Vacation home: Georgia lake offers close golf getaway

Their home: A five-bedroom, five-bath and two-half-bath home that gave the couple room for themselves and their three daughters and two sons-in-law. "We wanted as many bedrooms as we possibly could get or as many beds as we could possibly get because we enjoy entertaining and having the kids up," said Jeff, 57, who is retired from the food equipment manufacturing industry. The three-story home has a finished basement with a family room and a wine cellar. The home appealed to them because of its open floor plan and lake views from rooms including the master bedroom, family room and kitchen, Vickie said. A screened porch is off the kitchen, and the home also has a covered porch and deck off the family room, and another porch downstairs. "The house was completely furnished when we bought the house ... everything from the silverware in the drawers to wine bottle openers to sofas, chairs. The media room was completely finished with playbills, a popcorn machine, candy counter," Jeff said. "That was a sweet part of the deal. All we brought was our clothes and toothbrushes."

How far from home: About an hour and a half from Berkeley Lake, in Gwinnett County. "The convenience of being able to jump in the car and run up the road for an hour and a half and be in the middle of the North Georgia mountains is certainly a plus," Jeff said. "We're right here on Lake Burton, one of the most beautiful lakes in the Southeast, in our opinion."

What they do when they're there: Watersports, afternoon cocktails and dinner cruises on the lake, as well as hike and fish. "There's a hundred or so hiking trails within this immediate area," Jeff said. "One of my favorite pastimes is trout fishing, and there's 20-plus trout streams within about a 10-mile radius of this area." They also visit the restaurants and shops in towns such as Clayton, about seven miles away, and Highlands, N.C., about a 45-minute drive. "You want to find a second home where if you want to curl up in front of the fireplace on a Sunday afternoon and read a book, you can do that, and if you want to jump up and run down to the Tallulah River and fish, you can do that," Jeff said. The golf course, which features a waterfall, is picturesque. "Sometimes you just get so distracted by the views," he said. "There's a few places you look out and the North Carolina mountains, it's just like they're right there." Vickie adds that the course is very friendly for beginning golfers, too.

How often they're there: Nearly every weekend, and they're even able to drive up just for the day to play golf. "The key is the closeness to Atlanta and the ease in getting here," Jeff said. "It makes it real easy for friends and family to get up for weekends."

At a glance

Jeff and Vickie Sprinkle’s home at Lake Burton Club has five bedrooms, five baths and two half baths, and about 4,500 square feet of livable space. They purchased it three years ago.

Community overview

Lake Burton Club is a 350-acre Clayton community in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Amenities include an 18-hole bentgrass course with a signature hole on a 215-foot waterfall and a 52,000-square-foot athletic center with an indoor pool, tennis courts, basketball, fitness center and spa. The Lodge includes a dining room and private rooms for special events. Homesites range from $125,000-$275,000 (some resale sites include a golf membership; others have a social membership); home prices range from $415,000 to $3.2 million. The community’s grand reopening in April will include changes such as a larger pro shop.

Getting there

Take I-85 north to I-985, which becomes U.S. 441. Stay on U.S. 441 north to Clayton. Turn left, heading west, onto U.S. 76 for 10 miles. Cross over the bridge at Lake Burton. The entrance to Lake Burton Club will be on the right.

Info

Lake Burton Club

www.lakeburtonclub.com

Rabun County

www.gamountains.com

For sale

$610,000: 207 Village Club Trail, Clayton 30525. A four-bedroom, four-bath stone and cedar shake cottage.

$525,000: 84 Fair View Drive, Clayton 30525. A three-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home on the golf course with an unfinished basement.

Recent sales

$645,000: 133 Village Club Trail, Clayton 30525. A seven-bedroom, four full and three half-bath home with a stone and cedar shake exterior with lake views.

$1.25 million: 663 Waterfall Drive, Clayton 30525. A five-bedroom, four full and one half-bath home on the first green.