The Champions Club Tee Times and Reservations 423.238.6812
If You Like Golf
by-weekly online golf column
by
Chris Dortch
August 2, 2005 - Staff members at the newly renovated Champions Club at Hampton Creek knew they had a tough course on their hands after noted designer Jay Morrish finished his handiwork last fall. When the Tennessee Golf Association's course ratings came back, they had their proof.
The Champions Club's rating of 75.7 places it among the top six in Tennessee, behind Colonial South in Memphis (77.2), The Honors Course (76.1), and the TPC at Southwind (75.9), but ahead of several other highly regarded courses in the state, including Knoxville's Holston Hills, Nashville's Belle Meade, and all seven Jack Nicklaus signature courses, including his new Spring Creek Ranch in Collierville and Nashville's Richland Country Club.
Funny how two of the most difficult courses in Tennessee are located a few miles apart in sleepy little Ooltewah.
"We're proud of the fact the course measures up against some of the tougher courses in our state," said Champions Club general manager Rich Balthrop, "but we're also proud that we have several sets of tees, so the course can be challenging to better players, but also fun to play for everyone else."
If you're wondering what factors go into course rating, this passage from the USGA's course rating primer sums it up well:
"Accuracy and consistency are the keys to effective course rating. A course must first be accurately measured, and the measured yardage must be corrected for factors that affect the playing length, which are roll, changes in elevation, forced lay-ups, doglegs, prevailing wind and altitude. Obstacles that affect playing difficulty must then be evaluated in accordance with established standards. These standards reduce subjectivity in course rating."
I finally got to play the Champions Club in a benefit tournament earlier this week, and came away impressed with the job Morrish did building the new course around the nine-hole executive course that had previously existed. Taking the old course's best holes and blending them with an impressive piece of property that winds around either side of Snow Hill Road, Morrish came up with a course that doesn't need to be tricked up to be demanding.
Balthrop is hoping to test the course among the game's best players, on a state and national level.
"We'll try to get in the rotation for state events, plus the [Chattanooga Men's] Metro and things like that," Balthrop said. "But we might have our eye on something bigger down the road."
Without question, The Champions Club could be a worthy tournament venue. At 7,200 yards from the back tees, it's long enough, and there are challenges aplenty, ranging from meandering creeks to penal rough to thick stands of hardwood forest.