Sweetens Cove Golf Club (South Pittsburg, TN on 06/17/18)

The third day of our trip started out with an early alarm and a couple hour drive from Birmingham up into Tennessee to play Sweetens Cove Golf Club. Somehow we went from the Central Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone and then back to the Central Time Zone on that drive! Let’s just say that if you are coming to Sweetens Cove from points south or east know that Sweetens Cove is in the Central Time Zone. That’s a bit peculiar considering that nearby Chattanooga is in the Eastern Time Zone.

Now, onto the hoopla! Sweetens Cove is only nine holes and what is incredible is that the course has many dedicated followers in the golf community. I don’t pay much attention to the rankings websites, but Golfweek seems to have a love affair with Sweetens Cove, as the magazine ranks the course high on multiple lists. It seems that I am always hearing about the course and seeing photos of it. I always thought I’d play Sweetens Cove on my way to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, however my group started talking about playing a morning round here on the way back home. Like usual, I am always up for a new course and didn’t object to a quick round here.

Things were a little disorganized at Sweetens Cove when we arrived. There weren’t any carts available (not that there would have been a bunch to pick from anyway) and things looked pretty busy. It is a relaxed environment at Sweetens Cove and even if you have a tee time you can show up early and go. Heck, we played as a fivesome on a Sunday morning and no one cared a bit! That seems to be part of the appeal of Sweetens Cove, its laid back atmosphere.

Another part of the appeal of Sweetens Cove is its eye-catching appearance! After we checked in we made our way over to the 1st tee, which is located on a higher point on the property. From the 1st tee you look out over much of the course. And, from there you can see the unique bunkers, sloping greens and the nearby mountains.

The bunkers and the greens set Sweetens Cove apart from your usual course. The bunkers are insane, there isn’t really any other way to describe them! The bunkers are expansive, have natural growth around the edges and even have wood planks in them. It doesn’t stop there though! There are jagged tongues and islands and trees in the middle of the bunkers. I even saw a few boulders in one. I’m sure I don’t have to say it, but your golf ball won’t want anything to do with these bunkers! They look awesome because of their naturalness, but they will add plenty of strokes to your score. Consider yourself lucky if your ball ends up in the sand because these bunker edges are downright brutal! I lost a ball in one of the edges, which turned out to be a lot easier to do than I thought.

The greens are the other defining feature at Sweetens Cove. The greens are odd shaped with epic amounts of slope! The 1st green is shaped like a bowl while the 2nd and 3rd greens have severe false fronts. The 8th has a deep valley in the middle of it and there are as many false edges at Sweetens Cove as you could want. Those false edges lead to collection areas and allow you options around the greens. You can play it high, low or try to bank a shot towards the flag using the slope. Pretty much if you can dream up a short game shot, Sweetens Cove allows you to play it somewhere.

We played the black tees which are 3,301 yards and play as a par-36. The course has the traditional two par-3’s and two par-5’s, along with five par-4’s. Probably the most interesting holes at Sweetens Cove are the par-3 4th and the par-4 5th.

The 4th is a 169 yard par-3 with a mostly blind green from the tee. The green is hidden behind a sandy mound and we could only see a small portion of the green. Our host told us not to miss it short with the back right flag, so the only thing I was trying to do was get my 7-iron pin high. That turned out to be one of my best irons shots at Sweetens Cove and I ended up with a 15 foot birdie putt. But, the more interesting thing is just how expansive that green turned out to be! As I walked up to the green I was amazed at how much green was short and left of the flag. The right half of the green is almost shaped like a small “C” with a collection area between the top and bottom of that “C”. If you end up in the wrong spot you might have to putt along a ridge and hope the ball ends up close!

The 5th is the shortest par-4 at Sweetens Cove, playing only 293 yards. You can layup with an iron or try to drive it up by the green. Anything to the right runs the risk of ending up in the gnarly bunkers and leaving you a terrible view of the green’s surface. You can play out to the left as long as you avoid the nastiest bunker on the course! There is a smaller pot bunker with some wooden planks in it that guards the left side of the green. If you end up in that you might need Phil’s short game to get out!

The conditions at Sweetens Cove were nice. It cost $25 to walk nine holes, which is probably the going rate for a regulation nine hole course. If you can walk it, I’d suggest you do! Everything was on the firm and fast side with some roll. I ended up with thinner lies and had to make sure to clip the ball first. The greens rolled well and at a medium pace. There is a lot of turf at Sweetens Cove so there was the occasional bare spot.

If you are passing through on I-24 then Sweetens Cove certainly would be worth a stop! And, if you are a golf nerd then a weekend trip from Atlanta or Nashville wouldn’t be out of the question. Sweetens Cove screams of shot choices and it looks different, which are the main reasons why I enjoyed it. Plus, there is an inspirational article out there about the construction of the course that is worth reading.

#1 (563 yard par 5):