This week, I'm fortunate enough to be enjoying what is a media trip that is particularly suited to my varying interests. I'm enjoying a great hotel and resort (Ritz Carlton Lodge) plus I have the opportunity to try everything the sprawling Reynolds development has to offer for late fall recreation, from fishing to archery, airgunning, sporting clays and, yes, golf.

Reynolds Lake Oconee is a huge development that's grown out of what was once simply Reynolds Plantation, a decidedly upscale family property. Today, it covers thousands of acres, with six championship golf courses, tennis, boating, camping, hiking, biking, and kayaking to a just completed and nearly-open to the public sporting grounds covering more than eight hundred acres.

It's essentially a modern community that embraces the more laid-back lifestyle of the quintessential southern weekend getaway while being less than two hours from Atlanta, Georgia.

Reynolds truly has branched out with the goal of becoming much more than the typical golf, tennis or lake development.

Which is why I didn't mind dusting off my golf clubs while packing up my shooting glasses and ear protection. In the fall of this year, Reynolds completed the initial development of Sandy Creek Sporting Grounds, a southern take on the classic British shooting grounds set along eight hundred acres of the developments rolling hills.

Sandy Creek features a 20 station shotgun course which truly does hearken back to the classic British designs. It features unpredictable angles and challenges of the classic (hilly) British shooting course spread along a mile-long course that winds through the woods. It was designed by British shooting champion Justin Jones, who explained to me the idea was to build a facility where expert shooters, neophytes and groups could gather to enjoy shooting sports.

Phase One of Sandy Creek includes 5-stand, and both air rifle (using Gamo PCP rifles and precision targets) and archery. There's also an instructional/games area, fishing, canoe and kayaking, fishing and hiking along the facility's miles of trails, all in addition to the sporting clays course.

http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2366030.jpeg> Shotgun (above) , air rifle or bow there's a place to participate at Sandy Creek and professional instruction (below) to help you make the most of your experience. Including help landing a first-ever bass from the 40-plus acre fishing, kayaking and canoeing lake. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photos. http://www.theoutdoorwire.com/image_archive/2366028.jpeg>

There's also the impressive Sandy Creek Barn, an 1800s Pennsylvania barn that serves as an impressive venue for everything from casual lunches to formal weddings.

There's much more planned for the future of Sandy Creek, but it's for certain there's enough investment here (more than a million dollars was spent on the shooting courses) that the owners aren't kidding about adding these formerly forgotten activities to the "resort lifestyle".

And to make it simple, they plan to offer turnkey packages. Sporting clay and 5-stand shooters will get clays, shooting vests, eyes/ears, ammunition and Beretta Silver Pigeon shotguns. Airgunners will be provided Gamo PCP air rifles for their use, and archers will be provided Genesis compound bows and equipment if they'd like. Participants are also welcome to use their own equipment if they'd prefer.

At dinner on Monday night, several of our group confessed some nervousness about the idea of "shooting guns". I enjoyed telling them many of the professional golfers they cover were also (quietly) enthusiastic hunters and recreational shooters. It's no secret that there are also many hard-core anglers on the PGA TOUR, reflecting a fact that many golf destinations either ignore, or lack the facilities to pursue.

Tuesday morning, that nervousness was obvious as the first-time shooters went through their brief familiarization processes. For some, the idea of donning a shooting vest, safety glasses and hearing protection was intriguing; for others it seemed to be a preview of horrors yet to come.

But whatever their body language before trying sporting clays or five stand, the expression all shooters have seen after introducing someone new to shooting was the same: nervous grins replaced by great big smiles.

There's much more to come over the next couple of days, but I'm thinking there's a lot of upside potential to the idea of cross pollinating the more traditional outdoor activities into the resort lifestyle.

And as always, we'll keep you posted.

--Jim Shepherd