Sweetens Cove Golf Club - South Pittsburg, TN
Nov 28, 2018 12:46:36 GMT -5
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Post by jwfickett on Nov 28, 2018 12:46:36 GMT -5
A collaboration by gamesdecent and jwfickett
Sweetens Cove Golf Club is a nine hole gem in S. Pittsburg, TN. Ranked as the #50 (Modern) in the United States by Golf Week for 2018, Sweetens features some of the most bold and interesting greens in the game of golf. The course is composed of monumentally wide fairways that encourage strategic puzzle-solving for the scratch player, but allow even the beginner to find a low-risk, ground-friendly route to the hole.
Borrowing some inspiration from golden-age architects, Collins and his team put an entirely new and absolutely beautiful twist on classic features. The green complex are modeled after templates such as the Redan, Lion's Mouth, Punchbowl, Biarritz, and Ross turtleback. The course is set in the serene Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee, where the winds swirl and the turf stays firm and fast.
1 – Par 5 – 536 Yards – “When that smoke clears, you’ll see one of the greatest opening par fives in the world.” – General Manager Patrick Boyd
, To The Place We Belong by Travis Hill, The Golfer's Journal Vol. 2.
He's not kidding. The opening hole--the green in particular--is a shocking introduction to the style and aesthetic of Sweetens Cove. Blast away with driver but think carefully about how to use the slopes to find a way to go flag hunting. Welcome to the Thunderdome.
2 – Par 4 – 325 Yards
– Amazing that with nearly 60 yards of fairway to utilize, a headwind might spell doom in the Tupac Bunker ("If you find yourself in it, you're dead").
Multiple pins on this green are set into bowls that will yield some 2s, but there are plenty of ways to make 5, as well. Most of them start by missing the green.
3 – Par 5 –
540 Yards –
The massive tree fronting the green is the only aerial hazard of any significance on the entire golf course, but it dictates the entire strategy of the third. Play wide angles to avoid having to negotiate the widest reaches of the branches. The perched green is tame compared to the first hole, but not devoid of significant contours. There was a two here in play testing. There was also a nine.
KING – Par 3 – 112-207 Yards – Fittingly named, the 4th is a wild play on a Himalayas hole. The green is approximately 94 yards deep and partially blind from the blowout bunker's rising peaks that mirror the mountain backdrop in the distance.
The swale to the front right is ejection-city. Don't try to get cute; just get it back on the middle of the green so you only have to play the recovery shoot once. It's not any easier the second...or third...or fourth time.
5 – Par 4 – 290 Yards – There are nine signature holes on this course, but the fifth is probably the most polarizing. If you end up in the Lion's Mouth bunker, the middle of the green is your friend. Taking on any pin involves significant risk of compounding an a slight error with a fatal one. An iron off the tee here with a controlled wedge into the middle of the green is your friend with any amount of crosswind.
6 – Par 4 – 460 Yards – Cape
– Always a photogenic beauty, the sixth is the first time a player encounters a significant water hazard. The rock shrouded banks serve as stabilizing retainers for the green site. The hazard looms large over the strategy of the hole, which should fit the eye of a drawer of the golf ball. Every yard away from the water produces a more harsh angle into a shallower orientation of the green.
7 – Par 4 – 318 Yards – The Donald Ross inspired green could fit marvelously into a hole at Pinehurst No. 2. As tempting as it is to drive the green here with a favorable wind, there's no place worse to be than short of hole-high on the left side of the green. (Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to locate all questionable pins, one of the holes cut on this green is blessed by the post-publish yellow curse, but I wont tell you which one because then that pin-set won't get played anymore. Just know you've been warned.)
8 – Par 4 – 350 Yards – There's nothing to say about this green that would do it justice. The ultimate Biarritz.
9 – Par 3 – 160 Yards – With 10 feet of elevation change from the back right corner to the front left corner of the green, there are very few safe landing spots on this green below the hole. Land it pin high, let it release, and it will likely drip back to the hole anyway.
[Continued in the next post.]
Sweetens Cove Golf Club is a nine hole gem in S. Pittsburg, TN. Ranked as the #50 (Modern) in the United States by Golf Week for 2018, Sweetens features some of the most bold and interesting greens in the game of golf. The course is composed of monumentally wide fairways that encourage strategic puzzle-solving for the scratch player, but allow even the beginner to find a low-risk, ground-friendly route to the hole.
Borrowing some inspiration from golden-age architects, Collins and his team put an entirely new and absolutely beautiful twist on classic features. The green complex are modeled after templates such as the Redan, Lion's Mouth, Punchbowl, Biarritz, and Ross turtleback. The course is set in the serene Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee, where the winds swirl and the turf stays firm and fast.
1 – Par 5 – 536 Yards – “When that smoke clears, you’ll see one of the greatest opening par fives in the world.” – General Manager Patrick Boyd
, To The Place We Belong by Travis Hill, The Golfer's Journal Vol. 2.
He's not kidding. The opening hole--the green in particular--is a shocking introduction to the style and aesthetic of Sweetens Cove. Blast away with driver but think carefully about how to use the slopes to find a way to go flag hunting. Welcome to the Thunderdome.
2 – Par 4 – 325 Yards
– Amazing that with nearly 60 yards of fairway to utilize, a headwind might spell doom in the Tupac Bunker ("If you find yourself in it, you're dead").
Multiple pins on this green are set into bowls that will yield some 2s, but there are plenty of ways to make 5, as well. Most of them start by missing the green.
3 – Par 5 –
540 Yards –
The massive tree fronting the green is the only aerial hazard of any significance on the entire golf course, but it dictates the entire strategy of the third. Play wide angles to avoid having to negotiate the widest reaches of the branches. The perched green is tame compared to the first hole, but not devoid of significant contours. There was a two here in play testing. There was also a nine.
KING – Par 3 – 112-207 Yards – Fittingly named, the 4th is a wild play on a Himalayas hole. The green is approximately 94 yards deep and partially blind from the blowout bunker's rising peaks that mirror the mountain backdrop in the distance.
The swale to the front right is ejection-city. Don't try to get cute; just get it back on the middle of the green so you only have to play the recovery shoot once. It's not any easier the second...or third...or fourth time.
5 – Par 4 – 290 Yards – There are nine signature holes on this course, but the fifth is probably the most polarizing. If you end up in the Lion's Mouth bunker, the middle of the green is your friend. Taking on any pin involves significant risk of compounding an a slight error with a fatal one. An iron off the tee here with a controlled wedge into the middle of the green is your friend with any amount of crosswind.
6 – Par 4 – 460 Yards – Cape
– Always a photogenic beauty, the sixth is the first time a player encounters a significant water hazard. The rock shrouded banks serve as stabilizing retainers for the green site. The hazard looms large over the strategy of the hole, which should fit the eye of a drawer of the golf ball. Every yard away from the water produces a more harsh angle into a shallower orientation of the green.
7 – Par 4 – 318 Yards – The Donald Ross inspired green could fit marvelously into a hole at Pinehurst No. 2. As tempting as it is to drive the green here with a favorable wind, there's no place worse to be than short of hole-high on the left side of the green. (Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to locate all questionable pins, one of the holes cut on this green is blessed by the post-publish yellow curse, but I wont tell you which one because then that pin-set won't get played anymore. Just know you've been warned.)
8 – Par 4 – 350 Yards – There's nothing to say about this green that would do it justice. The ultimate Biarritz.
9 – Par 3 – 160 Yards – With 10 feet of elevation change from the back right corner to the front left corner of the green, there are very few safe landing spots on this green below the hole. Land it pin high, let it release, and it will likely drip back to the hole anyway.
[Continued in the next post.]