep?
BB: Whistling Straits [in Wisconsin]. It’s not the same by any means, but I think it’s a really good comparison. We don’t have the dunes. Pete Dye moved millions of yards of dirt and we moved 350,000 yards over 200 acres, which isn’t very much. Plus, we didn’t have the dirt, so we couldn’t have done it if we wanted to anyway, because we’re sitting on a rock. But I think that’s a really good comparison, with Lake Michigan on the edge of Whistling Straits, and we have the edge of McLemore Cove on our edge.
TFC: In terms of playability, what design features on The Keep keep the good player on his or her toes, but provide a fun romp for the average Joe or Jane?
BB: We have big fairways — on purpose — which works well for the resort, but secondly works well for windy conditions. Because we cleared 200 acres on the edge of a mountain, the wind is a bigger factor than on the Highlands. That means you’ve got room to play and forgiveness off the tee. People will have fun driving the golf ball. As you get closer to a greens complex, however, the level of preciseness required increases. People will be playing from very diverse angles because the fairways in some cases are 80, 90 yards wide. But that changes completely if you’re hitting into a wide green, a shallow green, a deep green.
TFC: We’re not going to use the word, ‘signature,’ but what holes on The Keep best illuminate the course’s virtues?
BB: I like the stretch of eight, nine and 10, a par 3, a par 4 and a par 5. The par 3 is huge, 260 yards, but it’s got this Redan green that matches the mountain in the background. It’s got a little mystery to it, with a rock outcropping short of the green. Number 9 is on the edge of the ridgeline. When you look at the putting surface, the back corner is elevated and again it matches the mountains that you see probably 20, 30 miles down the ridgeline.
Then you continue along the ridge with a par 5. It was the hole I had to have in the routing. The edge hole has tons of room to the right, but the better angles are actually down the left side. Charlie Rymer [former PGA Tour professional who is now McLemore Club executive vice president] says this trio, together with hole 11, is the best four-hole stretch he’s ever seen.
TFC: Summing up, what makes The Keep such a distinctive, memorable course?
BB: Location, location, location. You’re sitting on the edge of a mountain. It’s the kind of place where you could just walk 18 holes and go home and say, ‘that was a great day’ and you didn’t play a shot. You just enjoyed being on the property. When you get to 16 green, you’re at a high point, where you can see every hole you just played—every one. And then it’s kind of like the end of a good book or a movie. You’re sad that, oh no, there’s only two holes left.
