Flash points don't happen in a vacuum. The profile of Sweetens Cove may have spiked seemingly overnight, but there were many figures in Tennessee that helped the idea come to fruition.
This episode of the Golf Advisor podcast takes place at our recent Golf Advisor Getaway to Tennesee, where our architecture expert Bradley S. Klein hosted a group of golfers eager to see not only Sweetens Cove, but another nine-hole course, The Course at Sewanee, and a private club, Black Creek.
Klein got two notable figures from Tennessee together for a discussion one evening at the Inn at Sewanee. Rob Collins was the driving force behind the reinvention of the Sequatchie Valley nine-hole course into Sweetens Cove. Doug Stein, meanwhile, was a key player in bringing significant architecture back to the Chattanooga area thanks to his efforts at Lookout Mountain and later as a founder of Black Creek, a modern design inspired by Seth Raynor.
In this panel, Collins explains how Stein, Lookout Mountain and Black Creek played a role in his career and how it influenced his design at Sweetens Cove. Stein discusses what it takes to restore a classic course and getting the membership to buy in.
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Our next Getaway is to the Carolina Sandhills where Klein will be joined by Kyle Franz, architect behind the restoration of Mid Pines and PIne Needles. Space is still available and you can view dates and details here.
Editor's note: there are a couple bad words sprinkled in through this casual and lively discussion. And we recorded this live discussion in a banquet hall for the Getaway, so please excuse some of the ambient noise in the background.