Bear Trace at Tims Ford State Park

No sand in bunkers. Liner fabric showing. Just mud and gravel. The greens are really tiny. Way smaller than they were 15 years ago. I think in an effort to save money the state has managed to ruin this course. I would not play here again at any price.

It's awesome that you get charged full price to play a beautiful and well maintained course...well tee to green the course is in great shape except the bunkers. The bunkers really come into play on this course both on tee shots and approaches. The problem is that they are not being maintained AT ALL, unless you consider having the grounds crew rake hardpan in the mornings and also by seeing how many varieties of weeds you can cultivate in them. All the lips on all of the bunkers have 4 or 5 foot high lips that are impossible to play out of from hardpan especially when the hardpan makes the ball run to the lips of the bunker really leaving you no shot because you are supposed to be hitting from sand and not hardpan. The really frustrating thing about it is that there is a big pile of beautiful white sand in...the parking lot and not one grain of sand from is in any of the bunkers. It's a 4.5 rating for the rest of the course and a negative 50 for the bunkers. How can you do so good on the rest of the course and then look like you don't know how to maintain a cow pasture much less a golf course regarding the bunkers.

The marshals have really put off me and my friends. Split up a 5some on a very slow day. All around very rude. These are the same ones who drove off majority of clientele from another local golf course.

I have played all the Bear Trace Courses that the State of Tennessee started years ago, with one of the nicest put in such a remote place Clinton, TN that it was such a hassle to get to. Now it's growing 2 ft weeds! The last few of these Bear Trace courses are great, but the State of Tennessee won't keep them up. This course at Tim's Ford is a great layout. But washed out sand traps and some bald spots in some areas. Granted this will never rival the RTJ Trail courses in Alabama, but come on keep these courses up. Just a FYI for State officials, next time you invest in a trail course that someone of the status of Jack Nickolas please put them in well populated areas. Check where The Trails course are in Alabama, that and maintaining those courses makes it a desirable place to host golf trips for out of state guest. And please take care of the courses you have left of The Bear Trace courses in Tennessee.

Good course Challenging without being extremely penal. Good staff. Average snack bar Practice area for chipping ,putting and driving trange

This is the first time I have played a full round at Tim’s Ford. The greens were excellent - rolled smooth all day. The course itself has a good variation of tee shots requiring both cuts and draws on par 4 and par 5. There were a few thin areas in the rough and other areas at the edge of the course. That is the one thing keeping this from a 5⭐️ rating.

Great course. Enjoyed it, can’t wait to play it again. Greens were a 10 on the stemp. Very challenging but get able. The only downside of the course were the bunkers, but I think they are working on fixing the bunkers. If they fix those the course is a joy to play but challenging.

This course was well worth the hour plus drive for me and the 3 hours from Atlanta where my Dad drove from. Beautiful course with a wide-open layout and plenty of picturesque views. Will definitely be back hopefully when it warms up a bit!

The course was challenging yet not to difficult. The previous night's rain made the course play longer than advertised and caused the dreaded "cart path only" rule to be enforced. You'll have to use every club in the bag so pick your tee based on ability.

This was my first foray into the Tennessee Golf Trail and Bear courses. For the most part, Tims Ford is open off the tee, particularly on the front nine. Greens were pleasantly quick and rolled very good. Downgrain it was difficult to keep the ball within three feet when putting from above the hole. The fact that the course sits on a small peninsula that is nearly an island of its' own, I was surprised that there was as much elevation change as there was. There is more slope in the greens than I expected as well. I wish there had been more memorable holes. The approach on the par-4 sixth, however, was very memorable. The two-tiered green is is ~4-5 feet higher in the front than the back. The pin was in the back and it created a unique pitch for me after missing the green short and right. The second tier does form somewhat of a bowl so balls should funnel toward the hole. I liked the lengthy ninth hole as well. Final three holes were a good test to finish the round. Nos. 16 and 17 are short par 4s and good opportunities to steal a few shots. Finishing on a par 3 did not bother me in the least. I think the biggest thing that kept me from rating the course higher is that given the aforementioned fact that the course is the only thing on the small peninsula, I would've liked to have seen the surrounding water play more into the strategy and design of the course.

Some quick observations:

- Nice layout, pretty open off the tee but the greens are well protected with bunkers

- Beautiful wooded area. Course is located on a large peninsula in the lake with water on 3 sides.

- Very challenging course, It's a 2nd shot course with difficult greens

- It's in Tims State Park which is well in the middle of nowhere. You need your GPS to find this place. Combine this with a trip to the Jack Daniels Distillery Tour makes it worth the trip.