Our reviews, whether on this blog or on specific rating sites (RV Park Reviews, Campendium, Trip Advisor, Yelp) are explicitly value based, i.e., it takes a lot less to get a five star review from us for a $20 experience than it would a $70 one.  So when I say Wanee Lake Golf & RV Resort is Five Stars, I mean that it would be very hard indeed to beat the incredible value we got from this property.  For $16 we got a reasonably spacious, full hook up (50 amp) pull through site in southern Georgia on the Passport-America rate.  Think about that for a second: spacious, i.e., no crowded cheek by jowl, slide out against neighbors awning spot; full hook up, i.e., sewage at our site and no extra fees for 50 amp service; and a pull through site, something for which a more recent resort wanted an extra $7 per day.  Now, sure, you can find options in this range on PA, but Wanee Lake has no black out periods, weekend restrictions, or pet fees.  Finally, consider this little amenity: free unlimited golf on their nice nine hole course.  That’s right: Free. Unlimited. Golf.

A spacious site on grass.  #1 Tee 50 yards in front of the bus.n

I don’t know how they make money on this.  In addition to the golf course with chipping, putting and driving ranges, they have a 7 acre lake for fishing, a pool, tennis court, on property bar, locker rooms, and mostly usable free wifi.  I have trouble thinking of any place among the roughly 140 campgrounds at which we have stayed that can match Wanee Lake on “bang for the buck” criteria.   Asburn, GA is peaceful, but it is not exactly a destination spot, so you might cavil about the value as it relates to the location: on these grounds it can’t compete with our ludicrously tax payer subsidized winter campground on the Key West Naval Air Station, for instance.   But given that we have to dry camp there for 75% of our stay and most of the RVer population doesn’t have access to NAS Key West, I would say that in terms of pure amenities vs dollars, Wanee Lake takes the cake.

Looking down the #1 fairway from just in front of the RV.

We arrived in the early after noon following a 90 minute drive from Robins Air Force Base Family Camp.  After a brief discussion with the owner about our priorities, he assigned us a spot right next to the hole #1 tee and the wifi repeater.  Every spot at Wanee is a pull through, which worked out perfectly for us since we had no need to disconnect Loki during our short stay.  Others have clearly honed in on the great deal this park offers, as the campground was nearly full during our week day stay.

Once set up, I spent a bit of time on their practice green trying to regain a feel for putting and relearning basic chipping skills after my fifteen year break from the sport before I hit the links for nine holes near sunset.  The golf is free for those of us walking, but if you want a cart there is, of course, a fee ranging from $8 (nine holes, weekday) to $16 (eighteen holes, weekend.)  I finished a satisfactory round in the mid 50s, with enough nice shots, especially my three wood off the tee, to keep me enthused.  The course has three holes with major water hazards, particularly the ball swallowing 8th that requires a careful lay up short of 200 yards, and then a clean shot across 150 yards of lake and muck into a significantly narrowed fairway and green.

$18 in golf investment: $10 for clubs, $2 for the bag, $6 for the new glove.

Though this was initially intended to be a one night stop, the next morning we extended for a second day, partially because of the great value, but also because we had developed an electrical problem with our house systems, and our appointment at Horizon RV in Valdosta to get it checked out necessitated a one day delay.  This allowed us to catch up on a bit of TV and blog posts, as well as another hour on the chipping and putting green followed by nine holes.  My chipping is returning to form, and though my score remained in the 50’s, my game felt more consistent.  Had it not been for the egregious 8th hole I would have had a notably better round.

This 75 cent 12′ ball retriever has paid for itself with the bag of balls I have gathered across three courses.

In closing, a couple of points about the discount rate at Passport-America campgrounds generally and Wanee Lake specifically:

• When we find a PA property that works for my timing and location, I realize that the 50% discount is not necessarily providing us 50% off of what I could pay in the region.  In other words, sure, maybe Campground X normally charges $40 a night and I get it for $20, but there may very well be nearby campgrounds just as good that charge $30 a night but don’t offer a PA discount.  When I say that our Passport-America membership has paid for itself many times over, I do so with the understanding that the 50% discount may only be worth 25% compared to regional competitors.   And yet it has still paid for itself many, many times over.
• The 50% PA discount rate offered by Wanee Lake my have a three day limit, suggesting that it is a “get them in the door” marketing technique, except that any days beyond three get a 25% discount for PA members.  Or you can just secure a “no club membership required” week long stay for $141 ($20.14/night) or a full month at $425.  We don’t have much interest in a month stay in this region, but I could easily see a future stop here for a week of relaxation, perhaps after another hard push back toward Florida next year.

So that’s our last stop short of the Florida border.  Next post, our electrical repairs and we finally return to the Sunshine State.  Would love to hear of other great RV and Golf resorts that offers incredible bang for the buck value.