A classic Florida-style course tests your strategic skills and shotmaking
Turtle Creek Golf Club was built in 1971 and was designed by Robert Renaud, a golf course architect who worked throughout the Southeast and particularly in Tennessee. It’s a heavily landscaped, traditional Old Florida course with well-manicured fairways and NEW Champions Bermuda Greens.
Because the fairways wind through well-wooded fairways, your club selection will be crucial. You can’t lose your focus explains Joe Salzman, General Manager at the club, you’ll definitely find a use for almost every club in your bag at the Creek.
The course offers four sets of tees to test the skills of all level of players. The forward tees are fairly short “ just 4704 yards. You may elect to move back to the whites to get a little bit more of a challenge. The course record from the tips is 61 set by local player Charlie Griffin in May 2004.
The outward nine is starts out with a great Par-5 and is one of the best starting holes a player will ever find. This par-5 (476 yards from the back tees and 355 from the forward) and if you hit a good tee shot that gets you far enough down the fairway, you will have a great opportunity to get to the green in two and maybe bag an eagle; otherwise you may have to lay up in front and pitch into this deep green.
Nos. 4 and 5, both par-4s and appropriatly refered to as the wicked sisters are among the most challenging holes. If you get through each of these holes with a par you’ll be on your way to a great round. These are make-or-break holes. They both go around a lake to the right and require accurate shots to well protected greens.
Teeing it on No. 4 (377 yards from the back tees and 307 from the forward), use a long iron or a fairway wood off the tee. For your tee shot on No. 5 (412 yards from the back tee and 284 from the forward), you may use a 3-wood instead of driver off the tee to place your ball safely in play. There is a fairway bunker on 5 that tightens up the landing area; the green is protected by bunkers right and left.
You finish the outward nine with a par-4 (335 from the back tees and 248 from the forward). There’s a generous landing area off the tee, but the approach requires an accurate shot to an island green gaurded by bunkers left and water right.
The inward nine starts out with one of the most difficult par-4’s. The hole is straight away and accurate tee shots are a must if you plan on negotiating the stream wandering across the fairway in front of the green complex and getting home in two.
On No 14, you’re faced with a par-5 dogleg left (484 yards from the back tees, 371 from the forward). You can take a chance and try to knock it over the corner, but if you don’t make it, you’re in trouble, Salzman says. If you do knock it over the corner, you have 220 yards out from the hole.
The finishing three holes are very unique. 16 is a par-4 (417 yards from the back tees and 305 from the forward). The 18th is a slight dogleg left with the aqua range bordering the right and a stream left. You have to pick a club for your tee shot that will put you about 150 yards from the hole.
