Living in St. Marlo Country Club

The setting

St. Marlo occupies more than 900 acres of rolling hardwood terrain at the southern tip of Forsyth County, with a Duluth mailing address and Johns Creek immediately across the line. The topography is the first thing owners notice and the last thing they give up: elevation changes, mature canopy and long views that newer flat-pad developments in the corridor cannot replicate.

A large share of homes sit adjacent to the golf course, which is laid out across roughly 200 acres and designed by Denis Griffiths. Water is in play on nine holes, and the stone work and waterfalls that define the course also define the sight lines from a meaningful number of back yards.

Daily life

The community is fully gated with 24-hour manned access and its own security team — a practical amenity that residents cite as often as the golf. Common areas, streetscapes and the amenity campus are maintained by the association rather than left to individual owners, which is why the community presents consistently street to street.

The golf course is a daily-fee course open to the public, which changes the economics of living here: a household that plays occasionally is not required to carry a private club membership to have a course at the end of the street.

Location and access

St. Marlo's position gives it easy access to Interstate 85 and to the retail and dining density of Johns Creek and Suwanee, while keeping the lower Forsyth County property tax base. Emory Johns Creek Hospital is minutes away — a factor that matters more to relocating households than most listing copy acknowledges.