Nashville, TN Golf

[kobe123]

11 hours ago, bcjim said:

Crazy.  Just hit up Harpeth Hills. Its close to Brentwood and no initiation fee or food minimums.  Been 20y and I still miss that place. Met many interesting people there incl a lot of musicians and industry types.

 

 

Put a pool and some lawn darts in the backyard for the family with the 40K you save. 🤣

Saving 40K is generous, the way clubs are going you'd save 75K+, lol

Best deal is Legends, but it has an extensive wait list.

[J4Camp]

I think the cheapest club in the area might be Temple Hills, but it's lacking in the actual clubhouse and country club experience. 

 

Old Natchez is on the lower end, but you are looking at $35-40k initiation and $600/month.

 

Governors Club is $45k with $900 monthly dues

 

Last I checked Westhaven I think they were $45-$50k

 

Everything else goes up from there and you'll be waitlisted. 

 

Brentwood CC, Richland, Golf Club of TN  (Don't bother unless you have half a million to throw down), same for Troubadour which I think you need land/property to even be a member. 

 

Great area, but the golf scene isn't great unless you're a member somewhere or have friends at clubs. Hermitage is a great public track and they have two 18s, but its about 35 mins from Brentwood. 

 

Nashville Golf and Athletic is a decent track, but its strictly a golf club.

 

Cant speak to Legends Club as I haven't been over there lately.

[TNwanabe]

10 hours ago, smashdn said:

I don't know if this is a thing or not, but maybe have your current club manager get in touch with whichever club here you are interested in and see if your standing at your current club can help you out in any way.  Maybe get you some rounds with current members or move your family up the waitlist a shade.

This is a great idea. Hopefully it will work for you. Unfortunately, everywhere I contacted last year had long waiting lists and or were ridiculously priced. Got the Metro pass and can walk for $8 at any of the metro courses. Harpeth Hills is amazing for a metro. It could be a PGA course if it was kept at that level. Mccabe is very busy but is a fun course. The others are pretty good too. Not private club level maintenance but good enough. 

[vandyfan]

15 hours ago, TNwanabe said:

This is a great idea. Hopefully it will work for you. Unfortunately, everywhere I contacted last year had long waiting lists and or were ridiculously priced. Got the Metro pass and can walk for $8 at any of the metro courses. Harpeth Hills is amazing for a metro. It could be a PGA course if it was kept at that level. Mccabe is very busy but is a fun course. The others are pretty good too. Not private club level maintenance but good enough. 

 

Totally agree with this, especially if you have flexibility when you play. Harpeth Hills probably has better land and routing than almost any private club I have played in Mid TN. Ted Rhodes, Two Rivers are solid tracks. 

[FuzzyKnuckles]

Did anything ever happen from those rumors years ago that Snedeker/other investors were going to restore/renovate Harpeth Hills and make it a real high level public track?

[vandyfan]

On 1/17/2024 at 1:44 PM, FuzzyKnuckles said:

Did anything ever happen from those rumors years ago that Snedeker/other investors were going to restore/renovate Harpeth Hills and make it a real high level public track?

 

I hear this rumor every year so maybe there is something to it. The city has allowed some outside investment with Percy Warner golf course and now they are working on Shelby. To me, Harpeth Hills is fine how it is though I would welcome any improvements to it. If they can somehow make Shelby a serviceable golf course that will be pretty amazing. As with anything, I am dubious as to whether metro can keep these courses up 5 years down the road so I would be wary of investing a bunch of money into Harpeth Hills only to watch it slowly erode away. The biggest issue HH has, to me, is the bunkers seem to have as many rocks as they do sand in them (especially the bunker right of the 10th green). Other than some tree removal (most notably on #1 which is a hole that I think should be re-designed, re-worked) and bunker work, I am not sure what I would change at HH? 

Edited March 19, 2024 by vandyfan

[vandyfan]

Just played Harpeth Hills yesterday and for $28 walking I don't know what else you could want* out of that golf course. Awesome routing, elevation changes, some great holes and not really any stinker holes out there. Greens rolled really well. Pace of play was surprisingly decent (played 3 hr and 45 minutes in a walking foursome on a packed course). Again, for $28 in Nashville I am really curious how any course could do much better. They are also regrassing the range so they might actually have a real range to hit off in the future. Unrelated to the actual golf course playing experience it is insane that they don't have an online booking system which we have discussed numerous times here. I would think that they could recoup whatever the cost of setting up such an online system by requiring credit cards and charging for rounds that people don't show up for with a 24 hour cancellation window. Just my two cents. Overall, just a really great golf course that I would probably pay $65 to play and it goes for 1/2 of that. Contrast it with, say, Franklin Bridge which is in a little better condition with a worse routing and design and it is routinely $100+. Yes that is a muni vs a (privately owned) public but their tee sheet is always completely full so I use it as a proxy for Nashville public golf. 

 

*Gripes if I really want to nitpick - tee boxes are being re-done on numerous holes so you tee off in some wonky places, especially on par 3s (#11 has the white tee still tee off a mat). Bunkers are a little inconsistent but there is very new sand in several bunkers that I would expect will eventually make its way around the course which is encouraging. 

[eddiebigeddie]

On 3/21/2024 at 11:53 AM, vandyfan said:

Contrast it with, say, Franklin Bridge which is in a little better condition with a worse routing and design and it is routinely $100+. Yes that is a muni vs a (privately owned) public but their tee sheet is always completely full so I use it as a proxy for Nashville public golf. 

Is Franklin Bridge really that high now?  My sister lives across the street from the big parking lot and I’ve played it a time or two right before Covid and it was like $35-45 max. Crazy to think they’ve raised the price that much in last 3 years. 

[golfpractitioner5]

3 hours ago, eddiebigeddie said:

Is Franklin Bridge really that high now?  My sister lives across the street from the big parking lot and I’ve played it a time or two right before Covid and it was like $35-45 max. Crazy to think they’ve raised the price that much in last 3 years. 

The cost to play there is ridiculous now.  I've played there twice over the last year and both rounds for 5 hours or longer.  Each round cost $100.  It is not worth that much.  So man people drive from Williamson County over to Rutherford County, where I live, to play public golf now due to cost.

[eddiebigeddie]

6 minutes ago, golfpractitioner5 said:

The cost to play there is ridiculous now.  I've played there twice over the last year and both rounds for 5 hours or longer.  Each round cost $100.  It is not worth that much.  So man people drive from Williamson County over to Rutherford County, where I live, to play public golf now due to cost.

I believe the 5 hr round thing. My dad tells me everytime they go visit my sister that the parking lot and driving range are full no matter time of day or weather. Also said they added lights to the range too. It’s a decent course but def not $100 a round. I’m fortunate that the #1 public course in Ky (2023) is 15 min down the road from me and cost anywhere from $45-70 depending time of the year and it’s 100% nicer than Franklin. 

[vandyfan]

I am obsessed right now with Park Mammoth in Kentucky so I am just evangelizing all over golfwrx about it but if you haven't played it I HIGHLY recommend it. It is about 80 miles from Nashville so not an easy ask for anyone with kids (like me) but man it is so, so good. I said this on another thread but it is, to me, a better golf experience than Sweetens and Sewanee (and I love both of those). Open off the tee but angles very, very much matter. Very interesting greens that are wild but stay out of the Sweetens zone of insanity. Overall a golf course that gives you options on almost every hole and opportunities to recover abound. It should be the template for golf course design going forward except for maybe "championship level tests" of which I think there should be few of those golf courses sprinkled throughout the country (which I will stay away from because they are not fun). 

 

Very fun golf course and the people of Bowling Green, KY are lucky to have it. Currently very easy to get a tee time there (much easier than Nashville weekend tee times). 

[vandyfan]

On 3/19/2024 at 11:44 AM, vandyfan said:

Other than some tree removal (most notably on #1 which is a hole that I think should be re-designed, re-worked) and bunker work, I am not sure what I would change at HH? 

 

I thought about this some more and I have totally changed my stance (not surprising). @FuzzyKnuckles, I am now all for an AGGRESSIVE tree removal project at Harpeth Hills, though I know very little about GCA it seems like, at a minimum, it would open up options and grass would grow better in certain spots. I imagine it is expensive to take down trees, remove them and then re-sod but I can still dream. Here are my main offenders:

Hole 1, wayyy too tight down by the creek. Basically means no one ever risks going into the creek and there is only one way/avenue to play this hole. Take all these out:

Hole 2: A lot of useless trees (to me) where grass can never grow. 

 

Hole 5: Several annoying trees, to me. The trees on the left I understand but the two sentry trees in the fairway are ridiculous. I don't mean annoying like "oh this is too hard" but more, again, they stifle all the grass around them and narrow the corridor for no real reason. 

 

Hole 9, all these trees are pretty dumb to me. Many people can carry the first 4 trees (if they are playing the correct tees) and the best angle into the green is actually from the center of that yellow circle. 

 

Hole 10: Leave the high grass down the left if you want but with high grass AND trees, no one ever takes the left shortcut which makes this hole one dimensional (there is a theme here). I left in two "strategic" trees if there is such a thing:

 

Hole 14: This hole is already tight and the green (in the summer) is ludicrous. What is the point of these trees other than to just penalize? 

 

 

Hole 16, might need the removal the most desperately. 

 

Hole 17 just has two kind of dumb trees that, again, block the best angle to the green. I don't understand why you would orient the green like this with almost now way to come into in this direction? 

 

[smashdn]

Stealing another of @vandyfan's pictures to show something.

 

What is the reward for flirting with the bunkers on the left, either playing close to them or carrying them, if you are blocked out by the trees you have circled?  Those bunkers should be protecting the "line of charm," which I think initially they did before the green fronting trees.  If the trees were gone you would want to be on the left hand side of the fairway so you could play down the length of the green and not over that greenside bunker.  Not only would I get rid of the trees circled in yellow, but I would ditch most any of the trees down that left hand side and maybe expand the fairway left ward, maybe even to the point where the bunkers are almost more centered in the fairway and build a little curve into the whole hole.

 

 

[vandyfan]

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a shaft only iron fitting in Nashville? I am looking to switch to graphite but want to be sure since that is a rather expensive endeavor. I would like to find a fitter will let me play around with graphite shafts in the 100-115g range so preferably will have steelfiber, MMT, Recoil Dart V at a minimum. 

[Abh159]

2 minutes ago, vandyfan said:

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a shaft only iron fitting in Nashville? I am looking to switch to graphite but want to be sure since that is a rather expensive endeavor. I would like to find a fitter will let me play around with graphite shafts in the 100-115g range so preferably will have steelfiber, MMT, Recoil Dart V at a minimum. 

 

Chances are you'll need to do a total iron fitting and not just a "shaft only" fitting. If your current irons are fairly new (meaning no more than 1-2 years old) they should have those heads for you to try different shafts in.

 

However, if they are older than that you'll most likely be testing out shafts in irons that you won't be playing. While not totally pointless, getting fit for shafts in one set of irons and then trying to install them into a different set might not result in the same outcome.

[vandyfan]

22 minutes ago, Abh159 said:

Chances are you'll need to do a total iron fitting and not just a "shaft only" fitting. If your current irons are fairly new (meaning no more than 1-2 years old) they should have those heads for you to try different shafts in.

 

They are Maltby irons (direct from Golfworks), I would be shocked if anyone outside of golfworks carried these. 

[Abh159]

9 minutes ago, vandyfan said:

 

They are Maltby irons (direct from Golfworks), I would be shocked if anyone outside of golfworks carried these. 

 

In that case I'd do some research and try to find a set of OEM irons that match or get as close as possible in specs (loft, lie angle, weight, offset, bounce, and etc.) to what you have. Then, if you do go for a fitting I'd only hit those specific irons that are the closest match to the set you have and try different shafts.

 

My point in the first post was to say getting fit into XYZ shafts in a set of Titleist T100 irons isn't going to do you a lot of good if you play Ping G425 irons...

[vandyfan]

6 minutes ago, Abh159 said:

My point in the first post was to say getting fit into XYZ shafts in a set of Titleist T100 irons isn't going to do you a lot of good if you play Ping G425 irons...

 

Fair point, I asked on the maltby thread this morning about that. I was looking for something with a similar profile and AVCOG which seems to be the P770...for the most part. I would imagine most fitters would have that so then it just comes down to who has heavy-ish graphite shafts available. Those aren't always easy to find in my experience. 

[gr8blueheronbird]

Try "The Tour Van". I believe he works out of Hermitage GC. Ph#760-518-5923.  If he can't fit you, he may know someone else that may be able to do so. Good luck!

[kobe123]

9 hours ago, gr8blueheronbird said:

Try "The Tour Van". I believe he works out of Hermitage GC. Ph#760-518-5923.  If he can't fit you, he may know someone else that may be able to do so. Good luck!

 

Agreed, go to Jason at the Tour Van. He's great.

[cubuffs]

On 5/13/2024 at 10:19 AM, vandyfan said:

Does anyone have a good recommendation for a shaft only iron fitting in Nashville? I am looking to switch to graphite but want to be sure since that is a rather expensive endeavor. I would like to find a fitter will let me play around with graphite shafts in the 100-115g range so preferably will have steelfiber, MMT, Recoil Dart V at a minimum. 

 

Another option may be to give give Westhaven a call and see what Tim Sygerych has.  Have used him several times in the past and he is really good.  

 

As someone who made the move to graphite this winter (MMT 105 TX) I was hesitant but the results have been really good.  I went a bit more blind due to having a discount for Callaway, but worked with a fitter remotely based on previous fittings.

[vandyfan]

12 hours ago, cubuffs said:

As someone who made the move to graphite this winter (MMT 105 TX) I was hesitant but the results have been really good.

 

Was this injury related at all? Also what were you coming out of -- something similarly weighted or did you drop in weight as well?

[cubuffs]

2 hours ago, vandyfan said:

 

Was this injury related at all? Also what were you coming out of -- something similarly weighted or did you drop in weight as well?

 

So not injury related, just getting up in my late 40's and someone who likes to hit lots of balls (our club goes mats early and comes off late along with having a mat at home).  

 

So the MMT 105s are actually around 115g in the TX.  Previously, was playing KBS Tour V X in a 130g.  Thought it would take some time to adjust, but was a pretty quick and seamless transition.  I was playing MMT in my wedges so I was familar with the feel and bend profile.

[eddiebigeddie]

On 5/15/2024 at 11:04 AM, cubuffs said:

 

So not injury related, just getting up in my late 40's and someone who likes to hit lots of balls (our club goes mats early and comes off late along with having a mat at home).  

 

So the MMT 105s are actually around 115g in the TX.  Previously, was playing KBS Tour V X in a 130g.  Thought it would take some time to adjust, but was a pretty quick and seamless transition.  I was playing MMT in my wedges so I was familar with the feel and bend profile.

Another graphite switch person here. I’m mid 40’s and switched from True Temper Elevate x-stiffs (122g) to Recoil 110 F5/x-stiff (111g) year before last. They were a great switch no pain, can hit a lot more balls and again no elbow or hand pain….but the only issue is I felt they were just a touch too light. So last year had a set built up with Fuji Pro 115i stiff (116.5g) and they’ve been excellent. This weight seems to be my magic number. Just this week I had a new set built up with Recoil Prototypes 125 F4 (118-121g) and I’ve only swung the 8 iron into my net so far and they seem to be right in line with the Fujis 

[vandyfan]

11 hours ago, eddiebigeddie said:

Fuji Pro 115i stiff (116.5g)

 

So...uh...👀...what happened to the Fuji Pro 115s? 

[eddiebigeddie]

4 minutes ago, vandyfan said:

 

So...uh...👀...what happened to the Fuji Pro 115s? 

I still have them...in my "back up" set of clubs.  So currently have a new set of Mizuno 245's with Recoil Prototype 125 F4 (118-121g).  The backups are PXG 0211 XCOR2 Xtreme Darkness with the Fuji Pro 115s.  A set for when my game is "off" and a set for when I'm playing alot ;) 

[vandyfan]

On 5/13/2024 at 11:38 AM, gr8blueheronbird said:

Try "The Tour Van". I believe he works out of Hermitage GC. Ph#760-518-5923.  If he can't fit you, he may know someone else that may be able to do so. Good luck!

 

I booked with Jason for next thursday. Looking forward to it. Will post my experience somewhere here on the board if anyone is interested in an average speed (88 mph 7 iron CHS) trying to move from steel to graphite. 

[vandyfan]

Did my fitting today and highly recommend the Tour Van. You get a trackman fitting off real grass with a ton of different options. They found an iron shaft that works significantly better for me than what I am currently in (unfortunately it is an expensive shaft but alas what can you do) AND Jason intrigued me with potentially adjusting my irons to .5 or 1* flat. Based on my divot pattern, hand position and flight all my balls were starting slightly left of target (this has been a persistent issue for me) and he suggested this would be a good option. All in all I felt like I got to work through a lot of options, received a lot of good information about the head + shaft combos and why they would or wouldn't work with my swing and came out feeling confident I can get a better equipment setup. 

 

I hit Ping Blueprint S, Mizuno 243, P770, JPX Tour, Apex CB, Srixon Zx7 MKII and Titleist T100 with MMT, LA Golf, Steelfiber and Fujikura graphite options as well but really I was just interested in the shafts. The Mizuno 243s are really nice and those worked the best for me paired with the Fujikura Axiom 125X (never would have tried an X on my own but I was cruising at 93-94 mph Club head speed). The Axioms are a definite. I am going to try shafting them in my Maltby TS1-IM 7 iron and bend it 1* flat and see if that truly is the magic setup. Anyway, really cool experience...highly recommend. 

Edited May 23, 2024 by vandyfan

[gr8blueheronbird]

21 hours ago, vandyfan said:

Did my fitting today and highly recommend the Tour Van. You get a trackman fitting off real grass with a ton of different options. They found an iron shaft that works significantly better for me than what I am currently in (unfortunately it is an expensive shaft but alas what can you do) AND Jason intrigued me with potentially adjusting my irons to .5 or 1* flat. Based on my divot pattern, hand position and flight all my balls were starting slightly left of target (this has been a persistent issue for me) and he suggested this would be a good option. All in all I felt like I got to work through a lot of options, received a lot of good information about the head + shaft combos and why they would or wouldn't work with my swing and came out feeling confident I can get a better equipment setup. 

 

I hit Ping Blueprint S, Mizuno 243, P770, JPX Tour, Apex CB, Srixon Zx7 MKII and Titleist T100 with MMT, LA Golf, Steelfiber and Fujikura graphite options as well but really I was just interested in the shafts. The Mizuno 243s are really nice and those worked the best for me paired with the Fujikura Axiom 125X (never would have tried an X on my own but I was cruising at 93-94 mph Club head speed). The Axioms are a definite. I am going to try shafting them in my Maltby TS1-IM 7 iron and bend it 1* flat and see if that truly is the magic setup. Anyway, really cool experience...highly recommend. 

Great that it worked out for you!  I'm hoping to see him whenever my tweaked lower back gets better.  Thanks for the great insight and info!

[cubuffs]

On 5/23/2024 at 10:37 AM, vandyfan said:

Did my fitting today and highly recommend the Tour Van. You get a trackman fitting off real grass with a ton of different options. They found an iron shaft that works significantly better for me than what I am currently in (unfortunately it is an expensive shaft but alas what can you do) AND Jason intrigued me with potentially adjusting my irons to .5 or 1* flat. Based on my divot pattern, hand position and flight all my balls were starting slightly left of target (this has been a persistent issue for me) and he suggested this would be a good option. All in all I felt like I got to work through a lot of options, received a lot of good information about the head + shaft combos and why they would or wouldn't work with my swing and came out feeling confident I can get a better equipment setup. 

 

I hit Ping Blueprint S, Mizuno 243, P770, JPX Tour, Apex CB, Srixon Zx7 MKII and Titleist T100 with MMT, LA Golf, Steelfiber and Fujikura graphite options as well but really I was just interested in the shafts. The Mizuno 243s are really nice and those worked the best for me paired with the Fujikura Axiom 125X (never would have tried an X on my own but I was cruising at 93-94 mph Club head speed). The Axioms are a definite. I am going to try shafting them in my Maltby TS1-IM 7 iron and bend it 1* flat and see if that truly is the magic setup. Anyway, really cool experience...highly recommend. 

 

Was wondering where you stood in the process - great to hear that you may have found the fit.  Was this out at Hermitage?