Lupton’s Original Vision Still Very Much Alive Today at The Honors Course

It has been 14 years since the death of one of Chattanooga’s greatest visionaries and philanthropists, John T. Lupton III. Known more familiarly as “Jack”, each passing year sadly removes us from remembering the profound impact Lupton had on our community during a critical crossroads for the city.

The Tennessee Aquarium is one lasting monument to Lupton’s ability to see well down the road, his investment into the project serving as the driving force behind downtown’s renaissance over the past three decades.

But Lupton’s impact was also widely felt in the arena of amateur golf, and his spirit remains very much alive at his beloved Honors Course, which continues to flourish as his monument to the game he so deeply loved.

At a gathering of dignitaries and media last Thursday at the iconic Ooltewah course, Lupton’s footprint on golf statewide was once again recognized in anticipation of The Honors Course hosting the U.S. Senior Amateur later this month.

Joe Richardson, chairman of The Honors Course, recalled Lupton’s insistence on having USGA Executive Director P.J. Boatright, Jr. fly down for a tour of the golf course shortly after it opened in 1983.

“Jack asked him to come down here and look at this golf course to tell us what he thought,” Richardson said. “I walked with them and we ended up on the No. 8 tee box, when P.J. looked at Jack and said, ‘Jack, you can host any golf tournament that the USGA sponsors on your golf course.’ And so that's how we have proceeded to always honor amateur golf.”

The U.S. Senior Amateur will be the sixth USGA championship hosted at the state’s top-ranked golf course. Other competitions have been the 1991 U.S. Amateur, the 1994 Curtis Cup Match, the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur, the 2011 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur.

That list will expand further in the coming years, as the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2031 U.S. Amateur are scheduled to be staged here.

“This is what we're all about,” said Henrik Simonsen, The Honors Course COO and Director of Golf. “We want to honor amateur golf the way Mr. Lupton, and Mr. Richardson now, wanted to do and that was to host big national tournaments. To have six now with the USGA is just amazing, and the club is the best prepared it's ever been for this event. I have lived on property for 17 years and this is not a job. This is home, this is my backyard, and it really is so much fun for the entire staff.”

Lupton’s reach extended far beyond building The Honors Course. It was refreshing to be reminded of Lupton’s influence, recognizing that much of the success currently enjoyed by Tennessee’s amateur, professional and foundation ruling bodies can be traced back to Lupton’s foresight and generosity.

Dick Horton, who served as Executive Director of the Tennessee Section PGA, the Tennessee Golf Association and the Tennessee Golf Foundation over course of his half a century of involvement in golf leadership, credits Lupton for much of the advancements in golf statewide.

“He was truly a visionary of golf well beyond this golf course,” Horton said. “I shared with him a desire of having all the golf associations in Tennessee under one roof, and he said, ‘It really should be right here in Chattanooga because we're the number one golf city in the whole state.’ But he agreed it needed to be in the middle of the state.

“We found some property and showed Jack our vision. And in Jack's classic form, we're in a lunch meeting and he looked at his watch and said, ‘Oh, gosh, I’ve got to be somewhere at noon. Let's just go ahead and build it.’  And as he walked out of the room, he told us to go build Golf House.”

When the headquarters was completed thanks to Lupton’s $3 million investment, he realized that there would be ongoing financial needs that were quickly remedied.

“We had a beautiful facility, but we still didn't have two nickels to rub together,” Horton said. “Then Jack said, ‘I want you to know that I'm going to put another seven figures in a bank account to endow and keep you going because you're going to need money to run this place until you can raise some money.’ That demonstrates the vision and generosity of Jack Lupton.”

Lupton also committed The Honors Course as a rotating site for both men’s and women’s state amateur championships every ten years, raising the bar for other storied clubs across the state to do likewise.

“It completely transformed amateur golf in our state,” Horton said. “Mr. Lupton and his vision for amateur golf was wonderful. I might have had a lot of ideas, but Jack knew how to make them happen. It wasn't just about money, but it was his love of the game.”

Lupton’s masterpiece originally designed by golf course architect Pete Dye and enhanced by Gil Hanse a couple of years ago goes beyond simply hosting golf tournaments and serving its membership. The club hosted its annual junior event last week, where local youth golfers are provided with caddies and are treated with a formal luncheon.

There is also the Polly Boyd Scholarship Program that is awarded to caddies and other club employees which speaks to the fabric of giving created by Lupton when founding the club.

“I think there have been more than 140 Polly Boyd Scholars who have worked here and we’ve helped them then proceed in life,” Richardson said. “We tell them that we hope when they get there, they'll do what we're doing and helping other people.”

While many in the outside world never get to experience the essence of The Honors Course, it truly is a special place that goes well beyond the majestic landscape and its storied championship history. The 156 golfers who show up for the U.S. Senior Amateur will get a taste of it during their stay, but their experience won’t tell the entire story.

There will never be another Jack Lupton. His profound influence should continue to be remembered even today as an inspiration to us all.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com