In early January of 2021, my wife and I started talking about what to do for my upcoming 40th birthday. I naturally wanted to incorporate golf into the festivities, and she suggested I get a group together for a trip. I began to think of places within a few hours of Metro Atlanta that would be ideal for a few days of fun. Sweetens Cove in South Pittsburg, TN, The Fields in Lagrange, GA, and Aiken Golf Club in Aiken, SC were the first 3 places that came to mind. I had read a lot of glowing reviews of all 3 courses, and they are all affordable, interesting golf experiences that are open for public play. I began to research the rates, places to stay near the course and other attractions in the area.
I knew Sweetens model was slightly different than the other two. In 2020 they incorporated a day pass model as an ode to the early days at the club when the course was newly redesigned but hadn't become the sensation that it has become. In those early days, players were treated to a world class golf course and almost no one on it. The empty golf playground allowed alternate routings crossing the Sequatchie valley. The day passes would afford present day players that same experience by limiting the number of people on the course, and urging them to play as much as possible in any way you see fit. The only real rule is to not hold up play on the course. If you can keep pace with 8, then by all means enjoy yourself. Fun is a common thread with Sweetens and our trip.
In early January, while starting to plan the trip, the day passes at Sweetens had yet to be released for the summer months. I gauged interest for the trip with some of my buddies, but put the planning on hold for a moment since it was still months away. As luck would have it, within about a week, the Sweetens Instagram account posted that the day passes would be released that Friday at 6pm. At the drop of a hat, I had 6 of us lined up to go. I figured with months to plan, I could find a couple other takers, and I booked 8 day passes for June 12th and 13th.
When I first began to look at places to stay for Sweetens, I immediately looked at No Laying Up's Birdhouse, which is situated immediately to the left of the 1st green. The NLU content creators have long been a champion of Sweetens, and were one of the first entities to shed some light on the course. They purchased the brick ranch house a few years back, and turned it into an amazing compliment to the golf course. The upstairs has the ability to sleep 10 with all the amenities you'd ever want for a golf getaway. The only problem was it was booked for trip weekend.
I started looking for Air BNBs between Chattanooga and South Pittsburg that could handle 8 grown men. Those of you who have planned a golf trip know that most rental properties are not setup for a bunch of individual adults. I also wasn't excited by the prospect of a 20 minute drive back to Chattanooga.
Fast forward to the week the passes were released, and I began to peruse the rentals again. I checked the Birdhouse just to see if the availability had changed, and they had just opened the downstairs for rentals and it was available for the trip weekend. The downstairs is a little smaller in scale than the upstairs, but still able to sleep 8. It was literally exactly what we were looking for. Right on the course, so if we want a break, snack, meal, etc we're just a minute away. Setup by golfers for golfers, so there's zero you're missing. Skipping forward a little, but all the guys affiliated with the Birdhouse (Tron, Neil and Bret) could not have been more generous and accommodating throughout the process. They genuinely seem happy that you're staying, and do everything they can to make the visit amazing.
Now that everything was in place, the waiting game began. The months of anticipation allowed plenty of opportunities to think about how to structure the two days. How is everyone matched up ability wise? What type of games to play? How to handle the bets so there's a little something to play for, but not so much that you're spending precious minutes settling them after every loop?
Knowing that we had an option to play with all 8 players, I tried to think up games that would work for 8 but still allow us to play reasonably quick. Everyone playing their own ball would have been way too slow. 2 or 4 man scramble seemed like basically the same issue. There would still be 8 tee shots and 8 approaches. The only two options I could think of were alternate shot, and playing each hole as a par 3. The par 3 would be fun, but our alternate shot teams were a little uneven. So I formed a new game that was a combo of alternate shot and a scramble (this may already be a game, but I've never heard of it). We had reasonably defined A, B, C and D players. Why not partner an A with a D, a B with a C, and form a team. Have the A/D each hit a shot like a scramble, select the best and then have your B/C duo each hit a shot from there, and repeat. It seemed like it could be a lot of fun, have everyone in the group playing together and have a single wager between the two teams.
After months of waiting, June 12th was finally here. We all met at our local golf club, and made the 2 hour trip to Sweetens Cove. After a quick stop at the South Pittsburg Waffle House, we were in the Sweeten's' parking lot.
All of the other day pass holders were waiting patiently for the festivities to begin, and we got our first good look at our playground for the next two days. The view of the course from the shed was a bit surreal. It reminded me a bit of two different sporting events. Attending the Masters, and attending a MLB baseball game. I believe it's the familiarity of a place that you've seen so many times in 2d photos or videos, but you never get all the context until you see it live and in person. It could also be the condition, which was absolutely incredible.
We all gathered around Matt the GM, and he gave everyone an introduction to the course and laid out the plan for the 8:30 start. After the obligatory shot of whiskey, we paid our fee and got in line behind the other group of 8 on number 1.
After we teed off the fun began, and really didn't stop until sunset on Sunday night. To a man, it was the most fun golf experience they'd ever had. The course is not long (3300 from the back tees), there's no real water in play outside of number 6, it's wall to wall fairway complimented by native grass and waste areas, and the greens are absolutely bonkers. It's not overly difficult from tee to green, and you'd probably use the term generous to describe the landing areas and you'd definitely use it to describe the size of the greens. Around the greens the place comes alive. I've never hit so many short pitch and chip shots where the cup was above my head. There are very few stock shots around the green, and reaching for the lob wedge on each shot is a near guarantee to have some balls come back to your feet.
There are two flags on each hole. The Navy flag was designated as the easier of the two pins, and the White was the more difficult. It was suggested to play Navy first if you haven't played the course before, just to get an idea of what to expect. They were both ridiculously fun for vastly different reasons. The Navy pins were near slopes that would redirect your ball towards the hole, or in reasonably flat sections of the green. The White pins were also near slopes, but they served to take your ball away from the hole. There were also some White pins that looked like you could utilize the slope, but unless perfectly executed, your ball would be deflected away.
We started the festivities off with a normal partner game and played 2 groups of 4. We threw up balls to determine partners, applied our predetermined handicaps and off we went. After 18 holes, we took a break for lunch and to get a break from the heat. Due to the heat, and also wanting to play together, we decided to try the new alternate shot/scramble combo. After a few holes, we couldn't get over how fun and engaging it was. Something about 8 people playing together with something on the line made it a blast. Looking back, it was literally the perfect game for Sweetens. I'm not aware of many places where you have the freedom to play 8, and there's even less that flat out encourage that freedom.
I asked my dad to come on the trip. He took up the game later in life, but played a ton of golf while I was growing up and made himself into a good player. He' quit the game about 15 years ago because of some neck pain. Every so often I'd ask him about playing again, and if his neck would still hinder him. He didn't think he'd be in pain, but really didn't have a desire to play. With the trip in mind, I figured with 5 months notice if he was interested in going, he'd have enough time to get back up to speed. He was interested and started hitting wedge shots in his front yard. He ended up playing a few times in advance of the trip, and seemed excited about playing again. We played together the first 9 holes at Sweetens. In the first 3 holes he holed a pitch shot on 1 taking it up the slope, got up and down from just short of 2 to the front pin, and got up and down on 3 for birdie. He was 2 under thru 3 after playing about 30 holes total in the past 15 years!
In the end, the trip was everything and more than I anticipated. We had two days of wall to wall golf in an amazing setting, with a great group of guys. As soon as I returned home, I started looking to see if any passes were available for fall. I also talked to a couple of the guys about making it an annual event. Sweetens is a place that you relish every moment while you're there, and start making plans to return as soon as you leave.
