Nashville golf membership--help! I am close to relocating!

[fsusp]

Hey all,

 

There is a very good chance that my family and I will be relocating to Nashville.

 

Any club recommendations?

 

I don't want to join a really formal club--I have two kids and they love to ride in the cart with me and play a few holes. So family friendly is a must.

 

Affordability and value are of great importance. I've done a little research and I'm getting a little worried that I might not be able to afford a place.

 

I guess I'm spoiled because I belong to a semi-private club. I pay about 200 a month and can walk for free. They welcome kids.

 

Does anything like this come to mind in Nashville? We travel there next week to see if we like the area---and access to golf is one of my top considerations (outside the typical school, neighborhood stuff)---so any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

Best wishes.

[TNSooner]

Depends on where you decide to live...

I'm a member at Old Hickory Country Club and I absolutely love it...

[gr8blueheronbird]

Depends where you are planning to live? Where in FL are you coming from? Maybe we can flop houses. I live in Williamson county and you need to look here for the public schools(thinking of your kids) are the best in the state and rank very high in the USA. But, private courses are spendy. The closest to me would be the Governors Club(Keri Underwood) lives here and its going to be much more than $200.00 per month. Nashville Golf and Athletic club is an older course close by and it will be closer to $400.00 per month with a down payment. The Vanderbilt Legends will be on par with the Governors Club and Brentwood Country Club. All depends where you want to live. PM me and I can recomend more areas. Public golf courses here are not so bad. We have a few gems so that route can be had. Welcome to Middle TN!

[gr8blueheronbird]

[quote name='fsusp' timestamp='1389910337' post='8473549']
Hey all,

There is a very good chance that my family and I will be relocating to Nashville.

Any club recommendations?

I don't want to join a really formal club--I have two kids and they love to ride in the cart with me and play a few holes. So family friendly is a must.

Affordability and value are of great importance. I've done a little research and I'm getting a little worried that I might not be able to afford a place.

I guess I'm spoiled because I belong to a semi-private club. I pay about 200 a month and can walk for free. They welcome kids.

Does anything like this come to mind in Nashville? We travel there next week to see if we like the area---and access to golf is one of my top considerations (outside the typical school, neighborhood stuff)---so any insight is greatly appreciated.

Best wishes.
[/quote]You might be able to get a membership to Kings Creek in Springhill,Tn for about $200.00 per month. Still in Williamson County but a semi private course. Its an Arnold Palmer designed course. Great area but tough commute to Nashville. Nice course, enough change that it makes it a great place to play plus you can walk it. If you want to live near Murfreesboro(another tough commute to Nashville) Indian hills would be the choice for a membership. You can purchase a house right on the course. You can walk it, but some distance between a few holes. If you get tired of this course, Old Fort will always be your friend..

[fsusp]

Thank you for the replies.

I have no idea where we are going to live. We are flying up next week and looking at houses with a realtor. A really active neighborhood near amenities would be nice.

I'm willing to pay more for a membership if it is an active club with stuff for kids. Pool, golf program, etc.

We are going to check out my wife's work and the. Try to find a place within 30 minutes of it.

When we get back, I'll post the places we like. And the. Maybe you all can direct me.

Btw, I live in Southwood in Tallahassee. I live across the street from the second hole and can just jump on there when I call the clubhouse. Good little course.

Thanks again! I'll check out all the places you all have mentioned. Best wishes.

[gr8blueheronbird]

I think you should look at a community in Franklin,TN(Williamson County Schools) called Westhaven. They have a very nice private golf course with a cement pond and things for the kids to do. It will be more expensive than $200.00 per month but might be worth it to you and your family. Another new golf community along route 840 is called The Grove. The Shark designed this course and it will have some of the features you are looking for but will be more expensive than Westhaven. Still get Williamson County schools which will be very important for your kids.

[KLeC]

I believe Westhaven is around $14,000 to join. As the 'Herron' said, there is a lot of decent public golf in middle TN.

[sportspup]

I moved here 8 months ago. To me, the most important features about a club are the conditions of the course and the "game." I joined Vanderbilt Legends Club for about 8k. Awesome golf faciliity, practice area and two fine golf courses with relatively fast greens. However, despite the 750 members, I couldn't find a group of scratch players that wanted to play for a little something. The pro pointed me to the group with the "best players" and while there was one or two guys who were really good, nobody wanted to play for anything. So, I quit. I joined Temple Hills Country Club. It is in Williamson County. It was much cheaper, I think 1k to get in and I pay $314 a month all inclusive with carts(under 40). They have a pool and tennis court. While the courses arent near as nice, including somewhat slow bent grass, there is more of a game and some guys willing to play for something. I do see a lot of kids out and about there playing. It may be worth checking into...

[cubuffs]

Lots of good advice above. I have been living here in Franklin with my family (Wife and 2 young boys) for the last 3 years after moving from the East Coast. This is a tremendous area to raise kids, great schools, a city in Nashville with great music and nightlife, Franklin has a great historic downtown with good restaurants, so just a overall great quality of life. With all of that said, the quality of golf while not bad, is not one of the stronger suits as well (this is very important to me). As for the public options (near Franklin) there really isn't a lot of great options. Forrest Crossing is decent at the very best, and my buddies and I have never really liked Kings Creek (opinions vary on this so not trying to start anything with the reco above). A 30 minute drive brings in some good options with Gaylord (they offer a membership for a pretty good value), and Greystone, and especially Hermitage - but these are too far for me to play more than once per week.

As for the private options, your choices improve quite a bit but the budget aspect is going to need to increase (for most think $400-$500 per month). Many of the options have been listed above so will see if I can summarize for each (please keep in mind that some of the prices may have changed as I haven't looked in the past 1.5 to 2 years):

Golf Club (no family amenities such as pool):

Nashville Golf and Athletic - built to host the 78 US open and pretty difficult course. Conditions and facilities aren't what you would consider true county club quality but is a fun track and attracts serious golfers. I live very close and this is where I have considered joining.

Vanderbilt Legends - 36 holes and a great practice facility. Very good conditions with fees in $500+ per month price tag + initiation

Traditional Country Clubs (including things such as a pool for the family)

Governors Club - Mentioned above - Arnold Palmer design in Brentwood with a pool. Range is a bit lacking in my opinion.

Temple Hills - 27 holes of golf that isn't as nice as the Legends or Governors - but will be much less as mentioned above.

Old Natchez - Affordable and family friendly club. Facilities are a bit lacking but the price is closer to what you are looking to pay. It all comes down to whether you like the course and think it is challenging and interesting enough to avoid getting bored. I like the everything about the place (people, price tag, etc) just not the course.

Westhaven - as mentioned above, a newer course that just opened their clubhouse in the last 2 years. The community that it is affiliated with is a massive master planned community that is very family friendly if it is what you are looking for (you will know when you see it). Again - great facilities but with somewhat reasonable monthlies - but the initiation was a bit higher when I was looking.

All of this above assumes that you are living in the Williamson County / Franklin - Brentwood Area. Not sure of what areas you are looking at - but if you are working in Nashville, one option could be to live north of the city in the Gallatin area which brings in the Fairvue Plantation and Foxland Harbor which should warrant a look.

Hope that all of this helps - this really is a great area to live and raise a family. Please IM me if I can be of any help.

[fsusp]

Wow!

Thank you very much everyone for the great info.

My wife's work is recommending the Franklin area as well as Hendersonville for short commutes to work. I'll look into all the clubs that you have mentioned.

I think I'm going to have to up my budget.

Again, thank you all for the info and if we move up there I'll give you all a shout to set up a game.

Thanks again!

[gr8blueheronbird]

[quote name='cubuffs' timestamp='1390082895' post='8485221']
Lots of good advice above. I have been living here in Franklin with my family (Wife and 2 young boys) for the last 3 years after moving from the East Coast. This is a tremendous area to raise kids, great schools, a city in Nashville with great music and nightlife, Franklin has a great historic downtown with good restaurants, so just a overall great quality of life. With all of that said, the quality of golf while not bad, is not one of the stronger suits as well (this is very important to me). As for the public options (near Franklin) there really isn't a lot of great options. Forrest Crossing is decent at the very best, and my buddies and I have never really liked Kings Creek (opinions vary on this so not trying to start anything with the reco above). A 30 minute drive brings in some good options with Gaylord (they offer a membership for a pretty good value), and Greystone, and especially Hermitage - but these are too far for me to play more than once per week.

As for the private options, your choices improve quite a bit but the budget aspect is going to need to increase (for most think $400-$500 per month). Many of the options have been listed above so will see if I can summarize for each (please keep in mind that some of the prices may have changed as I haven't looked in the past 1.5 to 2 years):

Golf Club (no family amenities such as pool):

Nashville Golf and Athletic - built to host the 78 US open and pretty difficult course. Conditions and facilities aren't what you would consider true county club quality but is a fun track and attracts serious golfers. I live very close and this is where I have considered joining.

Vanderbilt Legends - 36 holes and a great practice facility. Very good conditions with fees in $500+ per month price tag + initiation

Traditional Country Clubs (including things such as a pool for the family)

Governors Club - Mentioned above - Arnold Palmer design in Brentwood with a pool. Range is a bit lacking in my opinion.

Temple Hills - 27 holes of golf that isn't as nice as the Legends or Governors - but will be much less as mentioned above.

Old Natchez - Affordable and family friendly club. Facilities are a bit lacking but the price is closer to what you are looking to pay. It all comes down to whether you like the course and think it is challenging and interesting enough to avoid getting bored. I like the everything about the place (people, price tag, etc) just not the course.

Westhaven - as mentioned above, a newer course that just opened their clubhouse in the last 2 years. The community that it is affiliated with is a massive master planned community that is very family friendly if it is what you are looking for (you will know when you see it). Again - great facilities but with somewhat reasonable monthlies - but the initiation was a bit higher when I was looking.

All of this above assumes that you are living in the Williamson County / Franklin - Brentwood Area. Not sure of what areas you are looking at - but if you are working in Nashville, one option could be to live north of the city in the Gallatin area which brings in the Fairvue Plantation and Foxland Harbor which should warrant a look.

Hope that all of this helps - this really is a great area to live and raise a family. Please IM me if I can be of any help.
[/quote]Nice review. Five Oaks In Lebanon,TN is also an option. This area of the country is a very nice place to live. You will not be disappointed. As they say in real estate, Location.Location.Location.. And we have no state income tax. Plus we have Sneds..

[zwhitworth]

I only have opinions regarding private courses as a non-member. If I could pick a course around Nashville to be a member, my first choice would be Golf Club of TN (Sneds was or might still be a member there). Its the best layout in the area and the practice facility is amazing.

Legends would be choice #2. There are 36 holes and a public 9 hole par 3 course next door.

Old Natchez is nice too, kind of a hidden gem. Its in a nice rural area west of Franklin.

As others have stated Williamson County schools are the best in the state.

Good luck and welcome to town!

[nuthin but a hacker]

Oh man, Forrest Crossing is decent at best? That says a lot about the place I regularly play! Forrest Crossing is a huge step up for my group.

[dosaile]

If you decide on Hendersonville then you need to check out Foxland Harbour Golf Club. Great golf course. I live in Hendersonville but I've been doing the annual membership @ Gaylord Sprngs Golf course for the last 5 yrs because it's conveint to my work.

[ChrisSP]

[quote name='sportspup' timestamp='1390059596' post='8483293']
I moved here 8 months ago. To me, the most important features about a club are the conditions of the course and the "game." I joined Vanderbilt Legends Club for about 8k. Awesome golf faciliity, practice area and two fine golf courses with relatively fast greens. However, despite the 750 members, I couldn't find a group of scratch players that wanted to play for a little something. The pro pointed me to the group with the "best players" and while there was one or two guys who were really good, nobody wanted to play for anything. So, I quit. I joined Temple Hills Country Club. It is in Williamson County. It was much cheaper, I think 1k to get in and I pay $314 a month all inclusive with carts(under 40). They have a pool and tennis court. While the courses arent near as nice, including somewhat slow bent grass, there is more of a game and some guys willing to play for something. I do see a lot of kids out and about there playing. It may be worth checking into...
[/quote]

Bring Cash! Not the greatest layout in the world and the greens could be faster in the summer but a solid low-cap game and group of guys at Temple Hills. I mean, where else can you tee it up with guys called:

The Squirrel, [size=4]Chicken, Sunshine, [/size][size=4]Fifty Cent, [/size][size=4]Dark Cloud, [/size][size=4]Dicky Peters, Goose, The Silent Assassin, [/size][size=4]Long Ash, Miller Time, [/size][size=4]The Commander[/size][size=4], [/size][size=4]Yao Ming, The Mole, [/size][size=4]Lunch Money, [/size][size=4]Six-Plane, [/size][size=4]BSG, [/size][size=4]Meg Mallon, [/size][size=4]Bago Dix, [/size][size=4]X-Factor, [/size][size=4]The Mayor, and last but not least ... Dick![/size]

[Mr. Grumpy]

Bank is what's needed for the better private courses. They are not cheap, and most have additional expenses above the outing fees. Unless I or my wife were loaded, and I mean loaded, I would just play the many really good public offerings.

Not sure where you will buy in Franklin, but not all areas down here are worth the commute. Someone mentioned Westhaven. Nice, but pricy and built on top of each other. A good sized family could spend a Mil. easy. My sister inlaw is regretting their decision to buy there, but will never admit it because it's not becoming of a Westhavener. You would also be about 15/20 min from the interstate for the main commute, which is about 35 min to Nashville. You could pick an area closer to I65, which would help.

Williamson Co. public education has a good reputation, but much of that was built before the massive influx of people. We are/have been one of the fastest growing counties in the country, and it has been Huge! I practically hate Franklin now, and Brentwood is on the same path if not already worse. This mass has crowded schools, roads, and caused retail panic. Not sure the private schools in this area are any better than the public. BGA and BA are good, but why pay when public offers the same. The only answer would be status. Brentwood High has had better scores than Franklin High, both are better than Centennial. Ravenwood would also be an excellent choice.

[size=4]MLK and Hume Fogg would be my public choice in Nashville. Both turning out excellent students. Sadly, this is about it for the metro public schools.[/size]



[size=4]Hope this helps...[/size]

[phi587]

I lived and worked in golf in Nashville. If you're going to be in Hendersonville, look into Foxland Harbor as said above, or Farivue Plantation. In Franklin I actually worked at Temple Hills and only have the nicest things to say about the course as well as the staff. Again, clubs should be chosen with proximity of work and home in mind, so unless you give me a heads up of where you will be I can narrow the recommendations.

I will actually be looking into joining when I move back which will hopefully be this summer.

feel free to reach out directly...

[torrejuan]

Old Hickory, my friend Joey Hickman will help you out. Semi, my place Indian Hills Golf Club.

[Tbell3]

The only top 100 course in the area is the Golf Club. It's got a great base of members and a ton of great money games. Best practice facilities in the area not to mention it's the nicest conditioned year in year out. All the local tour players are members as well as a ton of celebs. Take a peak at the rates on their site. You won't be sorry.