RiverWatch Golf Course
Sparta, Tennessee
RiverWatch Golf Resort, outside Sparta, Tennessee is slightly mis-named, given that there's no resort to be found, but this is a wonderful golf course and well worth the trip. The course sits in rolling Middle Tennessee farmland roughly 60 miles east of Nashville. Beautiful countryside and a wonderful course.
See the RiverWatch Photo Gallery
At 6850 yards from the back tees, RiverWatch is a real beauty. I enjoyed the design considerably, but the feature that really stoked my fire was the zoysia fairways. I LOVE zoysia fairways. There were 3 designers involved in the creation of RiverWatch… Peter Jacobsen, Jim Hardy and Jerry Lemons… so I'm not sure who spec'd the grasses, but whoever did it, YAY! If you've ever played zoysia fairways, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't , then do yourself a favor and check out RiverWatch!
A SPECIAL NOTE: Several months ago I had the sad job of reporting that Riverwatch had closed. But now, THERE'S GOOD NEWS! The bank has taken over the course (that's not always good news, I know!) and it's once again open for play. They've brought back the same management team and have even built a new clubhouse, I'm told. I've had many conversations with the folks at the bank and they seem ready to do whatever is needed to get Riverwatch back on its feet to serve the community as the wonderful course it was before it closed. So toss your clubs in the trunk and head for Riverwatch!
I spoke with General Manager, Jennifer Silcox, and it was clear that she and the others involved in running RiverWatch love their course. We're living in a tough economy in general right now, and the golf industry is in dire straits, but Jennifer and her team are doing a great job of keeping up a beautiful track. The golf course is in excellent shape. The greens had been punched and sanded the day before I played the course, but there was no sign at all of bare patches or weedy areas on them. They looked great... just sandy with a bunch of 1/2" holes in them!
This courses offers a lot of variety in hole design. Could be because there were 3 designers involved. Could be that it's simply a product of the land they had to work with. But it makes for a very interesting and enjoyable round of golf. It's just great fun to play! RiverWatch is well off the beaten path, but if you're looking for something a bit different and you love to get out and drive… like I do… give it a shot. You will love it.
THE PARTICULARS
| Number of Holes: | 18 |
| Length - Slope / Rating |
|
| From Gold Tees: | 6850 - 131 / 73.3 |
| From Orange Tees: | 6413 - 126 / 71.0 |
| From Blue Tees: | 6033 - 122 / 68.3 |
| From Green Tees: | 5473 - 116 / 66.4 |
| From White Tees: | 4629 - 108 / 63.5 |
| Hours of Operation: | |
| Designer: | Peter Jacobsen, Jim Hardy, Jerry Lemons |
| General Manager: | Jennifer Silcox |
| Director of Golf: | Rob Alexander |
| Asst. Golf Professional: | Delete this line |
| Superintendent: | Brandon Ervin |
| Address: | 125 Harbour Greens Place, Sparta, TN 38583-4282 |
| Phone: | 931.761.8125 |
| Web Site: | http://www.riverwatchgolfclub.com |
| Online Reservations? | Yes - http://www.riverwatchgolfclub.com/reservations.php |
| Best Feature: | This is a very sweet layout, very well maintained. And for my money, it's worth the trip just to play on their zoysia fairways! |
| Rates, Sun-Fri: | $38 non-member (includes cart) - Twilight, $25 |
| Rates, Sat & Holidays: | $49 non-member (includes cart) - Twilight, $35 |