Brandt Snedeker, a golfer from Nashville, Tennessee, pointed out on Thursday that Shelby Golf Course is the city’s least played course. He often played there as a child. But this might not last much longer.
Snedeker attended a media conference at the Shelby Park golf course on Thursday, where Nashville mayor John Cooper announced a two-million dollar renovation project which will start in March at Shelby and VinnyLinks.
Shelby will be receiving upgrades that include the following: combining winter and summer greens on each hole into one complex; expanding the practice putting area at the clubhouse by more than five-fold its current size; installing new irrigation systems; replacing and extending six teeboxes; and improving the cart path.
VinnyLinks’ main focus will be on improving all nine tee-boxes and the tree work.
The Shelby Golf Course will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2020.
Snedeker, a Nashvillian who grew up in the area, said: “I grew playing golf around here. But Shelby was where I spent the most time.” “My father would play here with the old police chief Joe Casey every day. When I was 16, 17 and 18 years old, I would come here to play. They had a standing 12 o’clock tee-time. It was great to play golf with my father and have this special day when we redo the course, with Metro Parks wanting it to be designed in its original form is a very special moment.”
Snedeker has estimated that he’s played thousands of rounds on Shelby. He also commented how the 18-hole golf course is unique, given its proximity to downtown.
He said that the course could provide a great deal of access to Nashvillians who are not traditional golfers. It’s badly in need of upgrading. . . “We have a gem here that’s been kind of underserved for the last 15-20 years.”
Shelby, with its 6,079 yard par-72 golf course, is the least played municipal course in the Metro Parks System. Shelby had over 39,000 nine hole rounds played during the last fiscal year, while McCabe had more than 122,000.
Whit Turnbow is the president of the Tennessee Golf Foundation. He will supervise the renovations carried out by Bruce Hepner, architect, and Hepner Golf Design LLC. Whit expects that the number of rounds played per year could double or triple. The foundation offers a guarantee against any cost overruns.
Cooper said that the improvements were part of a series that started three years ago, after a severe tornado damaged homes and businesses in East Nashville.
Cooper stated that “the homes and businesses which have been rebuilt are substantially repaired, but this is now the last link with the tornado damage.” The $2 million project has been funded and is ready to begin. Work will start in March.
Hepner has recently completed similar renovations to Percy Warner Golf Course.
Hepner stated that “we’re upgrading the facility.” It’s the least played golf course in Metro and that could be due to the conditions or because we still use the old winter/summer putting greens. We’re working to improve the course playing characteristics so that we can encourage the community to play golf.
Renovations should take about a year. Turnbow stated that Cooper, a golfer himself, will be invited to return and tee-off on the first green when the renovations are complete.
Contact Mike Organ by calling 615-259-8212 or via Twitter, @MikeOrganWriter.
