Golf Club of Tennessee
Played Golf Club of Tennessee in 2019 or One BC (Before Covid). GCoT is a Fazio design outside of Nashville. While it’s a beautiful private club with awesome conditioning and an awesome clubhouse, etc., it has that Tennessee in the country flavor to it. The half-way house above looks like a still unearthed from an abandoned Dukes of Hazzard set. Conditioning is great, but it is not the manicured to a green-glow finish like other top-end private courses. It has a more rough and natural look, though playing conditions could not be better.
Played with my buddy Scott who shares my deep appreciation for a light, refreshing, American pilsner beer. About three years before we played GCoT, Scott would pick up a golf club maybe once a year for a local tournament. Not sure what finally clicked, but the guy goes out and buys the top clubs, only plays Pro V-1’s, bought a simulator for his garage, joined a club and has played more golf in the past two years than I have in the past ten. That, my friends, is getting bit by the golf bug.
I love everything about this course. It is challenging yet fair. It sits within a massive rolling property so you never see another golf hole from the one you’re playing. It features a great variety of holes. It is laid back yet exclusive. The fourth hole sticks out, a par three that drops down crossing a ravine and river. Seven was a great par four that has water all along the left (beautiful and tough golf hole). All the par threes are great and they’re all not the same. I’ve played some top courses that have four long par threes with no variety in hazards or green size. Zzzzzzz. Variety of holes is critical in a great course for me: I love a course with a shorter par three hole with a deadly water carry, another that’s long, another mid length with hazard and a mid length without. If you get four par threes that are all just long, hit-and-hope holes, it makes the design redundant. And repeats itself. And does the same thing over and over. And repeats itself.
Eighteen is another great hole and a great finisher. I read a review on Golf Digest that said, “The course is typical of Fazio: beautiful, playable, and offered numerous risk-reward options without being overwhelming.” I couldn’t have said it any better myself. This is really a likeable golf course. While there’s not a recurring tour stop in Nashville, and no club sticks out as the must play, my vote would be on GCoT.
To Nashville itself. I had been here a couple of times in the late 90’s, early 2000’s but never really did the Broadway thing. Country ain’t my thing. Of late though, I’ve gotten down here more and more and have come to really enjoy the area. Mind you I still don’t like Country music (except of course Johnny Cash) but here you can suspend your disdain of country and enjoy it.
Broadway is like a clean, country-fied version of New Orleans’ jazzy Bourbon street – hold the piss smell and beggars. If you’re on Broadway and to get the closest thing to an authentic honky-tonk, go to Robert’s Western World. Get the fried bologna sandwich – it’s a Roberts’ thing. Tootsie’s is the tourist honky-tonk (there’s one at the airport). Acme is multiple floors of fun and then you have a bunch of pseudo-honky tonks all branded with some country music star’s name and all pretty vanilla.
For eats, one of my favorite sushi restaurants is here, Virago. Yes sushi in Nashville. We saw Kevin Bacon in here once as we were all Eagled up (we watched an Eagles game earlier in the day). We got a “Go Birds” from him but we were too drunk to remember. BTW if you are staying at the Grand Ole Opry Gaylord (and do that as it is really impressive) there’s another great (true) Honky Tonk across the street (Cooter’s) and a Penn State and Eagles sports bar, Scoreboard.
In the Germantown area you have 5th & Taylor which is really good eats. Martin’s BBQ downtown is our choice of barbecue places.
Golf Scrapbook 