Honors Course

Since our last U.S. Top 100, the club had Gil Hanse tweak this 1983 Pete Dye design by replacing the 10th and 11th greens in a manner similar to their original configuration. Additionally, Hanse exposed two creek tributaries in front of the 18th green, and this Home hole now ranks with Dye’s best closers, which is saying something. Situated at the foot of White Oak Mountain in eastern Tennessee, the course has long been a sanctuary for wildlife and a think tank on agronomy and different grasses. Cocooned in nature, the player revels in the rustic playing environment and 2021 saw the fairways re-grassed with the new Zeon Zoysia hybrid. Its finer blades provide more release than the old Myer Zoysia and the playing surfaces have once again achieved optimal firmness. A bastion for amateur golf, we can’t wait for the 2024 Senior Amateur, the 2026 Women’s Amateur and the 2031 U.S. Amateur (which marks the 40th anniversary of its first U.S. Amateur). (Photo: Dan Reynolds Photography)