The Best Golf Courses in Tennessee
Tennessee golf runs from one of America's great private clubs, Pete Dye's Honors Course, to a nine hole public course in the hills that golfers cross the country to play. Here are the ten best courses in Tennessee, ranked with our verdicts and an honest read on which ones you can actually book.
Photograph: Sweetens Cove Golf Club, via Google
How we chose
We ranked these courses on the quality of the golf itself, their design pedigree and championship history, and the experience of playing them, then we weighed access honestly, because a list that ignores whether you can get on is no use to a travelling golfer. The very best courses in Tennessee are private, so we have flagged each one clearly, and where two courses are close we have given the nod to the one a visitor can realistically book.
The result is a mix: aspirational private clubs that define the ceiling of Tennessee golf, a cult nine holer that punches far above its green fee, and a set of accessible resort, semi private and state park courses you can plan a trip around. For what it actually costs to play here, see our companion guide to Tennessee green fees, and wherever you land, book the headline tee times early.
The 10 best golf courses in Tennessee
The Honors Course
Tennessee's perennial number one, the Honors Course is a Pete Dye design routed through wild, natural terrain east of Chattanooga, built in the early 1980s as a shrine to amateur golf and barely altered since. Immaculately conditioned and quietly brutal, it has hosted the U.S. Amateur, the Curtis Cup and the NCAA Championship. It is an exclusive private club with no public access, the aspirational summit of golf in the state.
The Golf Club of Tennessee
Tom Fazio routed this secluded course through rolling, wooded country west of Nashville, and it was runner up for Golf Digest's Best New Private Course in America in its opening year of 1991. Endlessly cited among the top two courses in the state, it is a study in Fazio's strategic shaping and pristine presentation. A private club, played by member or invitation only.
Holston Hills Country Club
The finest classic course in the state, Holston Hills is an original 1927 Donald Ross design in Knoxville that has been left remarkably untouched, its bold greens and natural routing intact. A favourite of architecture students for its purity, it offers a window into Golden Age design that few Tennessee courses can match. Private, with limited access for visitors.
Sweetens Cove Golf Club
The course that put Tennessee on the modern golf map. Rob Collins and Tad King turned a flood prone nine hole muni into an inland links of wild greens and bold angles that has been hailed as one of the best nine hole layouts in the world. Public, walking focused and endlessly replayable, it is the single course in the state a travelling golfer should build a trip around. Tee times are limited, so book ahead.
Black Creek Club
Brian Silva built Black Creek as a love letter to Golden Age architecture, filling the Chattanooga layout with classic template holes, a Biarritz, a Redan, a Double Plateau and a Punchbowl, in the manner of Seth Raynor. The result is one of the most interesting and enjoyable courses in the state, rich in strategy and character. A private club played by member or guest.
Troubadour Golf and Field Club
A modern Tom Fazio championship course set in the gentle countryside south of Nashville, Troubadour pairs a polished, big budget layout with one of the most lavish new private clubs in the South. Conditioning and presentation are first rate, and it has quickly climbed the state rankings. Strictly private, mentioned here for its quality at the top of the modern game in Tennessee.
Tennessee National Golf Club
Greg Norman's design on the shores of the Tennessee River near Loudon is the best big course visitors can readily play in East Tennessee, tumbling through hardwood hills with water and dramatic elevation. As a semi private club it welcomes outside play, making it the natural championship round to pair with Sweetens Cove and the Smoky Mountains on an east of state trip.
Gaylord Springs Golf Links
The standout daily fee course in Nashville, this Larry Nelson links style design runs along the Cumberland River beside the Gaylord Opryland resort, with limestone bluffs, wetlands and a Scottish feel rare for Middle Tennessee. Genuinely open to the public and easy to pair with a Nashville city break, it is the most convenient quality round in the capital.
Hermitage Golf Course
A 36 hole public facility on the Cumberland River east of Nashville, Hermitage pairs the President's Reserve, a strong championship layout that has staged professional events, with the more forgiving General's Retreat. Well run, well conditioned and fully accessible, it is the dependable public workhorse of a Nashville golf trip and a fine value round.
Bear Trace at Harrison Bay
The pick of Tennessee's Bear Trace state park courses, this Jack Nicklaus design sits in a state park on the shores of Chickamauga Lake near Chattanooga, with water in play and big mountain views. Open to all at modest state park green fees, it is the best value marquee name golf in the state and an easy, scenic addition to any East Tennessee itinerary.
Designers, opening years and access verified June 2026 from course and ranking sources; access policies and green fees change, so always confirm current rates and how to play directly before booking. Check tee time availability.
Plan your Tennessee golf trip
Tell us which of these appeals and roughly when and who is travelling, and one concierge matches the courses to your group, secures the limited tee times at Sweetens Cove, Tennessee National and beyond, and costs the trip to the head, with no obligation.
Tennessee golf questions
What is the best golf course in Tennessee?
The Honors Course in Ooltewah near Chattanooga is consistently ranked the best course in Tennessee. A Pete Dye design from 1983 routed through rugged, natural terrain, it is celebrated for its conditioning and championship pedigree. It is an exclusive private club, so for the travelling golfer the best playable course is Sweetens Cove, the acclaimed nine hole layout near Chattanooga, along with Tennessee National, Gaylord Springs and the Bear Trace state park courses.
Can you play the best Tennessee courses without a membership?
Some of them. Sweetens Cove is a public course, Tennessee National is semi private and welcomes visitors, Gaylord Springs and Hermitage near Nashville are public, and the Bear Trace state park courses are open to all. The very top of the list, the Honors Course, the Golf Club of Tennessee, Holston Hills, Black Creek and Troubadour, are private clubs that need a member, a guest invitation or a tournament connection.
What is the most affordable great course in Tennessee?
Sweetens Cove offers the most quality per dollar, an acclaimed nine hole course whose seasonal daily rates start well below the price of comparable golf. For pure value, the state park courses such as Bear Trace at Harrison Bay deliver well regarded Jack Nicklaus golf at modest public rates, and Tennessee's municipal courses across Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga play for very little. Always confirm current rates directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in Tennessee?
Spring, roughly April to June, and fall, September to October, are the prime seasons across Tennessee, with comfortable temperatures and good conditioning. Summer is hot and humid, so early tee times help, while winters are cool and quieter with the odd frost delay and the best green fee value of the year. Always confirm seasonal rates and tee times directly before booking.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designers, championship history and access verified June 2026. Rankings are our editorial judgement. Last reviewed June 2026.