I’ll be in Knoxville next week and am looking to play Thursday 10/10 in the morning if anyone is interested in meeting up.
I’m surprised to hear a lot of people seem to not like the conditioning of River Islands. I played there September 6th, and I thought it was really good.
The greens were quite firm the day I played, and the fairways were firm and fast.
I live a couple of hours away and haven’t played in Knoxville, so maybe you all have a higher standard in Knoxville. My round at RI fell between rounds at The Virginian and Sweetens, and it was not bad at all when I played there.
I’m certainly not as well-traveled as most people, so I’m genuinely curious what the standard is in other areas. This isn’t to say that I’m trying to discredit what you experienced, I’m more curious. I will admit, though, I talked to some maintenance guys and they have some issues with those dead patches about the size of a basketball in the greens, and they are watering like crazy to try and get those areas to heal.
I am looking to set up a golf trip for a bachelor party for the upcoming spring. We are going to Sevierville. What course are worth checking out with in an hour of there?
Looking for some good top courses and then some options for cheap courses since most attending the bachelor party are real hacks.
Appreciate any advice!
Sevierville is kinda limited, but the best courses by far are Sevierville Golf Club - River and Highlands courses. I seem to remember Gatlinburg Golf Course being alright too.
You’re about an hour plus to anywhere else. Do not go to River Islands/Island Pointe, no matter what they tell you. Course is in awful shape and way too difficult for hacks.
Go check out Dollywood too, sneaky good roller coasters there.
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So, I said this before, and I reckon I’ll keep saying it. Certainly go check River Islands/Island Pointe, no matter what they tell you. I played it September 6th, and it was in great shape.
I’m not sure what the expectation is, but for $39 it is a great course. It’s probably not the easiest course out there, but Gatlinburg isn’t easy if you have no idea where your ball is going.
I’m going to try to get to River Islands again sometime in the next couple months to see if maybe I played on the only day it was in good shape. It seems like every review I’ve heard is either 5 stars or 1 star.
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Sounds like there are a few choices! I’ll have to do my research.
Thanks for the recommendation!
How is golf in the Spring in East Tennessee? I’m coming down from Michigan.
I’ll have to take a look! Google maps ftw
Depends on what month. March is typically still “mud season” as we like to call it. April is better. May is perfect.
The River Course at Severiville Golf Club is an absolute beast but I think you have to go there given proximity. I would skip River Islands based on what I have heard lately. Check out Graysburg Hills in Chucky, TN instead. It’s about an hour drive and is a 27 hole Rees Jones design in the middle of nowhere. It’s cheap and worth checking out.
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Middle of nowhere is the key phrase here. You’d be lucky to get there in an hour from Sevierville. The condition can be less than ideal, depending on the weather.
I was about to suggest Graysburg Hills, too. Maps has it about 1 hr 15 min from Sevierville. Great course for the money if you’re willing to drive that far.
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Let’s play a round, I’m a Chattanoogan myself.
Second the Graysburg rec. I went to school about 20 minutes from there and it’s a really fun course.
I don’t really golf further south than Graysburg, because I’m up in Bristol, but wouldn’t you have to pass a bunch of other courses to get to Graysburg? Is Andrew Johnson any good? I keep seeing ads for that course.
We usually get down to Graysburg about once a year because you can play all day for $35, but it takes about another year for us to want to go there again, haha.
Andrew Johnson isn’t horrible but not really any good. It actually has a pretty cool layout but unless they’ve put some money into the course since I last played there in about 2016 (I seriously doubt it), the greens are suuuuper slow and it’s not in great shape. Could be real good. If you have club connects, I would check out Link Hills in Greeneville. Nice little club. Some stinker holes but excellent greens and some really fun holes.
I saw an article last year about Andrew Johnson doing a capital investment in making the course nicer. Might be worth a look. My son played a PGA Jr League match at Link Hills, and it just seemed kind of bland. Maybe I’ll try it sometime, but Greeneville is a haul for me and it’s speed-trap central.
You know what’s actually only an hour away from Sevierville? Willow Creek. Always in great condition, very reasonable green fees.
Front nine is pretty tight, but the back nine is much more open. Fantastic greens.
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Yeah just going to Willow and then doing something in Knoxville before/after is probably a good call. You’ll probably want to get away from Sevierville and into a non-touristy civilized area at some point anyways. I can attest to the conditions of the greens as well, I was ejected from one after hitting a GIR last weekend.
I could see how link is boring, just played there a bunch and loved the greens.
Was that on long on 6, short on 10, right on 11, or short on 17?