Great Waters comes up constantly in Lake Oconee conversations, often talked about almost like its own community. It isn’t, technically, but understanding why buyers treat it that way tells you a lot about what makes it special.
Is Great Waters a Separate Community From Reynolds?
No. Great Waters is a premier residential and golf enclave inside Reynolds Lake Oconee, centered on the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course of the same name. It’s not a standalone master-planned community with its own gate separate from the broader Reynolds fabric, but it functions almost like its own neighborhood brand, the way people in Atlanta might identify strongly with a specific pocket of a larger area.
What Makes the Great Waters Golf Course Notable?
The Great Waters course is a Jack Nicklaus Signature design that opened in the early 1990s and underwent a major renovation around 2019. It’s frequently ranked among Georgia’s top golf courses, and its dramatic lakeside holes are widely considered the signature experience, both for residents and for golfers who travel specifically to play it.
What Is the Character of Great Waters?
Compared to some of the busier villages elsewhere in Reynolds, Great Waters is often described as more intimate, scenic, and golf-forward, with a dual identity: dramatic lakeside golf paired with deep-water and cove residential pockets. It carries real name recognition, buyers and residents will say “I live in Great Waters” the way someone might specify a distinct pocket within a larger Atlanta neighborhood.
What Are the Homes Like in Great Waters?
Homes here tend to skew toward luxury custom lake and golf properties, a mix of traditional Southern resort style, transitional design, and contemporary estate architecture, generally with generous outdoor living space oriented to the fairway or the water. Some cottage and townhome-scale product exists, but Great Waters’s reputation leans heavily toward custom single-family homes at a higher finish level.
What Amenities Does Great Waters Include?
Because it’s part of Reynolds, homeowners in Great Waters have access to a neighborhood clubhouse, pool, and tennis typical of Reynolds villages, plus the full Reynolds member amenity portfolio, The Lake Club, the other seven (soon eight) golf courses, Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds, and the broader dining and hospitality network, all subject to Reynolds’s membership structure.
What Should Buyers Know Before Purchasing in Great Waters?
Because Great Waters is nested inside Reynolds, the same membership requirements apply, club membership is generally required at or before closing, tiered by initiation cost, and not transferable from a prior owner. If Great Waters is your target, you’re really evaluating both the specific enclave and the broader Reynolds membership commitment together, not one without the other.
Who Is Great Waters Best For?
Great Waters tends to attract golfers who specifically want Nicklaus Signature living, buyers who want the full Reynolds amenity system but a more contained, recognizable neighborhood identity within it, and deep-water boaters who also want serious golf as part of their daily life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Great Waters its own gated community?
No. Great Waters is an enclave within Reynolds Lake Oconee, centered on the Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course, it functions with a strong identity but is governed and accessed as part of the broader Reynolds community and membership structure.
Who designed the Great Waters golf course?
Jack Nicklaus designed the Great Waters course as a Signature design; it opened in the early 1990s and had a major renovation around 2019.
Do I need a Reynolds membership to live in Great Waters?
Since Great Waters is part of Reynolds Lake Oconee, the same Reynolds membership requirements generally apply to homeowners there, confirm current terms directly with the club.
If Great Waters’ combination of Nicklaus golf and deep water is what you’re after, let’s talk through what’s currently available inside that specific pocket of Reynolds.
