The entrance to one of the nation’s finest golf clubs sits
anonymously off a state highway about 10 miles northeast of Chattanooga,
Tennessee, down the road from a strip of burger joints and convenience stores.
Only a keycard properly inserted or a call via speaker box to the front desk—and
someone has to be expecting you—will open the ramparts and usher you in.
And what a kingdom you’ll discover once you’re inside the Honors
Course.
The prelude is a mile-long drive to the clubhouse, a modest
structure of 10,000 square feet whose beige siding and tin roofs make it
resemble a Tennessee farmhouse. The winding entry road takes you through
canopies of hickory trees and dogwoods, the golf course unfolding on the left
side in all its Pete Dye-designed splendor.
As far back as a half-century ago, a handful of Chattanooga
residents, dreamed of building an exclusive, world-class championship course for
the area. The concept percolated for a couple of decades until, in the early
1970s, an ideal site was found in the town of Ooltewah (Cherokee for “resting
place”). A decade later, a group led by Coca-Cola magnate Jack Lupton purchased
the land and hired Dye
Joe Richardson, Lupton’s longtime attorney to Lupton, was involved
in the process from the beginning and remembers Lupton having two charges to
Dye. One, the course should move with the land rather than being shaped by heavy
equipment; two, the greens should be more receptive than the ones at Dye’s
then-recently opened TPC Sawgrass.
Dye found the gently rolling 460-acre site, which sits at the base
of White Mountain, ideal for Lupton’s vision. The first six holes take off
through the wilderness; Dye routed the 1st hole so one of the surrounding
mountain peaks loomed beyond the ideal fairway landing position. Early in the
round the golfer feels absolute seclusion—no houses, roads, commerce or other
fairways in sight.
