Tennessee National - Tennessee - USA

My favorite Norman design and I am lucky enough to be a National Member here. Outside of #16, this course is a strong design worthy of a top 10 ranking in Tennessee. I believe, that outside of the Honors and Holston Hills (former member before moving out of area) - Tennessee National is the best course east of Nashville. The best holes in my judgement are #6 - a difficult par 4 guarded by bunkers, #11 - a three shot Par 5 with danger on every shot and #15 which is a shorter par 4 with a difficult approach on a green that is hard to hold.

I played it right after it first opened and liked it. Typically, i am not a fan of Norman designs, but this was demanding, fair and fun. It also is one of the few courses in the USA with sod stacked bunkers, so that is kind of cool. A super par three with the green jutting out into the lake this course also has a silo. I understand that it struggled for a few years and is now being managed by Troon.

This is a pretty good Norman design set about 30 miles outside of Knoxville in a bend of the Tennessee river. The land is pretty flat but there are a couple of sharp elevation changes that add interest to the course. The greens are fair and not very severely sloped sloped. Like many Norman design courses there are a number of chipping options around the greens. Several holes have nice driving lines and options to go over or around bunkers depending on the tee set that you have chosen to play.. I have several holes I really like. The 2nd is a fairly short risk/reward par 5. A properly placed drive down the righr side of the fairway opens up the approach to a green protected by deep bunkers and sharp slopes. Nice hole. I also like 15, a fairly short par 4 which requires a precise drive and an approach to a narrow green protected by a deep front bunkers. Even though the course runs right along the river the water really only comes into play on the short par three 17th. Overall this a pretty good design that probably could have been great had the designers been given a free run of the property instead of deferring to home site considerations. Still this is a nice course I enjoy playing both for fun and in medal competitions.

Richard Smith

Knoxvillle, Tennessee