Sweeten’s Cove Revisited – Some Good and Some Bad 1

After being completely smitten in April by this amazing 9-hole lay-out which has been determined by Golfweek as the absolute best public course in Tennessee, Marilyn and I paid a return visit to this King-Collins design in October.  I was pleasantly surprised by the improvements in the facilities but disappointed by the over-all operation.

The course itself was in wonderful condition, especially since that had just received over three inches of rain in the prior two days.  There was some water in the bunkers, which was to be expected, but the greens were in outstanding condition.  Since our last visit six months prior, the biggest improvement was the addition of actual restrooms to replace the very unkept port-o-john that we encountered earlier.  They have also opened a large and amazingly undulating putting green, built a small pavilion and now have a stoned parking lot.  The course and the facilities keep getting better.

What is not better is how they handle the number of golfers that are now descending on this one-of-a-kind golf design.  It will always be difficult dealing with the groups that are making the turn with the intention of playing another nine holes to complete their round.  On the busy Sunday that we visited, we had made a prior tee time and paid for an 18-hole round.  I assumed that they would leave a spot open on the tee sheet for us to work our way back into the groups just arriving to begin their rounds.  Instead, they continued to book groups every ten minutes which leaves no openings.

What was even worse was how this situation was handled, or should I say, not handled.  When I ask the gentleman what the procedure was, he simply replied that we should just return to the teeing area and work ourselves in.  He made no attempt to coordinate the play or to talk with the other groups just arriving.  To make the situation worse, there was a group of 12 that had arrived for their scheduled time and they obviously wanted to keep their groups together.  When I returned to the shed to seek out the attendant, he was sitting inside, leaning back in his chair, looking at his phone.  Why not?

At this stage of the day, I asked for a 9-hole rain-check, which he did provide, and called it an end to a day that we were greatly looking forward to.  I know that when I return, it will not be on a week-end and I hope that they have either found a better method for integrating the golfers making the turn, or they have someone running the operation that makes an effort to accommodate their guests.