Dave, Don't think they'll let you walk Gatlinburg CC anymore, but years ago, I did once...and that was enough. The front nine is more open "foothill golf" and not difficult to walk. That back side is a real test.
There's another course between G'burg and Cosby on 321, the road that runs along the south side of the Park, called Bent Creek. It's a Gary Player designed course...interesting, but short. The front is very flat for the most part, built in a creek valley. If I'm putting and driving OK, I can usually play it around par. The back side is like G'burg's, but shorter... they also have a par-3 drop hole that appears as far down as out...a PW to the front and 9 to the back. They built the tee into the top of a rocky cliff covered with trees and couldn't keep grass on it, so use a mat. The toughest hole is the 11th, I believe. You drive through a narrow tree-lined canyon with less than a driver to the very edge of a wide creek (30-40 feet) running through a 90° cross-canyon. If you are short of the very small landing area, you're behind your canyon wall and can't see or hit to the green. If you hit the landing area just short of the creek, you have about a 6-iron to a green across the creek and jutting out into the creek. Nasty little hole! Bent Creek is a nice place to stay if you are going to visit the Park. Condos are up on top of a small mountain above the course, views are excellent, prices not bad...especially off-season...and you get a free round of golf (greens fees) for each day there. Bernie Writeto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dave Tutelman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, November 22, 2002 10:10 AM Subject: Re: ShopTalk: Geese/Tellico > Impressive! > The courses I had mentioned were courses I will walk, but... If I'm playing > them twice in one day I'll ride at least one of the rounds. The way you > make Gatlinburg CC sound, I might not survive walking it even once in a day. > > Cheers! > DaveT > > At 09:53 AM 11/22/02 -0500, you wrote: > >Dave, > > > >None of those courses had been built when I came down here, so I've never > >played them. Almost got to do Dauphin Highlands the last trip up there, but > >don't expect to get back there anymore. Most of the courses that I played > >then (until 1970), like Lancaster CC and most of the western Philly courses, > >were built on good farmland and rolled a bit, but we only have one or two > >relatively flat holes on our courses here...generally along the lake shore. > >And here, many courses (the best ones, I think) are cut out of the original > >woods with 100 foot trees on both sides. Had to get used to a lot of > >side-hill lies in the middle of the fairway. The State Park Nicklaus > >designed courses, Harrison Bay near Chattanooga, and Cumberland Mountains > >near Crossville, were cut out of the woods, but have very wide and generally > >level fairways...are a little easier to play than our retirement village > >courses like Toqua. The course designers seemed to save the flattest areas > >of this village land for building lots...and they aren't very flat. We do > >have an exception in our new Kahite links-style course, which is relatively > >open. They made up for that with 5 par-4s over 440 yards from the regular > >men's tees. > > > >Gatlingburg CC, near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has a back > >side that is almost unbelievably up and down...one par-3 seems as far down > >as out, and that's a full 155 club for me. It's target golf...driving along > >steep ridges and down canyons cut out of the woods. If you ever get to the > >Smokies, take your sticks and play it. It's a different kind of experience. > >When the wind is blowing through those canyons, it's really tough. There's a > >story that Patty Berg was playing an exhibition on it years ago, got to that > >par-3 and hit 11 balls that blew way off the green. She threw down her club > >and ended the exhibition right there. > > > >Bernie > >Writeto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >---- Original Message ----- > >From: "Dave Tutelman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Sent: Friday, November 22, 2002 9:04 AM > >Subject: Re: ShopTalk: Geese/Tellico > > > > > > > At 02:21 AM 11/22/02 -0500, you wrote: > > > >I like the area also. East Tennessee is almost an ideal place to > >retire... > > > >The Philadelphia District (including Lancaster and Harrisburg) where I > > > >grew up had better maintained courses, but worse weather. Our courses in > >E > > > >TN are generally tougher because of all the ups-and-downs, harder greens > > > >and a bit more wind. > > > > > > More ups and downs than Dauphin Highlands in Harrisburg, or Pilgrim's Oak > > > south of Lancaster, or Sunset between Harrisburg and Lancaster, or any of > > > several other courses on the RSG-Hershey itinerary? Wow! That's a lot of > >up > > > and down. > > > > > > Cheers! > > > DaveT > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
