Tennessee is a state I have enjoyed many excellent trips to in the past. The trip I took in May of 2024 was motivated by trying to get to the significant courses around the Nashville area that I had yet to play, including a Donald Ross course. I also enjoyed some golf in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee, and made a side trip to Kentucky to check out a brand new course, and a highly rated state park golf course.
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| Belle Meade Country Club |
My trip to Tennessee began in the Smokey Mountains. I was driving there from home, so a stop to enjoy some mountain golf was absolutely necessary. The first stop was Smokey Mountain Golf Course in Newport, Tennessee. The course is everything we love about mountain courses, lots of elevation changes, dramatic tee shots through shoots of trees, and greens perched on top of a hill.
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| Smokey Mountain Golf Course, Par four 10th hole |
I headed a few miles down the road to Dandridge, Tennessee for my next two rounds on day one. First up was Dandridge Golf & Country Club. The course has designed by Dan Maples, most known for his work in North Carolina. He designed the original 18 holes and another nine was added a few years later.
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| Dandridge Golf & Country Club, Par four 9th hole, Red Nine |
I headed a mere few miles down the road for my last round on day one. Patriot Hills Golf Club opened in 1997 and is more of a championship course at 6700 yards then it's sister course I had just played at Dandridge.
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| Patriot Hills Golf Club, Par five 18th hole |
Day two of the trip was centered in the area around Crossville, Tennessee. A dew sweeping round at The Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain kicked off the day. Part of the Bear Trace collection of courses in the Tennessee State Park system, Cumberland Mountain is probably the toughest of the collection.
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| Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain, Par four 7th hole |
Day two continued at Lake Tansi Golf Course. Part of a resort and planned community, I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful mix of flat holes along with some holes with dramatic elevation changes.
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| Lake Tansi Golf Course, Par three 15th hole |
The final course I played on day two was Cumberland Cove Golf Course just north of Crossville. Designed by local architect Gary Baird in 1996, the course is laid out over some pleasantly rolling hills. Generally flat greens and few bunkers make this an ideal course for people that are new to the game.
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| Cumberland Cove Golf Course, Par four 9th hole |
I spent day three of the trip just over the border in Kentucky. The day began at Dale Hollow State Park golf course in Burkesville, Kentucky. The course was designed by Brian Ault from the popular Mid-Atlantic design firm of Ault/Clark & Associates.
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| Dale Hollow State Park Golf Course, Par four 9th hole |
I continued the Hollow theme for my next round on day three. Fox Hollow Golf Club, in Glasgow, Kentucky is a shotmakers course at only 5300 yards, but is a ton of fun to play with the hills and lakes that extenuate the design.
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| Fox Hollow Golf Club, Par three 7th & 9th holes |
I headed to the Park City area to continue my day in Kentucky. Diamond Caverns Golf Course is part of an RV Resort and is a sporty little course on a very undulating piece of property near Mammoth Cave National Park.
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| Diamond Caverns Golf Course, Par four 8th hole |
The last course I played on day three would prove to be the highlight of the trip. Park Mammoth Golf Club was recently completely renovated by architect Brian Ross and the result is spectacular. Ross took down trees, re-routed holes, and made a links style course that is destined to be one of the best in Kentucky.
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| Park Mammoth Golf Club, Par four 4th hole in foreground, Par three 5th hole in background |
I headed to the Nashville area for the next few days of my trip. Day four began very early in the morning at one of the many fine city owned courses, Ted Rhodes Golf Course. The course, originally called Cumberland Golf Course, opened in the 1950's and is located on the banks of the Cumberland River.
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| Ted Rhodes Golf Course, Par four 4th hole |
I headed a little south of town for my next round. Towhee Club was originally designed by Arnold Palmer and opened in 2005. The owners have undertaken some recent upgrades to the bunkers and greens.
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| Towhee Club, Par five 17th hole |
I returned to Nashville for round three on this very long day of golf. Harpeth Hills is another fine city owned facility that features more elevation change than some of the others closer to the city center.
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| Harpeth Hills Golf Course, Par four 1st hole |
The final course I played on day five will soon be the site of an LIV Tour event. The Grove in College Grove is located Southeast of town and was designed by Greg Norman in 2012. The club has experience hosting tournaments, having hosted a Korn Ferry Tour event in the past. To give you an idea of how in demand golf in Nashville is, my tee time was 4:30 and there were people teeing off behind me for two hours!
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| The Grove, Par five 2nd hole |
Day six was focused on things other than golf, but I did manage to get out and play a couple times. First was an improtu round at The Little Course at Conner Lane. This par three course is the home of the Tennessee Golf Association and is surrounded by Vanderbilt Legends Club. The course was designed by Bob Cupp and is a wonderful place for juniors, beginners, and families to have a fun round.
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| Little Course at Conner Lane, Par three 3rd and 5th holes |
I drove to the Brentwood area South of Nashville for my next round. Richland Country Club was originally designed by Jack Nicklaus and opened in 1988. Bill Bergin completed a massive renovation recently that removed trees and expanded greens and fairways. The very hilly course works it's way up and down the property with some very dramatic tee shots and wonderful par threes.
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| Richland Country Club, Par four 9th hole |
The seventh day of the trip took place mostly north of Nashville. It began about twenty miles away in the town of Springfield. The Legacy Golf Club was designed by legendary PGA Tour player Raymond Floyd. This was my first Raymond Floyd design. I was impressed by his use of angles to reward bold tee shots.
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| The Legacy Golf Club, Par five 14th hole |
A few miles south of Springfield, Joelton was my next destination on day seven. Nashville National Golf Links is a little short at 6100 yards, but is full of twists and turns, and uses the topography to create some interesting holes.
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| Nashville National Golf Links, Par three 16th hole |
I headed south of Nashville for my last round on day seven. This course was a rare replay for me. I played Troubadour Golf & Field Club in 2020 and wanted to play it again to exorcise some demons.
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| Troubadour Golf & Field Club, Par four 1st hole |
Troubadour is a top notch Tom Fazio course that is managed by Discovery Land, known for their over the top comfort stations. The first time I played it I had a less than positive experience. It wasn't the fault of the course or staff. I had a really obnoxious playing partner that ruined the day for me. I played my worst round of the last five years and really wanted another crack at the course. This time I played with a very nice assistant pro and improved on my horrible 84 from 2020 with a very solid 68. Improved by 16 shots!
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| Troubadour Golf & Field Club, Par three 16th hole |
I was staying in Franklin for the Nashville portion of my trip, so it was mandatory I check out Franklin Bridge Golf Club very close to my hotel. This links style course opened in the late 1980's and was designed by local architect Gary Roger Baird.
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| Franklin Bridge Golf Club, Par four 18th hole |
The massive Nashville Golf & Athletic Club was the next destination on day 8. The course is very long at 7600 yards and was designed by Bruce Devlin and Robert Von Hagge in 1971. These architects are known for designing difficult courses and this one is no exception. Heavy rain overnight added another challenging element.
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| Nashville Golf & Athletic Club, Par three 6th hole |
A few miles northwest of Golf & Athletic was a nine hole course called Cheekwood that was next up on this day. This short par 33 was a delightful walk despite the many puddles from the overnight rain.
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| Cheekwood Golf Club, Par four 9th hole |
The final course I played in Tennessee was the main reason I had traveled to Nashville. Belle Meade Country Club was designed by Donald Ross and has been reworked by many architects over the years. There are still some pretty good Ross elements left in the design and I had a wonderful walk around my 267th Ross course.
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| Belle Meade Country Club, Par four 13th hole |
I started the drive back to South Carolina after my round at Belle Meade. I got up very early the following day to make sure I would have time to get to northern South Carolina by 7 am to begin my final day of golf at Village Greens Golf Course in Grambling, South Carolina. My experience at Village Greens was unique for one reason. After playing the first four holes, I hit my tee shot on the reachable par five 5th hole and discovered there was no pin on the green. This happens to me now and then. The guy changing the cups will pull the pin and leave it off to the side of the green so the guy mowing doesn't have to stop to pull the pin. I was shocked to find there was no pin off to the side of the green. No pin anywhere. I played the first four holes with pins, but no pin anywhere on five or on the par three 6th hole. On both holes I drove up, figured out where it was on the green and hit my approaches, but in all my rounds I have never played a course where the maintenance staff took two random pins away.
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| Village Greens Golf Course, Par three 9th hole |
Less than a mile from Village Greens was my next destination on this last day. Mountain View par three course is a delightful little course that uses the elevation as it's main challenge.
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| Mountain View Par Three, 9th hole |
A five-mile drive north to the town of Campobello had me at my next destination, The Links O' Tryon. The course was designed by Tom Jackson, who designed many courses in the Carolinas. I have played over 30 of his designs at this point. He is particularly skilled at taking a course with wild rolling terrain and giving you holes that are both challenging and fun.
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| Links O' Tryon, Par three 12th hole |
The last course of my trip was Woodfin Ridge Golf Club in Woodfin, South Carolina. The ridge name is appropriate, as the course moves up and down through some dramatic elevation changes. Both nines finish strong at an almost double green.
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| Woodfin Ridge Golf Club, Par five 9th hole |
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