Courses
The best courses you can play in Tennessee
More than ever, Tennessee is on the radar for golf travelers, thanks in large part to the almost-cult-like following of Sweetens Cove, the King-Collins-designed nine-holer outside Chattanooga. But the public golf in Tennessee is about much more than Sweetens Cove.
Just a year before Sweetens opened, another nine-holer, the Course at Sewanee, reopened after an extensive Gil Hanse redesign on the campus of the University of the South, located on the Cumberland plateau between Nashville and Chattanooga. If not for Sweetens, Sewanee might be golf’s buzzy nine-hole wonder. Regardless, the two nine-holers are just about 30 minutes from each other—making for one of the most unique 18-hole days you can find.
This is not even to mention the plethora of other great golf in the Volunteer State. Elevation changes against the mountains and a plethora of natural wildlife features make the rest of the public golf in Tennessee worth seeking out. We’ve captured the best of the best public golf, according to our course-ranking panelists as part of our newly relaunched Places to Play franchise. Explore our new, searchable Places to Play hub, complete with course reviews from our panelists.














