In an era of containment mounding and mundane housing development golf courses, Brian Silva and the founding members of Black Creek Club created an anomaly with their C.B. Macdonald/Seth Raynor-inspired golf course. Silva was tasked with replicating Macdonald-Raynor template designs or “ideal holes” of the Golden Age but with modern golf construction equipment. This concept was ahead of its time, and arguably the first template course of the modern era. The site just outside Chattanooga, Tennessee, is nestled in a mountainous valley, which provides intriguing land for golf and incredible scenery.

{{content-block-course-profile-black-creek-club-001}}

Take Note…

Old Remnants. The ninth hole is one of Black Creek Club’s multiple Brian Silva original designs (non-template) and features an homage to the land’s past. An old stone wall from the farm that was once here is located just short of the green. The green needed an additional reinforcing wall to hold it up against the creek, but the green design was on an opposing angle to the old stone wall. This created an overlap of new and old walls, and formed a small triangular section that was turned into a unique feature I would describe as the smallest bunker anywhere.

Eliteness. Black Creek is the home course for the Baylor School High School Golf team, which has solidified itself over the years as one of the best programs in the country. PGA Tour members Luke List, Harris English, Keith Mitchell, and Stephan Jaeger all played for the legendary Baylor coach Henry “King” Oehmig in the early 2000s.

Racoons. The golf course sits in a picturesque valley pressed up against Racoon Mountain, with long views toward Lookout Mountain. One of these mountains was ground for the “Battle Above the Clouds” in the America Civil War while the other is a state Wildlife Observation Area and home to… racoons.