The nine-hole Sweetens Cove – ranked by Golfweek’s Best as the No. 1 public-access golf course in Tennessee – announced this week that it will collaborate with Reef Capital Partners to introduce a new par-3 course and much more.
Plans also call for stay-and-play cabins, a new winding putting green, a fishing dock, a skeet range, a restaurant and a distillery at the famously laid-back facility in South Pittsburg, about a 30-minute drive west from Chattanooga. Groundbreaking plans will be announced in the coming months.
Sweetens Cove had a tough 2024, closing for several months to replant greens and fairways after a particularly bad winter killed off much of the playing surfaces – its operators opted to shut down for repairs instead of presenting sub-standard conditions. The course reopened this fall with new grass that has grown in well, and the layout should regain its often fiery and bouncy playing conditions in 2025.
Besides excelling as a nine-hole layout, Sweetens Cove is different than most courses in many other ways. Operators started several years ago offering all-day passes instead of traditional tee times, with players going round and round the course as often as they like. The dress code is basically non-existent, and music typically blasts from a patio overlooking the first tee and ninth green. The clubhouse is named the Shed because it is one, and it’s packed with much-loved merchandise sporting multiple logos. A patio built around a tree has been tagged as the heckle deck.
There have been discussions about expansion for years, with the biggest concern among die-hard fans being that the facility retains its vibe.
“Sweetens Cove grabs you the moment you step onto the course – there’s an energy here that you won’t find anywhere else,” Jared Lucero, CEO of Reef Capital Partners, said in a media release announcing the new partnership for which terms were not disclosed. “It’s not just about golf; it’s about the experience, the people and the simplicity of spending a day out here.
“We aim to preserve that unique charm while adding a place to stay, a bit more to do, including Sweetens at Night, and some amazing food and drinks. Those things will only make every visit even more memorable, whether you’re playing the course for the first time or the hundredth.”
Sweetens Cove opened in 2015 on the site of a former course, which was erased as a new course was laid out by the team of Tad King and Rob Collins. It quickly gained a following among Golfweek’s Best course raters and catapulted into the top 100 modern courses in the U.S., where it now is No. 90.
King and Collins soon took over operations of Sweetens Cove from its founding family, and investors have come onboard including sports stars Peyton Manning and Andy Roddick. The ownership group also has released a bourbon named for the course, with the planned small-batch distillery an extension of that.
“I’ve been with Sweetens Cove from the beginning, from designing and building the original course with Tad to being responsible for its operations and management for the last 10 years,” Collins said in the media release. “It is thrilling to me and everyone involved with Sweetens Cove to see how the expansion builds on that foundation and brings to life every big dream we ever had for the place.”
Reef Capital Partners’ has been expanding in golf with its development of Black Desert Resort in Utah, which opened in 2023, jumped to the No. 1 spot among that state’s public-access courses and recently hosted an eponymous PGA Tour event. The company also is developing Marcella Deer Valley, which will include Tiger Woods designing his first mountain course.
“Reef Capital Partners has an incredible vision for this expansion,” Collins said in the media release. “They came to Sweetens to play the course and by the seventh fairway they had drawn up a model, envisioning a par-3 short course that offers flexibility and creativity. It’s not just a regular short course – you can play each hole in multiple ways, adding a cross-country style that you won’t find anywhere else.”
Sweetens Cove tee times are coveted and sell out incredibly quickly each year, a testament to the layout’s architecture as much as its atmosphere. King-Collins Golf Design has gone on to lay out several other courses around the country including Landmand, which opened in 2022 in Nebraska and has jumped to the No. 1 spot in that state’s ranking of public-access layouts.
“Sweetens Cove is a golf anomaly,” GM Matt Adamski said in the media release. “We’ve created a place where you can play all day with no tee times, no dress codes and no pressure. It’s a giant adult playground, where everyone can find something to love.
“(The expansion) will maintain our unique culture and enhance guest experience. The demand is incredible – we’re sold out through the end of the year. But even with this expansion, we’re maintaining our focus on a quality experience by keeping a limit on the number of daily passes to ensure that Sweetens Cove remains the special place people love.”