Sweetens Cove Golf Club: A Story To Tell
My alarm clock goes off at 6:17AM. The backup alarm is not needed. The early wakeup comes after a restless night of sleep that was fed by a combination of anticipation and doubt, two feelings that may not usually drive together into one. It is Tuesday, November 28, 2023. In the southeast it has been a mild winter thus far, but over the course of the last few days a cold snap has struck with some of the lowest temperatures of the season. The doubt that has clouded my mind is driven by the weather outlook of high thirty to low forty temperature range for the day and my decision to bail on work and play golf on this chilly Tuesday. Sweetens Cove is a course that had been on my mental radar for some time and has the allure for a semi avid golfer of a place that needs to be sought out and taken in. I decided it was time to take the plunge and dive into the very talked about experience of this place. I put out flyers to friends to try and get a group together to go up, which I heard was part of the allure of this place, playing with a group (or more so with a large group). I struck out on other golfers and decided I would still make the trek up solo just north of Chattanooga. With a hot cup of coffee in hand, multiple layers packed, and hand warmers ready to go, I start the drive up I-75 North. The early morning start and reverse ‘commute’ away from the Atlanta grind provides for a smooth two hour drive into the Chattanooga city limits. I weave my way past downtown Chattanooga and onto I-24 west, the last major interstate the car wheels will touch before arrival. Exit 152A beckons and winds under I-24. Less than a mile from the interstate I follow the signs towards South Pittsburg and take a right onto Sweetens Cove Road which is about a two mile stretch of residential property before a final right onto the Sweetens Cove grounds.
The sign at the entrance to Sweetens Cove Golf Club is simple, and perfectly fitting.
A small and simple wooden sign marks the arrival and entrance to the property. I pull in around 8:20AM, having gained an hour in the time zone change from eastern to central. The instructions from the Sweetens team for a day pass was that the day will get going around 8:45 AM. Day passes at Sweetens Cove are a high priority item. These passes are seemingly like golden tickets. Day passes require a ten dollar payment with remainder payment of $100 due at the course. For the upcoming calendar year they typically go on sale towards the end of the previous calendar year and are notorious for selling out very quickly. I had been monitoring the Sweetens ‘day pass market’ and had seen a number of openings on winter weekdays and felt the urge to make this day happen. As the clock nears close to 9:00AM, it’s clear it will be more of a quiet day from a total numbers of golfers standpoint on this special piece of property. Thirty or so golfers mill around ‘the shed’ waiting for instructions for the day while trying to stay warm in the early morning temperatures that are not too far north of freezing.
First views of the nine hole Sweetens property. One tee box is to the far left side of the picture.
A Sweetens employee wearing a sweatshirt, hat, and gloves gathers the golfers together just before 9:00 AM. I will refer to him as “the starter.” The starter appears to be opening the course for the day along with his short haired white lab. The next ten minutes were probably some of my favorite moments of the day. The welcome speech opens with a preamble that Sweetens views themselves and carries the rightful reputation as a anti golf club (the way most golf course starters broadcast their course, right?). A course overview is next along with a welcome for many of the first time golfers that are out braving the cold. The course is nine holes, but it is in reality much more than that and was originally designed for match play. Each green has two flags, paired with four different tee boxes playing a very manageable 6602 yards from the tips. The course and greens can play in many different ways and it’s recommended golfers play different tee boxes and flags throughout the day. So while nine holes on paper, the course can play like a new nine in a way with each loop. Golfers are then given the rightful advice to use the Texas wedge early and often throughout the day around the greens, probably the best advice we would receive all day. Following the course overview, we learn that Sweetens has no slope rating to post scores because honestly “no one gives a shit about your score” (verbatim from the welcome speech). Maybe my favorite words I heard all day.
Large greens with two flags provide many different options to play each loop; sixth green pictured above.
As the speech winds down and we get ready to get the day started, the starter asks how many first timers are here. Most hands go up. We then receive the unfortunate news that the well known Sweetens tradition of a shot of bourbon to start the day has been put on hold as they obtain their liquor license. I never drink on the golf course but was actually pretty excited about this given the stories I had read about this word of mouth tradition and the temperature at the present time. The idea is pretty simple: take a shot on your first visit, bring a bottle of bourbon in return when you come back. Following the speech, it’s time to get the day started. Golfers are divided up into groups and assigned starting holes. This is where several of the more unique aspects of Sweetens comes into play. First, there are no set tee times for the day. The starter will send out the groups who have full days passes and then golfers who purchased 9 or 18 hole passes for the day can work their way onto the course shortly thereafter. Once you are on the course, the day is yours, play as much golf as you can, stop for a break if you want, or jump back in at any given time. Second, normal golf courses and clubs do not allow groups over four. Sweetens seemingly has no limit or no known limit that I am aware of on the size of the golf group. Groups of six or seven (or more) are just as common, if not more common, than foursomes.
Groups of more than four are common place at Sweetens Cove.
I had chatted with another single earlier and we decide to pair up; the starter matches us with another couple maybe in their 50s. We pay our day pass fee and are assigned hole five to start the day. Golfers are given the option to ride or walk. Sweetens is a great walking course. The nine hole course plays almost in a loop. The course hole setup is the traditional look with two par fives, two par threes and four par fours. The course is very well kept and in great shape for winter conditions. Tennessee pasture lands surround several of the holes. Wayward shots past fence property are highly suggested not to be touched as owners of the residential properties are known to pack heat for trespassers. Combined with the frigid temperatures, walking was a no brainer for a way to stay warm. Push carts on site were a nice added option that I did not expect and were no additional cost to use for the day walking rate. I really didn’t care that they looked like they had more miles on them than Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France bikes. We start the walk down the hill where the shed and parking lot sits to the fifth hole.
The fifth hole is short but can play difficult if the large waste bunkers in front of the green come into play.
The fifth is a short par four, one of five par fours at Sweetens. I choose to play from a lesser yardage box on the first loop. I slice my drive right and again slice it right with a breakfast ball and the day is underway. I am left with a short wedge shot for my first approach shot of the day. I hit a pretty good shot that hits the green but immediately rolls off a large slope on the green off the left side. As I look up at the ball for my third shot, I think back to the advice of the starter to use your Texas wedge early and often. I immediately put this into play. Unfortunately I was not successful in my first go round as I watch the ball lose momentum and carry back down the hill further away from the pin from when I started. I wish I could say that was the only time that happened at Sweetens. The greens at Sweetens were some of the most difficult I have ever played. The only greens I really could think to compare them to were Pinehurst No. 2, and that is saying something. Not only are many of the greens set higher than the fairway and extremally difficulty to land and stick approach shots, but they are also very large in nature especially given the two flag setup of every hole. The greens were fast even for the cold winter conditions. I was immediately humbled by these greens and that would last through the entirety of my day at Sweetens.
The third green at Sweetens is treacherous. Approach shots that do not hold the green will carry down to this fairway. Getting back up to the green is no guarantee.
We chalked the fifth up as a warmup hole and moved on to number six. As we got to the tee box we immediately noticed we were going to be playing behind a sixsome: not going to happen. This is where some of the beauty of Sweetens kicked in. We just bypassed number six and made our way to number seven to be able to keep a good pace of play. Unlike most golf clubs, at Sweetens you can skip holes or bypass groups and no one is going to say anything. Afterall you are likely bypassing a group of five plus which is certainly not the norm for most golf courses and clubs. After breezing through seven, we make our way to the eighth which is another moderate par four that carries back towards the clubhouse and takes you to the finishing hole, a short par three which plays underneath The Shed. There is a large deck and sitting area on the ninth which is known as the heckle deck. As we loop back to the first I am warming up and realizing I am already soaking in some of the Sweetens principals first hand. Go out and have fun, enjoy the time with your playing partners and don’t worry about your score. Skip a hole if you run into a large group. Easily written but in a challenging and demanding sport these areas can easily be overlooked.
As the morning draws on I begin to warm up and settle into a better rhythm on the course after I work through four or five different swing thoughts. At some point I see a golf cart roaming the course, no doubt the starter out checking on things with his fellow white lab in tow. Before I know it it is mid-day. A member of my group has to depart, moving us down to a group of three. I play a handful of more holes with the couple and they take it in for lunch. I felt fortunate in a way that the number of golfers on the course this day was less than normal. On most non winter days Sweetens sells out their day passes and I would envision there can be some slow nine hole stretches with the number of golfers they let out on the course and the size of the groups. The only area that gave me pause about coming back potentially was just the number of golfers that are on the course at any one time on a very busy day.
It’s mid afternoon and I decide to take a quick breather and check out The Shed. The Shed is the check in point for golfers, due to the small size the only thing it is open for is a limited number of people to come in to shop for Sweetens swag. I step into The Shed and I feel like I’m truly in a shed, as it provides immediate vibes of a hole in the wall mid mountain ski shop. A small table sits in the back corner with an employee listening to some 80s rock. The inside of the shed can’t be more than twenty square feet of space. Some of the racks of gear are organized and portions of the shed hold buckets with various trinkets. It’s simple, a bit unorganized but another perfect fit for this place. No large fancy locker room, no grill or place to watch the game, simply a shed with some pretty sweet Sweetens swag.
One of the unique landmarks of Sweetens Cove, The Shed.
I stop by my car to grab a sandwich and start a new nine. The days are short this time of year, I have until about 4:30 PM central time to get in as many holes as I can. I finish the day playing solo which is some of my favorite golf to play. I play a few balls on each hole and work on some shots around the greens. I take the time to observe and breathe in the King-Collins design of each hole and really notice how well the course is taken care of for the amount of play it gets and also what a great design it is. There is enough danger to keep the golfers’ eyebrows raised but open fairways provide for a relatively fair landing area for driver and approach shots. The greens again are just a whole different story. Number four green, for example, is 87 yards and spans a whopping 20,000 square feet. The par three fourth has the only hole name on the course, “King.” The hole plays almost fully blind with the limited green view being surrounded in the front by a large sprawling waste bunker. The yardage difference between the front and back flags here can play two to three club difference. Though it is not a long par three, walking out of here with a three is a solid score.
The signature hole at Sweetens Cove is the par three fourth. It is a mostly blind tee shot and can play a 2-3 club difference between front and back flags.
Thirty-four holes later with the sun setting and dark shadows beginning to cover the course, my day is done. As I pass The Shed I notice some of the course records listed. Most holes walked in a day: 152. That is a full day. Most golfers have left, but a few of the larger groups remain looking to take every last shot possible in the fading sun of the day. I now realize why Sweetens is such a talked about place in golf circles. It’s just a different place, modeled after but also set apart from so many of the typical customs and traditions of the sport. Its beautiful design and laidback vibe brings golfers back for more. Its openness to all types of golfers is especially appealing. You might even see dogs roaming the course during the day - another display of openness welcoming all walks to the course. The 6:17 AM doubt that had filled my mind earlier in the day was long gone as I started my drive home reflecting on a full day experiencing Sweetens Cove, one I will certainly remember more than any other Tuesday at the office.