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Big Canoe Golf Club

Big Canoe, GA / 27 Hole Resort

About Location

PROJECT NOTES

Big Canoe is a 27 hole mountain/lake golf community. Originally designed by Joe Lee, 18 holes have now been updated with all new greens complexes, bunkers, and a nice distribution of teeing areas. Magnificent mountain views have been exposed and club selection variety has been greatly enhanced. The Creek and Choctaw nines have been completed, with Creek having opened in the spring of 2022, and Choctaw following in 2025. Bergin Golf Designs has completed a Master Plan for renovating the remaining Cherokee nine.

18 Hole Resort

Big Canoe, GA

150+ acres

~1,501 feet above sea level

~6,392 yards in length

Par 71

Featured: Par-4 7th, 338 yards

The short par four seventh on the Creek nine at Big Canoe starts from an elevated teeing ground.  The totality of the challenge is clearly evident with a clear view of the green complex and surrounding bunkers. The key strategic element is the left bunker which sits about 15 – 20 yards short of the front edge of the putting surface. Any drive near this bunker is left with a manageable pitch to the green.

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Druid Hills - 17

It’s sometimes hard to fathom the impact of bunkering on a golf course and how it informs the overall look and feel of a green complex. With minimal disturbance, new bunkering combined with modest green surround shaping has given Druid Hills a big boost in the perceived quality of the course. 

Mary Bergin

Business Manager

Bergin Golf Designs is managed by Mary Bergin, who joined the company in 1999. Mary oversees all administrative and financial matters for the company. She is known company-wide for being the Great Editor, making all things better. Mary previously worked in international auditing and commercial real estate development. She earned her MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, and bachelor degrees in Economics and International Studies from Miami University.

Callie Bergin Powell, NCIDQ

Marketing Associate

Making our firm truly a family affair, Callie Bergin Powell joined the company in March, 2025. Following a successful tenure with Tryba Architects and Ware Malcomb in Denver, CO, Callie brings her design, rendering and marketing abilities to Bergin Golf Designs. In addition to her work at Tryba, Callie served on the Board of the International Interior Design Association as the Rocky Mountain Chapter’s Director of Digital Publishing, overseeing the organization’s website and social media accounts. Callie has an interior architecture degree from Miami University and earned her NCIDQ certification in 2022.

Albie

Road Warrior

A key component to everyday life and project management is Bergin Golf Designs not so secret companion, Albie. Seen traveling across most of the Southeastern United States, Albie offers a new dimension in work productivity. When the van is on the road, someone in in the “mobile office’ getting work done.

Additionally, Bergin Golf Designs is able to keep materials and supplies within easy reach. Those supplies include our temperamental, yet essential, grade rod, as well as paint guns, hand levels, range finders and rugged tablets, allowing us to have everything we need for project management at the ready. A key part of Bergin Golf Designs success, Albie has been with the company since 2019.

Justin Killingsworth

Design Associate

After an initial stint with Bergin Golf Designs from 2006-2009, we were fortunate to have Justin Killingsworth rejoin the company in the fall of 2022. Involved in all aspects of plan production and presentation, Justin is able to express our proposed designs in graphic form. His presentations help our clients visualize potential changes to a hole or the land. Justin’s work has continued to advance to include strategic design and detailed grading plans. A member of the ASGCA Tartan Program, Justin is working toward full membership with the ASGCA. 

Justin obtained a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Louisiana State University and a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Tennessee, combining his love for the game with a well-planned education. As a student at the University of Tennessee, Justin obtained plant knowledge and construction experience by interning for four years with a landscape design company. His training consisted of developing design concepts, creating artistic renderings, and executing field implementation. As a graduate student at LSU, Justin’s internship allowed him to assist with various projects ranging from city master planning to small scale park design.

Matt Bergin - ASGCA

Design Associate

Matt Bergin joined Bergin Golf Designs in 2016 as a draftsman. Fast forward to today, Matt is involved in both strategy and grading plans, influencing and contributing to the overall design and execution of our projects. Matt also performs site visits – both in the initial design phase, as well as during construction supervision. After four years in the ASGCA Tartan Program, Matt became a full member of the ASGCA in the fall of 2025.

In his initial years with the company, Matt quickly acquired the AutoCad skills necessary to produce construction documents. He also assumed and continues to hold responsibility for all drone flights, producing topographical base maps, as well as photography and videography, during construction and upon course completion. 

Growing up in the Bergin family, golf has always been a part of Matt’s life. During his college years, Matt began his work experience in the industry at Cherokee Town & Country Club in Atlanta, GA, gaining valuable experience in golf course operations and maintenance while working on Cherokee’s grounds crew and in the Pro Shop. A graduate of Rhodes College with a degree in Theatre Arts, Matt’s artistic aptitude and set design experience have greatly contributed to an appreciation of spatial relationships and an understanding of scale. Matt brings that knowledge to golf course design – the stage for the game of golf.

Spencer Oliver

Agronomic Associate

Spencer Oliver joined Bergin Golf Designs in February 2022, bringing agronomic expertise to the BGD team. Assisting with construction and grow-in on over 25 Bergin Golf Designs projects, Spencer has keen insight into the important relationship between the superintendent, contractor and the architect – before, during and after project completion. Spencer’s love for the game and passion for detailed course management have resulted in him being a great asset to our company. Now in a consulting role, Spencer’s agronomic and course management skills, combined with BGD’s design philosophies and expertise, offer an outstanding package to our clients.

Prior to joining Bergin Golf Designs, over the course of 20+ years as a golf course superintendent, Spencer was involved with golf course construction, maintenance, and renovations. During his early superintendent career, Spencer worked on many notable courses such as: Callaway Gardens, The Golf Club of Georgia, Kiawah Island, Hawks Ridge, Barnsley Gardens and Dunwoody Country Club.  It was during his nearly 17 years at Dunwoody Country Club where Spencer developed his own philosophies of golf course maintenance and where he matured as a golf course superintendent. His ability to see things not as they are, but what they could be, was well evidenced during his time there.