The Honors Course is ranked as Tennessee's best golf course
photo by Dan Reynolds
The breathtaking final hole at McLemore Club's Highland Course is listed among the top 18 holes constructed in America since 2000
The newly-restored Lookout Mountain Club in among Georgia's top courses as rated by Golf Digest
Council Fire Golf Club made its first appearance among Tennessee's best golf courses
The Farm Golf Course in Rocky Face rose in the Georgia rankings
Chattanooga Golf & Country Club is rated as Golf Digest's No. 10 course in Tennessee
When Golf Digest unveiled its ranking of “America’s Most Challenging Courses” earlier this month, The Honors Course in Ooltewah was listed as No. 23 in the nation. Someone might want to inform the publication that a fellow named Tiger would like to respectfully disagree with their assessment.
The greatest golfer of this generation and arguably the best ever, Tiger Woods has competed at the world’s most challenging tracks. But his memory of participating in the 1996 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship hosted by The Honors Course left a lasting impression.
Woods won the tournament by four shots as a sophomore at Stanford University shortly before turning professional. But his final round score of 80 – the highest he recorded as a collegian - left a sour taste in his mouth. After dominating the course his first three days, the last round provided a large dose of humility. Woods triple-bogeyed No. 9 followed by four consecutive bogeys, still finishing as the lone golfer in red figures with a cumulative 3-under par.
A decade later, Chattanooga’s Brent Henley found out first-hand that Woods’ final memories of The Honors Course still festered. The long-time PGA Tour caddie was looping for Woody Austin in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines when they were paired with Woods in the midst of his historic run of dominance.
“Tiger was shooting the breeze with me walking down the fairway and he asked me, ‘Brent, where are you from?’ Henley said. “I said, ‘I’m from near Chattanooga. A place called Ooltewah.’
“And he goes, ‘Ooltewah…Ooltewah. Why does that ring a bell?’ And I said, ‘It’s home of The Honors Course.’
“And he said, ‘(Expletive) that place! That’s the hardest golf course I ever played in my life.’ He’s played them all and in the toughest conditions, but he ranked The Honors as the hardest.”
So quite possibly the committee at Golf Digest should speak to Woods to get his input whenever they next update their list.
The Honors Course, ranked No. 31 among the publication’s rating of “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses, was also one of seven local layouts to be recognized in state rankings. It continues its lengthy reign as the best course in Tennessee, followed by Black Creek Club, which moved up six spots to place eighth.
The venerable Chattanooga Golf & Country Club retained its position at No. 10, while Council Fire Golf Club’s ongoing improvements earned a nod among the state’s elite courses with its No. 15 ranking.
On the heels of architects Tyler Rae and Kyle Franz completing a historic transformation this summer to align with Seth Raynor’s original design in 1926, Lookout Mountain Club climbed seven spots to rank No. 12 among Georgia’s top courses. The Farm Golf Club outside of Dalton rose two places to No. 15, and McLemore Club’s Highland Course fell three rungs to finish at No. 23.
Henrik Simonsen, the Director of Golf at The Honors Course, is proud of the continued validation the club enjoys 40 years since its opening.
“Obviously what Jack Lupton and Pete Dye created was pretty special,” Simonsen said. “We don’t ever take it for granted. All the restoration and renovation we went through the last couple of years by bringing Gil Hanse in kind of speaks to how committed our leadership is to keep up with the times and make sure that the course is the very best it can be.
“In our case, it was 40 years without major work to the golf course so it was time. It demonstrates that we want to present the very best course we can and also to make sure it remains relevant with all the change we see in distances. We had to ensure that it remains a great course for many years to come.”
The Honors Course is poised to host the 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship and the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur before the U.S. Amateur returns in 2031.
The complete rankings for each state with their previous ranking are listed below:
Tennessee
1. The Honors Course, Ooltewah (1)
2. The Golf Club of Tennessee, Kingston Springs (2)
3. Spring Creek Ranch, Collierville (3)
4. Troubadour Golf & Field Club, College Grove (4)
5. Holston Hills Country Club, Knoxville (5)
6. TPC Southwind, Memphis (9)
7. Memphis Country Club, Memphis (11)
8. Black Creek Club, Chattanooga (14)
9. The Grove, College Grove
10. Chattanooga Golf & Country Club, Chattanooga (10)
11. Colonial Country Club (South), Cordova (12)
12. Belle Meade Country Club, Nashville (6)
13. Tennessee National Golf Club, Loudon (8)
14. Hillwood Country Club, Nashville (NR)
15. Council Fire Golf Club, Chattanooga (NR)
Georgia
1. Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta (1)
2. Peachtree Golf Club, Atlanta (3)
3. Ohoopee Match Club, Cobbtown (2)
4. Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands), Johns Creek (5)
5. East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta (4)
6. Ocean Forest Golf Club, Sea Island (6)
7. Sea Island (Seaside), Saint Simons Island (7)
8. Atlanta Country Club, Marietta (8)
9. Frederica Golf Club, Saint Simons Island (9)
10. Champions Retreat (Bluff/Island), Evans (12)
11. Augusta Country Club, Augusta (15)
12. Lookout Mountain Club, Lookout Mountain (19)
13. Ainsley Golf Club (Settindown Creek), Roswell (11)
14. Hawks Ridge Golf Club, Ball Ground (10)
15. The Farm Golf Club, Rocky Face (17)
16. The Golf Club at Cuscowilla, Eatonton (14)
17. Atlanta Athletic Club (Riverside), Johns Creek (13)
18. Reynolds Lake Oconee (Great Waters), Eatonton (16)
19. The Ford Field and River Club, Richmond Hill (23)
20. Capital City Club (Crabapple), Alpharetta (18)
21. Currahee Club, Toccoa (22)
22. Capital City Club (Brookhaven), Atlanta (29)
23. The McLemore Club (Highlands), Rising Fawn (20)
24. The Golf Club of Georgia (Lakeside), Alpharetta (24)
25. Cherokee Town & Country Club (North), Atlanta (21)
26. TPC Sugarloaf (Stables/Meadows), Duluth (NR)
27. Sea Island Golf Club (Plantation), Saint Simons Island (25)
28. The River Club, Suwanee (28)
29. Dunwoody Country Club, Atlanta (NR)
30. The Oconee at Reynolds Lake Oconee, Greensboro (NR)
31. The National at Reynolds Lake Oconee (Ridge/Bluff), Greensboro (NR)
32. The Golf Club of Georgia (Creekside), Alpharetta (NR)
33. Druid Hills Golf Club, Atlanta (27)
34. Cherokee Town & Country Club (South), Atlanta (NR)
35. The Landings Club (Deer Creek), Savannah (NR)
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com