This is almost a perfect list. I would slot in Henry Horton right above MB and move Towhee down a couple spot.
Finally made a trip up to Park Mammoth based on thread recommendations and I was BLOWN AWAY. Can confirm you will regret if you don’t play a full day as that’s exactly what happened to us.
I played Sweetens back in 2016 before the glow up, and it has some of those same vibes. It’s a bit undiscovered and you can do basically whatever the hell you want. Glorious.
I always forget about Henry Horton, even though we held an event there last year. After playing Towhee this past weekend, despite playing the best golf of my life on the back, I would agree.
Stoked to hear you agree about PM!
Anyone have any intel on Five Oaks in Lebanon? Seems quirky but maybe fun?
Never played it but I toured last year. Greens were awful but they should be at least 6 month on their new greens so it might be better. Course was narrow and hilly. Looks like you could lose some tee shots that just roll away from the fairway. The CC aspect was not impressive and very outdated.
Will be in Nashville Sunday with a buddy. Where should we play and where should we eat?
Two rivers and hit Tennfold after for drinks and pizza
We hit Joyland for food when passing through, because I was really excited for Sean Brock fast food, and it did not disappoint
The city will be overrun with Swifties here for her concert. I would get on top of making a tee time ASAP.
McCabe is short, but has fun greens. Always packed, so expect a looooong round.
Harpeth Hills is tough, but very sceneic and well kept. This one will is usually packed too.
Two Rivers is ok, but it is usally in great shape and not very busy.
Ted Rhodes is a stupid course with a ton of water, but can also be less busy.
I haven’t played Gaylord or Hermitage so I can’t coment on those. Towhee, just south of town, is pretty decent. Theres a few good holes, and the course conditioning is usually 10/10.
Lots of food recs, too, if you want them.
Forgot to add Shelby. I love Shelby Park, but a lot of folks around here don’t. The conditioning is bad. Like really, really bad. There is fantastic golden age architecture on display here, though, and you really get a feel for how courses were built before they could move dirt (course is from 1914). A few holes are terrible, and the 6th is probably the silliest hole I have ever played. It is a double valley hole, but the first valley you hit into is blind. I have played the hole dozens of times, and found my drive maybe 3 of those times. If you are so lucky to find your drive, the next shot is like 210 yards, and plays around 100 yards straight uphill. Not a possible golf shot.
Why is Ted Rhodes “stupid”?
The routing is dumb, and the course is put together like a maze. I know this is because it is a combination of two seperate courses, but the way everything fits together is confusing and silly. There is water on 15 holes, which is just ridiculous. This coupled with the fact that the course is on the river, and doesn’t even use that element to it’s advantage is just silly. Trees are overgrown by the tee box on like 4 or 5 of the holes on the back, which make them near impossible driving holes for the average golfer. The 8th and 16th holes are as bad as golf holes get. They are cutting trees down now, but left pretty much all the trees there on 16. It makes absolutely no sense.
I play the course 2-3 times a week, because it is convinently located. It is a good option for municipal golf, but no one who is visiting town should play it. There is nothing there worth seeing. The course history is great, though.
Food for sure. Just two guys so a bar with good food. Staying in brentwood
See if you can get on Harpeth then. It is the most the closest course to your area. The food scene in brentwood isn’t the best, there are a lot of chains down there. I would suggest maybe heading down to Franklin for dinner. Should be less crowded, and there will be a ton of options. The Fish and Chips at McCreary’s are pretty good.
I second this suggestion. Two Rivers is a really solid, relatively interesting muni option and Tennfold is excellent. Donelson also has Nectar (tacos, same owners as Tennfold), McNamara’s (fun Irish pub with great live music – warning, can get very busy on live music nights), and Phat Bites (quirky sandwich place)
I believe @Twostep3939 has a tee time at Harpeth for you @Mackmade 
Just read the Google reviews on Ted Rhodes, and what a trip that is. I can’t wait to meet the infamous Jim!
Take a cart… and if you believe in personal protection, I would take that too
Potentially controversial opinion: I wish more courses had a Jim. I’m looking at a few of the reviews and while Jim certainly sounds like an asshole, I think he’s the hero we need, not the one we want. Here’s a few that stand out.
"We were waiting patiently for a group a little ahead of us to finish play, they were taking a little longer than usual but nothing crazy. All of a sudden a marshall zooms past us nearly running over my friend, and proceeds to SCREAM at the group ahead of us when he was barely within shouting distance, “ARE YOU BLIND?!? YOU SEE THEM ALL BEHIND YOU?”
Not necessarily the approach I’d take, but I’ve seen far more marshalls drive right by slow groups without so much as a word. Thanks for looking out Jim.
“This ended up being a 15+ minute conversation with him yelling and nearly kicking us off the course- simply because we weren’t PGA Tour level golfers and played slow because of it.”
Ya know, maybe don’t play slow.
“We were two groups, a group of 4, and a group of 3 , minus 1 player that was not playing. So 3 pairs, we decided to play best ball . We played as a bigger group, but had a great pace of play considering 3 pair playing. And since having back to back tee times reserved, we we’re well within our time.”
This is just not true. And I think the qualifier of “considering 3 pair playing” is doing some heavy lifting here.
#JusticeForJim
Oh man after reading this I can’t wait to play Shelby Park. Great write up.
Looks like it’s gonna be Two Rivers and Gaylord for after work summer rounds for me. Pretty excited.
There are some exceptional golf holes out there. 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are great golf holes. Just don’t expect the grass on the greens to be alive (joking slightly). If there did tree removal, creek restoration, green restoration/expansion, and proper maintance it would be a perfect muni. Fair warning, it is extremely hilly, and a tough walk. I walked the back 9 last week and my phone says I climbed the equivalent of 18 flights of stairs over the course of 4 miles. It’s a good workout.
I have never had an issue with any of the staff at Ted Rhodes, and, again, I play there at least twice a week. If anything, I wish the marshalls there did a better job of keeping things moving. Lots of guys duffing shots and taking mulligans when theres people waiting behind them.
If you want to talk about asshole marshalls and starters, all convsersation should be directed towards the guy at Harpeth Hills.