Sweetens Cove Golf Club

The former “little course that could” is now the “little course that does” and that little course is nicely nestled in the mainstream golf world. I’ve played this course a handful of times over the past couple years, and in that short timespan it’s blown up. But the staff is as friendly as ever, a friend and I on a whim showed up without a pass, hoping for a slew of cancellations could lead us to a couple loops. Sure enough we got the thumbs up. The course was undoubtedly in perfect condition and every golfer ther, equipped a story with a smile, is completely all in. It makes for an experience like none other. But what I will say, is the greens kicked us hard. Every time I’ve played here, I’ve found a track with more bark than bite. Scary at times but then you walk away with a 2-putt par smiling and praising Rob Collins’ genius. You get a couple bad breaks but more often than not you receive a fair shake. But on this day? No. The greens were souped up to the point of torture. They’ve always been quick, but pleasantly receivable. We tried everything to hold them and nothing working, the combo of heat baked glass and pin placement made it maddening.
So all that to say - the prices are high, the merch is expensive, the extravagant events are for deeper pockets, but the same spirit exists. We caught it this day on extreme conditions, but it’s worth it.
If you’ve never played it - it’s a must. If you haven’t played it in awhile, take a weekday evening loop and soak it in because deep down you know the opportunities to play are going to get fewer and farther between.

back in 2017 I read a review about this place and made multiple attempts to play here as we go to RTJ trail over the winter to get our fix. Weather never allowed it. Fast forward a few years: as I got deeper into golf, the more and more the golf community started talking about how special this place was and I kept seeing more and more about it. We finally made it here last summer and it is the most fun of golf I have had. We got a day pass and spent sun up to sun down playing golf. Kind of place you can bring a dog, 7 buddies, a cooler of your own food and beer. Every 9 holes we would swign back to the commons area, load back up on drinks and food and go back out for 9 more. We played every tee box and both pin locations. This is pure golf. I really enjoyed the ceremonious whisky shot before the round. They let larger groups off first and I wondered how it would work, I do not think we ever had to wait on a hole for another group. The game would grow if more places took the risk Sweetens did. If it was not 4 hours away and nearly impossible to get a day pass, this could be the only course I ever want to play again.

Purchased an all-day pass and played 40 holes without having to wait for more than 1 or 2 shots. Loved how they manage the amount of people out there to benefit speed of play. Course was in excellent shape despite a little bit of casual water here and there. Greens rolled extremely well, each hole had a distinct challenge and required different shots. Obviously the show stopper here is the greens which are wild and comically difficult in some places, bordering on unfair but that is the hole allure. Once I stopped keeping score and just hit shots I had the most fun. I also found that anytime I was within 15 yards of the green I was putting, sometimes up 8 foot slopes which is an experience I have never had before. Wouldn't want to play here everyday but I will definitely be back every year.

I live 2 hours away and have wanted to go. I called and was told they were booked until November BUT they had an event cancel and had room. I booked a tee time and was the first ones off on a slightly foggy morning. The course is an amazing piece of land in a valley. As you arrive the first thing I noticed is the practice putting green.....elephant buried there. Crazy elevations and undulations. I joined Michael (picture with me) and Troy and we were off. Course is is perfect shape - literally not a weed! Fairways are wide, plenty of natural bunkers, some water and you can find trouble off the tee if not careful. The biggest adjustment is remember to the right flag. There are blue flags and a white/blue flag. Greens are so massive I think they should have 3 flags - go RED/WHITE/BLUE. When you play 36 - 54 holes in a day more options would be fun.
I played the white tees first, then the blue and then the tips twice. I am a 4.4 hdcp and was 6 over for the 36 holes and hit 24/36 GIR. If you can place your approach shots correctly you will avoid some insane putts that are easy to 3 putt. Many false fronts you need to carry and many pins deep in the green you can not go over.

They could easily get a grill and do burgers/hot dogs for lunch. Simply get a local senior/retires golfer and trade them for free golf to do that from 11-2 might work well. I will be back. I had waited because I could never get anyone to go with me - SCREW THAT - just go! There are plenty of people to play with. I really think if they are booked you should still go. Since when you make a tee time they DO NOT collect any payment so the no show factor must be 10-20%. I think they should collect at least $10 - $50 to make the tee time. Just like many restaurants are taking a booking fee when you place the reservation. I

Tips - bring your own cooler and ice. They do provide coolers with water bottles on 1 - 4 and 7 which is nice. Limited beer available and NO food. No where nice to go close by so best to BRING your own lunch and snacks with you! Think ahead.

Few places actually live up to the hype that they receive. Sweeten's Cove actually lives up to the hype and more. When you drive up, the initial impression is underwhelming. Gravel parking lot, portable bathrooms and a backyard storage shed to check in. Once you get out of the car, you start to understand the hype. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. The putting green is like a roller coaster, with unbelievable twists and turns. We spent 30 minutes on it before and after playing 27 holes just having fun. You have a great view of the entire course and surrounding mountains from the shed area. It's just stunning.
Now for the golf. WOW is my best summary. The tees are wide open with large landing areas. The approach shots are a challenge and the short game when you miss a green presents extreme situations. It took far too many holes for me to figure out that I needed to leave the lob wedge in the back and use a putter anytime I was on short grass within 20-30 feet of the green. Just a couple of feet short or long of the needed landing area on approaches, chips and pitches would find the ball rolling back to your feet or off the backside of the green. Don't worry about your score. Just enjoy the experience. You will likely have a big number or two around the course. Just take a deep breath, a quick look at the mountains and realize that there is more to golf than posting a low score on a hole.
This was truly a fun day. The late morning 9 was a little slow and stayed backed up till we got past #5. Then the pace picked up to a fun level. The last 2 nines were very fast, as the course seemed to start clearing out after noon.
I plan to return. You should play this course. You'll be glad you did.

Amazing 9 hole course that iso r of the best overall courses in state for a reason. Combine with Seewanee 9 hole up road for 18
Hole day!

The greens have to be seen to be believed, I putted many extra balls. Great concept worth two pins: one easy and one difficult!

I have been wanting to make the drive from Memphis for over a year now and glad I finally did. By far the most extreme and fun greens I’ve ever played on. Can’t wait to come back in the spring

Rarely do you go to a course that lives up to the hype , Sweetens. Cove is as good as advertised and for all the right reasons! What a treat to play a course that leaves you wanting to play golf all day long

Third visit to Sweetens. Brought my son for the first time.

Course was in stellar shape considering the course basically sits in a geographically natural bathtub and had received 11 inches of rain in the past 10 days. Bunkers had a lot of casual water but the fairways, except for a few spots, were exceptionally dry and exceedingly playable.

What I had forgotten about this place, but was quickly reminded, is how much pressure it puts on your short game. It is easy to chip from one side of a green to the other. There is also not really any rough on the course other than the fescue-lined areas that frame the holes, so you really have to be a wizard with a wedge to get chips and pitches close from the closely-mown areas. Less loft is recommended and you will be tested to judge how hard to hit a putter from off the green up a 5-foot slope and get it to come to rest on the proper level. Good luck, because double bogey is lurking everywhere. In fact, it occurred to me on this time around that I think most players will more readily make a birdie or bogey or worse than par on these holes. That sounds kind of crazy, but the rollicking green sites and swales that can funnel a ball just as quickly away from pins as it does toward them offers a feast or famine scorecard.

The bunkers, due to the water, were tough to play from, but this is understandable. Even in ideal conditions, they are no picnic, particularly the greenside bunkers. They are claustrophobic in size in many cases. Sometimes banging your ball off the railroad tie facades of the bunkers is the best, if not only, play to give yourself a better chance of escaping them.

There have been many improvements since my last trip. I don’t remember water stations throughout the course as there is now. A huge, Himalayas-style practice green is about ready to debut in late November, which will provide countless pre- and post-round fun.

Something else that has been added since my last trip is dual pin flags on each green. Obviously, with the nine-hole layout, this provides a different challenge between the loops. We picked a color to play to on the front and the other on the back, but there are many options for fun games for all skill levels.

Keep up the good work gents!

Sweetens Cove is a very unique nine hole course with large greens with two pins so you get a different look on your second nine. The greens are as challenging as any I have ever played with swales, humps, drop-offs and false fronts. It actually was quite fun trying to figure the greens out and three putting was not a reason to get upset. It is a beautiful setting with an interesting routing with plenty of room to work off the tee which allowed a variety of angles for your approach shots. It is a great match play course that is a must play in the Chattanooga area.

Interesting, engaging, frustrating - a wild combination of vast, multi-option-fairways and putting surfaces that defy gravity and logic. Worth seeing, if o ny to find out out what all the buzz is about. Aspires to be a Tobacco Road but not quite up to the visual intrigue of that legendary course. Certainly not minimalist, given the earth mowing to create everything. Soil is wrong for the intended ground game and the site floods a lot. Still worth seeing/playing/evaluating. One of those courses that polarizes, with opinion split between cultists and skeptics.

Having heard so much about the course, I was eager to check it out! It was in pretty nice shape considering the lack of rain in the area. Off the tee the course was pretty forgiving and right in front of you. Once you get to the green complexes, look out! It is as if there are buried elephants all throughout. Plenty of undulation and slope on every one of them. Each green has to flags to differentiate the nines. Course management is of the utmost importance here and you need to give yourself the proper club and angle into the greens. This course may not be for everyone, but it is definitely worth playing to find out!

Just wrapped up a 45-hole day at Sweetens on our Golf Advisor Getaway. We rented the course for the day and had it to ourselves. I walked 18, then we played the “Illuminati routing” and then went back out for 18 more in a cart. Obviously I wouldn’t have spent 10 hours here if I didn’t find the place fascinating. Not everyone in our group loved the greens. They are definitely severe, especially where some of the pins were (they set up two pins per green so you could play 18 different holes easily). I can see how higher handicaps could have a hard time. I found them to be mesmerizing. The feeling you get when you hit a crisp chip or deft approach stiff is very Pinehurst or St Andrews-esque. Rewarding but also treacherous. Prepare for some humbling moments. The course off the tee is pretty forgiving and the short par 4s are wildly fun. The 7th green takes no prisoners.

Fresh off their recent investment, Sweetens has more maintenance staff and new equipment. A new putting course is grassed and should be done soon. I’m excited to continue to watch this place evolve, and hope it gives tired nine-holers around the country the inspiration to try something bold. It’s better to make a statement than to be bland.

Strictly golf to be played at Sweetens. No clubhouse or cart girls needed. Just wonderful golf on a gorgeous layout that could be played ten times in a row and all be different. If you haven’t played this golf gem then you’re missing out on one of the best golf experiences of your playing career .

The fairways are wide and the greens are very undulating. There are waste areas and bunkers everywhere. If you want to play a links style course, go here! I will definitely be going back here in the near future! They don’t make very many golf courses like this anymore.

Drove 2 hrs to play the course. Check in for our tee time where we’re told, very rudely I might add, that “there are no more carts”. Guy preceded to just stare at us with no explanation & doesn’t care how long we drove to get there. Hey Sweetens Cove: you’re the “#1 course in the state”. Get some carts. And a decent staff. It’s 95 degrees outside

Will not be back.

The statement “golf the way it was meant to be played” was written for this place. It is an amazing layout, an easy walk and soooooo much fun to play!