Sweetens Cove - View from the clubhouse of 9th green
Near Chattanooga, Tennessee, 9-hole Sweetens Cove has become a pilgrimage for value seekers. You can walk all day for $45 and each green has two sets of pins.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - entrance
Sweetens Cove is located just off Interstate 24 near Chattanooga.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove Clubhouse
Golfers will want to BYOB to Sweetens Cove. There's no clubhouse; only a wooden shed for checking in.
Brandon Tucker/GolfPass
IMG_0174 2.JPG
The opening hole is a par 5 at Sweetens Cove.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - 2nd hole tee shot
The 2nd hole is a straightaway par 4 at Sweetens Cove.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - No. 3
The par-5 3rd hole at Sweetens Cove plays with the property line to the left and has a wide green defended by a large tree.
Brandon Tucker/GolfPass
Sweetens Cove - No. 4
The view - or lack thereof - from the tee of the par-3 4th hole.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - No. 4 green
The long green on the par-3 4th hole can cause a difference of 2-3 clubs depending on which flag you are playing to.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - No. 5
The treacherous bunker by the 5th green, a short par 4 at Sweetens Cove.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - No. 6
The 6th hole is a long par 4 that wraps around a pond.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - No. 7
The green on the short, par-4 7th hole at Sweetens Cove is one of the smaller and more severe on the course.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - No. 8
Biarritz-style green in play on the par-4 8th hole.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - No. 9
View of the par-3 9th hole from the clubhouse.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - bunkers
Side view of the 4th green at Sweetens Cove, which does not have any rakes on the course for the bunkers.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - new putting green
Progress being made on a new putting course (photo taken as of September 30th).
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
IMG_0157.JPG
A new deck is nearly installed overlooking the 9th green at Sweetens Cove.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Sweetens Cove - 9 green
Each hole at Sweetens Cove has two pins set up each day to allow for easy 18-hole play.
Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
17 Images
Sweetens Cove, a nine-hole golf course in rural Tennessee near Chattanooga, has become one of the most intriguing new courses in the country. It's thanks to the shoe-string budget it was built on by an unproven architecture team, Rob Collins and Tad King. They built a brand new layout on top of an existing, failed course, Sequatchie Valley Golf Course, which dated back to the 1950s. The duo moved a lot of earth and in particular around the greens to create an interesting and visually stimulating course despite being set on a flat valley floor with no elevation change.
The course is a par-36 with two par 5s and two par 3s and plays just over 3,300 yards from the back tees. Two pins are set out each day to allow for easy 18-hole play. The course also offers an "all day" rate. While the clubhouse has little more than some gift items, there are golf carts available, as well as push carts.
We recently attended Sweetens Cove as part of our Golf Advisor Getaway to Tennessee. If you'd like to join us on our next trip, click here to see where we're headed.
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![Sweetens Cove]()
Near Chattanooga, Tennessee, 9-hole Sweetens Cove has become a pilgrimage for value seekers. You can walk all day for $45 and each green has two sets of pins. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove]()
Sweetens Cove is located just off Interstate 24 near Chattanooga. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove - Clubhouse]()
Golfers will want to BYOB to Sweetens Cove. There's no clubhouse; only a wooden shed for checking in. Brandon Tucker/GolfPass -
![Sweetens Cove - No. 1]()
The opening hole is a par 5 at Sweetens Cove. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove - No. 2]()
The 2nd hole is a straightaway par 4 at Sweetens Cove. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove - No. 3]()
The par-5 3rd hole at Sweetens Cove plays with the property line to the left and has a wide green defended by a large tree. Brandon Tucker/GolfPass -
![Sweetens Cove]()
The view - or lack thereof - from the tee of the par-3 4th hole. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove]()
The long green on the par-3 4th hole can cause a difference of 2-3 clubs depending on which flag you are playing to. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove - 5]()
The treacherous bunker by the 5th green, a short par 4 at Sweetens Cove. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove]()
The 6th hole is a long par 4 that wraps around a pond. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove]()
The green on the short, par-4 7th hole at Sweetens Cove is one of the smaller and more severe on the course. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove - 8 green]()
Biarritz-style green in play on the par-4 8th hole. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove]()
View of the par-3 9th hole from the clubhouse. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove]()
Side view of the 4th green at Sweetens Cove, which does not have any rakes on the course for the bunkers. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove putting course]()
Progress being made on a new putting course (photo taken as of September 30th). Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove]()
A new deck is nearly installed overlooking the 9th green at Sweetens Cove. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor -
![Sweetens Cove]()
Each hole at Sweetens Cove has two pins set up each day to allow for easy 18-hole play. Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor
Brandon Tucker is the Sr. Managing Editor for GolfPass and was the founding editor of Golf Advisor in 2014, he was the managing editor for Golf Channel Digital's Courses & Travel. To date, his golf travels have taken him to over two dozen countries and nearly 600 golf courses worldwide. While he's played some of the most prestigious courses in the world, Tucker's favorite way to play the game is on a great muni in under three hours. Follow Brandon on Twitter at @BrandonTucker and on Instagram at @btuck34.
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October 22, 2018
Local Golf Advisor Jay Revell on how to get the most out of a unique experience at this intriguing Tennessee outpost.
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October 2, 2019
Bradley S. Klein on the differences in architecture between two exciting nine-hole courses within 30 minutes of one another: Tennessee's Sweetens Cove, designed by Tad King and Rob Collins, and the Course at Sewanee, a 100-year-old course renovated by Gil Hanse.
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