Trenton Golf Club Emerging As Hidden Gem After Recent Improvements

After reading favorable reviews of the revamped Trenton Golf Course all summer, I recently decided to make the short drive to discover first-hand if all the buzz was warranted.

My first impression was very favorable. The picturesque golf course is situated at the foothills of Sand Mountain with views of Lookout Mountain serving as the eastern backdrop. The semi-private 18-hole course currently plays as a 6,369-yard par 72 from the back tees with plans to stretch the length from the tips with newly designed tee options. The layout features Bermuda fairways and Bentgrass putting surfaces.

General manager Wayne Woolfall, a local amateur golf veteran who completed his collegiate golf career in 1990 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga before playing professionally for three years, graciously gave me a tour of the course and shared plans for future improvements. Woolfall is also available for private instruction for those interested.

Trenton Golf Course opened in 1994 and is currently managed by Compass Golf of Alpharetta, Ga., following acquisition of the club in January 2022. Other courses in the Compass portfolio include Jennings Mill Country Club (Watkinsville, Ga.), Lane Creek Golf Club (Bishop, Ga.), The Frog Club (Villa Rica, Ga.) and Country Club of Gwinnett (Snellville, Ga.)

The layout had some surprising challenges and plenty of elevation changes. Longer hitters will want to keep the driver in the bag on half of the holes due to doglegs and water hazards guarding landing areas, and the course requires thoughtful club selection to avoid trouble lurking on many holes. It’s definitely a course where playing multiple rounds provides some local knowledge to determine the best way to navigate some of the more challenging holes.

While the greens were well-maintained and rolled true, some of the tee boxes and fairway areas could benefit from some additional improvements. Strategic tree removal will allow for better turf growth in some of the shaded areas and general maintenance upgrades will provide for better overall aesthetics.

Many of the few bunkers have been neglected allowing overgrowth of grass, but plans are on the table to bring about restoration of these areas according to Woolfall.

Maintenance of the course is in capable hands with Chattanooga native Robert Jacks. With 32 years in the golf business and a graduate of the turf program at Rutgers University, Jacks has previously worked as superintendent at St. Petersburg (Fl.) Country Club and Valleybrook Country Club.

The course is bisected by Back Valley Road, with five of the holes playing around the hilly terrain surrounding the clubhouse at the base of Sand Mountain and the remainder on the eastern tract of land which is adjacent to a residential development.

The most notable holes on the front side were a pair of challenging uphill par 5s. The fifth hole is a steady climb to an elevated green that plays 505 yards from the back tees, while No. 9 plays 477 yards and requires a lengthy carry off the tee to find the fairway that features a large boulder in the middle.

The back nine starts with a 405-yard downhill par 4 to a blind landing area with an approach that is back uphill to an elevated green. The par 4 11^th hole is a the first of two dogleg left tee shots where proper distance and angles are at a premium to be able to attack the green on approach. The other is the par 5 14^th - the second of consecutive par 5s - with a blind uphill approach along a narrowing fairway to a small green protected on the front right by a large tree.

The last two holes have parallel fairways and are guarded by internal out of bounds markers. This was a necessity for safety reasons, according to Woolfall, to discourage longer hitters from using the 17^th fairway to bomb their tee shots on 18 to bypass the pond guarding the green on the final hole.

Work is underway to lengthen No. 18 with additional tee boxes that will take the pond out of play, leading to conversion of the hole into a par 5. This change will result in 13^th hole – an easily reachable par 5 that currently plays at 455-yards from the tips – being changed into a par 4.

The quartet of par threes are all varied, ranging from the short 107-yard second hole to the downhill No. 15 that measures close to 200 yards with the addition of new tee options.

The natural terrain results in subtle to dramatic elevation shifts on ten of the holes, and water comes into play on at least five holes where knowing correct distance to the hazard is critical for success.

Memberships allow for play seven days a week, 10-day advance tee times, usage of the driving range when playing and access to the renovated clubhouse and “The 1945” restaurant open for lunch every day and dinner every day except Sunday. Individual memberships are priced at $70 monthly and $60 monthly for Seniors 60 and older. Couples’ memberships for golfer and spouse are priced at $100 per month.

Trenton Golf Course was worth the 20-minute drive and has a challenging layout that can be enjoyed by all levels of golfers with the option of four tee choices. Greens that rolled true and scenic vistas certainly made for an enjoyable first loop around the course that would be challenging for walkers due to the elevation changes.

There is certainly room for improvement on some of the tee boxes, rework of the bunkers and some of the bare areas, but money is being invested by the ownership to bring the course up to the standard of their other properties.

For more information, go to www.trentongolfclub.com or contact the clubhouse at (706) 657-3616. The club is located at 2060 Back Valley Road in Trenton.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com