Could try to call and get a tee time on some of the resort courses in Crossville, Tn.
Not sure if they allow that, but it’s great Golf if you can get it to work.
When it’s sunny and 60* on a Sunday in February, it’s not easy to get a short- it or tee time at Bear Trace, Brainerd or Nob North.
Some buds and I are going to Trenton Golf Club today. I’ve never played there. My friend says it’s pretty short and easy and also likely to have drained better than the lower-lying courses.
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Played Toqua Golf Course yesterday in Tellico Village. Really nice course, would love to play it when it’s not in winter conditions. Kind of a weird vibe though as I feel like everyone there was a member and we were just kind of interlopers.
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All of the Tellico Village courses have that feeling. Retirement community that’s a bit odd if an outsider, but decent courses if you can handle the vibe.
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Yeah the vibe was only really there at the driving range. Buddy and I went off as a twosome and didn’t really have anyone playing behind as we were moving quick. Vibe included was still worth it. I had no idea it was a retirement community until I looked it up today!
I’ve been interested in playing the Links at Kahite (at Tellico Village. Any reviews from the crowd here?
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All are pretty good golf.
Toqua is my least favorite of the three. Kahite has a par 6 that is fun. Another course out that way which is good is called WindRiver. Could try to play that one as well.
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Wind River just redid their greens with that new Prism zoysia I believe. Last time I was out there it was in really good shape despite having just redone them. It’s a tough one
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Zoysia greens?
I didn’t know those existed.
Speaking of tough courses, I played Trenton Golf Club for the first time on Sunday. It’s located just across the TN line in North Georgia on the same exit from I-59 you’d use when going to McLemore or Dogwood Hills.
The course is in a narrow valley and plays up and down the hills that form it. My guess is that it wasn’t routed or built by a professional course designer though I could be wrong about that.
There are a ton of uphill approaches to greens which isn’t my favorite shot. Not being able to see the putting surface you’re approaching is okay for a couple holes a round, but there are probably 6 holes like that at Trenton. A couple of them are dramatically uphill, so much that it’s hard to make a good swing.
There are also at least three holes that play straight downhill toward ponds that cross the fairway. Most of these were a fairway wood and then a wedge or nine iron. It’s a nice idea for a hole but having three holes with the same setup is two too many.
There are two fairly short par fives that are back to back and bookended by par threes. Talk about a logjam waiting to happen. That stretch of holes piled every group on top of the next and it stayed that way through the 18th green.
The greens themselves seem designed more for drainage and less for shot values. Most of them slope only in one direction and it’s very hard to find any flat pin-able locations. We had a ton of three putts that would have seemed comical if they weren’t so infuriating.
The course is set in a pretty little valley. Conditions are mostly good and it’s affordable. If you’re staying and playing at McLemore and need a different course for a day it’s not the worst option. Maybe you can get in there on a weekday and it wouldn’t be so bad. Our Sunday afternoon round took five (5) hours and left us thinking we wouldn’t be back there for awhile.
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yeah they’re pretty interesting. I believe Avalon and WindRiver planted the same strain. I would not be surprised if more area courses went that direction going forward. UT did a big study on this grass and the inputs to keep it alive/playable were considerably less than bermuda.
Couple notes on how they play. No grain to mess with, but can get very bumpy if they aren’t rolled often. Firm but receptive (almost no pitch-marks, not going to zip a ton of wedges back either). Can be tough to read because the surface can hide a lot of subtle breaks.
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Are they brown in the winter?
My old club in Cincinnati had zoysia fairways. That’s basically as far north as zoysia could grow. We never had to water the fairways. And, we used very few, if any, fertilizers or other chemical inputs. But, the fairways go dormant (brown) in the winter. And, if the fairways remained wet, cold, and in shade during the winter the grass wouldn’t come out of dormancy very well in the spring.
I wonder if all this applies to this new strain.
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That sounds okay to me.
My top priority for greens is consistency. Having the same conditions in July and January is preferable to something that might be better three months of the year and worse the rest of the time.
Most courses around Chattanooga have gone to Tif Eagle or hybrid Bermuda of some kind. The only exceptions are the mountaintop courses that have kept bent grass (though Lookout Mountain is currently under renovation and I’m not sure whether they’re keeping bent).
Hmm. Played Avalon a week or two ago for the first time in quite a while. Didn’t pay much attention to the grass type on the greens, but I can say that they were pretty damn consistent across all holes. Bit slower than expected early on but able to adjust quickly due to constant feel.
Windriver was great. Played it in October with the new greens. Being from up north the dormant Bermuda gives me some trouble but all in all it was a great course in really good shape.
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had to fact check myself. Avalon did Primo/Prymo(?) zoysia and WindRiver did the Prism/Pryzm(?). What those differences are, i don’t know. They were bred by the same company.
Avalon sodded so they have been very careful as to when and how often they cut. Everything I’m hearing from membership and staff is they are really starting to establish root and can start getting a little more aggressive with maintenance the coming Summer
@VelvetSteve they stay green year round. and whatever these new strains of zoysia are, they are much more resistant to cold, shade, disease, etc. At least that is what i’ve read.
edit: can’t believe I’m becoming a grass nerd
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Apologies if this has been discussed at nausea, I can’t find the sweetens thread. 8 of us will be flying into nashville for 3 nights, one day will be Sweetens. Looking at getting recco’s for 2 full days of golf.
Travel Day: 18 @ Hermitage
Day 2 : 36 Old Tocoa Farm
Day 3 : Sweetens
Day 4 Travel Day Sawanee
Am I missing anything would you trade out?
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Which course at Hermitage? One is much better than the other. There is a Sweetens Thread. I will get a link for you.
https://refuge.nolayingup.com/t/sweetens-cove-can-i-like-funemployment/2595/5216?u=carrybagswag
Geographically speaking, OTF is way outside your blast radius for this trip. I live in Chattanooga and would allow myself a good two hours to get over there and hit a few balls before playing. Honestly it’s a really hard course and play tends to be slow. If you’re planning 36 holes you’re going to want to wake up a lot closer to the golf course than Chattanooga.
If I can suggest an alternative, look into the Friends of McLemore offer on the McLemore website. They are very accommodating and if you talk to one of the salespeople they have some discretion on booking times and rates.
The course lacks the pedigree of OTF but overall they’re not that different. The views at McLemore are remarkable and the conditions are excellent. Price should be comparable to OTF.
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Couldn’t agree more here. OTF is not considered “close” to Chatty. Here’s a couple of thoughts:
If you have a pro that can call for you, check out Black Creek (super fun to play) or Dalton CC - recently redesign.
A few public options:
- Brainerd (Ross muni - rough around edges but good bones).
- Bear Trace (Tim’s Ford on way from Nashville or Harrison Bay - near Chattanooga)
- McLemore is 2 spectacular holes with some other ok ones crammed in to the rest (some love it / some don’t - I’m in the latter).
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