Double your fun!
Two Glade Golf Courses make Golfweek’s list of Top Five Best Tennessee Courses
By KEITH WALTHER
Vista Publisher/Editor
Crossville has been touted as the Golf Capital of Tennessee but — let’s make it real here — that applies particularly to Fairfield Glade.
There would be no such claim if not for the five wonderful 18-hole golf courses found in our little niche. Yes, Fairfield Glade has bragging rights when it comes to quality golf courses.
That fact is not lost on the rest of the United States it seems. The secret — if there was one — is out about Glade golfing.
Why, just last week, the renowned Golfweek Magazine put two — count them, two! — Glade courses on its list of the “Top Five Best Courses You Can Play in Tennessee.” The Glade’s Stonehenge Golf Course and Heatherhurst Brae both reaped that honor with Stonehenge ranked No. 2 and the Brae No. 5.
“Having two courses on the Top Five is a great honor for our golfing community,” Glade Director of Golf Jeff Houston told The Vista. “The staff at all of the courses work extremely hard to provide the very best playing conditions. Having two course represented was an award for all our golf staff.”
Not to mention a source of pride for all Glade residents.
“Crossville is the golf capital of Tennessee and having two of our courses in the county verifies what everyone else has said for years,” Houston noted. “This county has promoted golf since 1970 as a way to promote tourism and retirement. And I would say the game has played a big part in the growth of Cumberland County.”
Golfweek releases its state-by-state ranking each year and Stonehenge has a rich history making its list, placing in the top five for the past several years. And now the Heatherhurst Brae course has proven to be the Robin to Stonehenge’s Batman. No doubt, the Brae will be a forced to be reckoned with in the years to come.
“Stonehenge has been on the list for several years in a row and is known for being a well-maintained, scenic and difficult golf course,” Houston said. “Having the Brae on the list at No. 5 is an honor for a golf course that is in tremendous shape every year. The design of the Brae is unique in that it really has two signature holes with #4 and #10 and the back nine features 3 par 3’s, 3 par 4’s and 3 par 5’s. It is equally loved by the residents and the tourists.”
Golfweek has golf course “raters” who travel the world playing and ranking courses each year. In this, the 20th year of its rankings, Golfweek’s rankers used 10 criteria when producing its Top Five. They were:
1. Ease and intimacy of routing; 2. Quality of feature shaping; 3. Natural setting and overall land plan; 4. Interest of greens and surrounding contours; 5. Variety and memorability of par 3s; 6. Variety and memorability of par 4s; 7. Variety and memorability of par 5s; 8. Basic quality of conditioning; 9. Landscape and tree management; and 10. “Walk in the park” test. (This is the degree to which the course ultimately is worth spending a half-day on as a compelling outdoor experience.)
You can view Golfweek’s rankings at www.golfweek.com.
“ Having two courses on the Best Places You Can Play list will only bring more visitors into our area that may have not heard of Fairfield Glade and Cumberland County,” Houston added.
DIVOTS
• Stonehenge Golf Course gets its name from walls of native stone found throughout the 6549 yard, par 72 layouts. Natural rock outcroppings come into play on several holes, with a 15 foot layered stone retaining wall running along the left and rear of the signature downhill par 3, 14th hole (pictured).
The course is proud to feature bent grass tees, greens and fairways and hosts the Tennessee Senior State Open, Tennessee Golf Association Father-Son Championship and The Golf Capital of Tennessee Women’s Open.
• The Brae Course at Heatherhurst, named for the Scottish term for a hillside by a body of water is a 6,499 yard par 72 layout designed by Gary Roger Baird. The front 9 provides the most challenge, including the fourth hole which requires two forced carries over Otter Creek to a green perched on top of a beautiful stacked stone wall.
The back 9 is unique in that it has three par 3’s, three par 4’s and three par 5’s. The par 5 10th hole (pictured) is the signature hole playing 562 yards downhill to the green positioned at the edge of beautiful Lake Dartmoor.
The Brae is the only course in the area to feature Zoysia fairways that provide unmatched fairway conditions.
• Fairfield Glade is home to five beautiful golf courses and is open to the public for an amazing golf experience.
To book a tee time at any of Fairfield Glade’s five golf courses, you may call Central Tee Times at (800) 624-8755.