The Honors Course

This is my second time playing The Honors. Last time was in July -- the middle of summer with great course conditions and very fast greens. This time was in early November -- late fall with cold weather setting in. I was really surprised. The zoysia had not gone dormant yet but we had not had our first frost either. The greens were a bit slower then previous summer play but everyone in our group still considered them faster than their home courses.

Everything around the course was still as perfect as can be. The greens had been sprayed and were very receptive and held well. It had rained the weekend before but there were very few wet areas on the fairways,, none on the greens or bunkers. The course was obviously designed to drain well.

Year in and year out, the best course in TN. An absolute treat play.

Pics of The Honors

https://flickr.com/photos/92239680@N08/sets/72157646321235166

I was fortunate to play The Honors Course after volunteering for the USGA Junior Am. As a volunteer, I walked the course with players during stroke play and twice during match play. After the tournament, I played the course with other volunteers.

The course is a first class layout. The fairways are generous, for the most part, but the varying lengths of the holes require you to select the best shot option. I watched the scratch golfers sometimes select irons off the tee even from the tips (which are 7600 yards in total). The turfgrass is zoysia which holds up well in the heat of summer and provides a great lie anywhere on the fairway. The rough, reallt a second cut, was just an inch or two higher providing excellent lies. On most hols, after the rough you will find native grass that is very hard to hit out of.

The greens were still hard and fast from the tournament (about 9-10 on the stimpmeter). The greens were not built as roller coasters but you will definitely need to get a solid read of breaks and speed to make your putts. From some spots, a 3-putt seems routine.

I heard from members who routinely play the course that walking is the norm. Caddies are used for most rounds. Unless you are in good shape, walking and playing will be a difficult proposition.

The staff is as professional as they get. Even to the volunteer players, they were warm and gracious. I suspect this to be customary.

It was a great experience and I am very thankful to the club for their gracious invitation to play.

The layout of this course is great and the greens were in good shape. We played in the spring so the grass wasn't totally green but that is the only bad thing I can say about it. The experience of having a caddie in a white jump suit is the closest thing you'll have to playing Augusta National. If given the opportunity to play with a member, do it, you won't regret it.

The Honors course is always ranked in the top 30 courses in the country. The pro Henrik Simonsen, from Denmark, is the best. The staff, food and course is world class. It was built to honor amateur golf and has held US Amateurs, NCAA nationals , state Ams and Southern Amateur tournaments.