SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WTVF) — Following a pandemic where the game of golf saw a surge in players, Nashville's only public Arnold Palmer golf course is set to open a public clubhouse and restaurant.
Towhee Golf Course will host a grand opening event on Sunday to celebrate its expansion.
"Everyone was super excited," said Brian Gordon, Towhee Golf Course general manager. "There was a triple-wide trailer that sat here forever and every new owner that had come in before the current owners had promised a new clubhouse and it took a little while to convince everyone that, ‘no this is where we're going to get a new clubhouse’ and here we are."
The Spring Hill, Tennessee, course was formerly King's Creek before the course went bankrupt. During the pandemic, developers purchased the award-winning course and started renovations.
Gordon explained the rarity of a public Arnold Palmer-designed course. "Most of them are usually private, semi-private. So when the new owners sold the opportunity to buy an Arnold Palmer design, they jumped on it. They knew they'd be able to attract people from not only locals but people further in Nashville and all around," he said.
A golf group that had played at the course since the early 90s said the renovations were a dream come true.
"We've seen a lot of improvements here in the last two or three years," said golfer Ben Brown. "The greens are some of the best in Middle Tennessee and we play several different courses and they really have done a great job. They roll really smooth and we missed the putt. It's your fault. It's not the greens."
On Sunday, the course's clubhouse and restaurant officially open with a grand opening celebration with the hope of bringing in a diverse community of golfers and non-golfers alike.
"Once we really get things going, probably later on this year... when the weather gets better, we'll start having movie nights out on the driving range and musicians in the restaurant," said Gordon.
For golfers who live in the Columbia, Franklin and Murfreesboro area, the elevated golf experience is a welcomed change.
"They've actually done it and put some money in because I know it's not cheap to do all this and to maintain everything like they do," stated Brown. "This course here right now is the best in the area."
The grand opening event is set to take place during lunch and dinner Sunday, July 17.
