[Jon Sweet]

With the Korn Ferry Tour hitting up Holston Hills this week in Knoxville you should get to see a virtually untouched Donald Ross at it's best.  Been fortunate enough to play it 3 or 4 times. Absolutely fantastic track. I would assume we would see the winning total be somewhere between 15-18 under and the closing stretch should prove fun. You have a volcano green short uphill par 4 where some of these guys might take a rip and two reachable par 5s to close.

[Joe Hellrung]

With the Korn Ferry Tour hitting up Holston Hills this week in Knoxville you should get to see a virtually untouched Donald Ross at it's best.  Been fortunate enough to play it 3 or 4 times. Absolutely fantastic track. I would assume we would see the winning total be somewhere between 15-18 under and the closing stretch should prove fun. You have a volcano green short uphill par 4 where some of these guys might take a rip and two reachable par 5s to close.

Agreed that it is a great course.   I haven't been in many years and played like a dog, but it is a fantastic walk.  I also loved the club house, and the view of the course from the clubhouse - the TV crews should be able to get some great shots from up there. 

[Jon Sweet]

With the Korn Ferry Tour hitting up Holston Hills this week in Knoxville you should get to see a virtually untouched Donald Ross at it's best.  Been fortunate enough to play it 3 or 4 times. Absolutely fantastic track. I would assume we would see the winning total be somewhere between 15-18 under and the closing stretch should prove fun. You have a volcano green short uphill par 4 where some of these guys might take a rip and two reachable par 5s to close.

Agreed that it is a great course.   I haven't been in many years and played like a dog, but it is a fantastic walk.  I also loved the club house, and the view of the course from the clubhouse - the TV crews should be able to get some great shots from up there.

Hope you were able to get inside and see some of the Ross sketches.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I wonder whether or not they play a couple of the par fives as par fours. I am curious to see how they play holes 11 and 16. Eleven can be the most difficult green to putt and 16 will be drivable but if missed left can turn into a double. Love the course and green complexes. I think they should go very low. If it plays to a par 72 they should go -20.

[Jon Sweet]

Think I heard they’ll play 17 as a four. 16 will be fun to watch. I’d imagine one of 3 give it a rip. I’d imagine those guys can reach with a 3 wood. I’d bet they torch it as well. Your thoughts on the tree on the 2nd? Hope they put the pin in a nasty spot on 11 but I doubt it. You can get some crazy lines there. 12 with the blind tee shot is one of my favorites.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Jon  on two I have to hit it to the right of the tree with a draw. I don't know what they will do. It should be interesting.

[KBanks]

Holston Hills is a great course. This might be a retell, but an old USGA hand, now retired, told me it was PJ Boatwright's favorite Ross.


Ken

[John Mayhugh]

I think they should go very low. If it plays to a par 72 they should go -20.

Winning score will likely be pretty low, but averages may not be due to greens with more tilt than players are likely used to. The rough hasn't really grown in much (as least as of a couple of weeks ago), so it will probably be bombs away. Well, it likely would be anyway.

Hopefully our owner doesn't end up with some notion that the course needs to be toughened. It functions very well for member play.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I think they should go very low. If it plays to a par 72 they should go -20.

Winning score will likely be pretty low, but averages may not be due to greens with more tilt than players are likely used to. The rough hasn't really grown in much (as least as of a couple of weeks ago), so it will probably be bombs away. Well, it likely would be anyway.

Hopefully our owner doesn't end up with some notion that the course needs to be toughened. It functions very well for member play.

It functions great for member play. When I was a member at Musgrove I played HH a couple of times a year. I think the course is just terrific. If I played it every day I'd be a better player.

[Jon Sweet]

Course is easily inside my top 5. Could play it every day and never get tired of it. Dibble, the pro, is a fantastic guy. Cherokee which is close I think is thought of as more prestigious but it isn’t half the course Holston is.

[John Kavanaugh]

The Kevin Bacon of courses. If you’re not a member you haven’t looked hard enough.


Ignore the Korn Ferry scores. It’s all smoke and mirrors on the set up in an attempt to make the tour exciting.

[mike_malone]

Well, Jon there you are on the website. Welcome.

[Jon Sweet]

Well, Jon there you are on the website. Welcome.

Mike, you are at least the third nicest guy I have played golf with in Philadelphia. Next time we will take the $10 back.

[Mike_Young]

Holston Hills is a great course. This might be a retell, but an old USGA hand, now retired, told me it was PJ Boatwright's favorite Ross.


Ken

Mine too...

[Mike Hendren]

I have a soft spot for Holston Hills.  In college we held many dances in their Bavarian style ballroom, shagging (the dance, not the deed) to our favorite Carolina Beach Music bands.  First saw the course in 1982 as a spectator at the PGA Cup Matches.  The aerial on the club's website is fabulous:

https://www.holstonhills.com/about

I immediately knew I was seeing something different. I'd only played Ross' Memphis CC at that time but my love affair with golden age architecture was cemented by those two courses in the Volunteer State. 

HH is a course that simply doesn't need to be any better.  While professional scores will likely be low,  the course is a stern test for most - Exhibit A for Donald J. Ross' strategy of defending par on and around the greens.  While doubles are unlikely, the paper cuts tend to pile up and leave a disappointing score. 

Perhaps I failed to notice its listing among Golf Digest's top 200 U. S. courses, or perhaps it checked in at 201. 

I'd like to send the PGA Cup program to one of you members.  Please send me a message.

Mike

[Tommy Williamsen]

Mike, HH finished 4th in the state just outside the top 200. The first time I played it I enjoyed the heck out of it but it wasn't until I played it half a dozen times that I really appreciated everything the course had to offer. I would miss the greens in different places and could appreciate that you just don't miss them in certain places unless you want a bogey. For some unknown reason my wife never warmed to the course. If I played 36 she would just stay in the clubhouse, walk, or take a cart with me for the second 18. I asked her why she didn't care for the course but she couldn't articulate it.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Shucks, I was hoping the tournament would be on TV.
They are playing the course as a par 70. 7&17 are long par fours. Each is over 500 yards. I wish they didn't do this but let the course play with the par intended, although I know some of you think par is meaningless..

[Bill Gayne]

Through two rounds the leader shot a 63 yesterday and 64 today for a total of 13 under par.


Loved Holston Hills. On my one visit last year, they maintained the short grass chipping areas around many of the greens. Often there was a seamless flow from the green to the next tee box.

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