Review: Two Rivers Golf Course

Part two of our review of the city's Nashville Fairways public courses. You can read our first review of McCabe Golf Course here.

The boss and I played a round at Two Rivers for this week’s Nashville Fairways review. This 18-hole, 6600-yard links-style layout sits at the intersection of the Cumberland and Stones River (hence the name). Two Rivers was the last of the municipal golf courses to be built. After the consolidation of Metro and Davidson County in the 1960s, suburban flight drifted eastward into the Donelson area.

The Grand Ole Opry moved into its current home off Briley Parkway alongside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and along with it, residents as well. It was decided that a new course would be put on the site of the old McGavock Plantation. Golf Course Architect Leon Howard, who designed several golf courses in the Middle Tennessee area, was picked to lay the plans.

Pulling into the parking lot I noticed Two River’s Greenway and McGavock High School on the right. It’d be hard for me to pay attention in class if there was a golf course right next door. TR has been home to several Interscholastic Metro Nashville tournaments in the Past.

The Clubhouse here is the largest out of all the Nashville munis. Spacious locker rooms and showers with a full-service kitchen and dining area make it feel first class right from the start.

The chipping green and driving range are on the backside of the clubhouse. Chipping green was very small and flat, just enough to really dial in your touchy five-yard yippers. The driving range is only about 40-50 feet across, so it fills up quickly. Though short it has a sharp uphill grade. I would feel comfortable hitting the driver here without angering the staff sending balls into the deep woods. The putting green was superb and positioned right before the first tee as well. The ultradwarf greens aren’t very fast so be ready to putt aggressively.

THE FRONT NINE

The front nine is almost all dog legs some slight some more hard-angled.

Hole 1 The first hole starts with a dogleg left from the blue tees. I hit a huge 3-wood shot with some backwind over the 150-yard fairway marker across the cart path. Today was very windy, up to 20 miles per hour. These links courses are almost always designed to either put you directly into or behind the wind. The green was very big, so I was able to hit it and finish with par.

Holes 2-3 The next two holes were the same story: two hard dogleg right holes (377-yard par 4 and a 500-yard par 5). If you’re someone like Rory Mcilroy or even Bubba Watson who can cut or slice the ball around the bend, that puts you in prime position to score.

Hole 4 Alas, I can’t draw the ball, so I’m playing safe position golf today on number four. There's a nearly 45-degree angle dogleg right with tall trees on the right and left. I would just hit a mid-iron straight out into the fairway and have a 200-yard approach instead of risk getting snagged in a tree here.

Hole 5 After a normal length par 4 at hole 5, we come to a 160-yard par 3 with about 30 feet of uphill elevation. And, to add insult to injury, a downhill sloping green towards the valley below us with the pin on the front. If these greens were north of an 8 Stimp rating, this hole would be insanely hard.

Hole 7-9 At number seven, we get another hard left dogleg 500-yard par 5, so I let it rip. Number eight is an easy 160-yard par 3, and then number nine another dog leg left 360-yard par 4.

The front nine is the harder part of the course, for sure. The back nine is straighter and longer. I felt okay being a +4 making the turn.

THE BACK NINE

Straighter fairways and fewer doglegs give you the chance to make up some strokes.

Hole 10 Finally, after nine, zig-zagging holes, we get a straight-up 400-yard par 4 with a green downhill from us.

Hole 11 Hole eleven is my absolute favorite out here. A 165-yard par 3 over a valley with a stream through it. The view from the tee box is stunning. It reminds me of a Robert Trent Jones design, hitting over a gulley with ponds and fountains.

Holes 12-15 The next four holes are all straightforward, up and down the hilly terrain on the backside of the Two Rivers Greenway. Three short par 4s and a long 185-yard par 3. Mr. Howard must've felt bad making the front nine so tricky, so he decided to throw us a bone.

Holes 16-18 The next two holes, a short par 4 and par 5, give us two more chances to score and catch up before we get to eighteen which winds up back at the clubhouse with a green that sits within a small grove of trees.

Scenically, Two Rivers takes you out of the city. It’s very secluded with barely any houses around it. There is a nice view of the Nashville skyline on hole eight. You can also tell the drainage here is very good. As I said before, we have had a lot of rain this spring, and I didn’t see any low soft swampy areas. Hats off to the crew for taking care of the fairways and greens. There are a lot of privately owned public courses that let their fairways go and lose the greens to mold or dead spots.

One other note: there aren’t as many bunkers out here as, say, McCabe. The clumpy all-purpose sand can be tough to hit out of when it has rained a lot, but the best way to play it is like a tight lie and pick the ball versus trying to strike down into the ground. Most of your links courses are north of 7,100 yards so Two Rivers is like a mini version of what you’d see on the Robert Trent Jones trail.

Regardless of how you feel about the existence of golf courses, it is a fact that the City of Nashville has some of the most competent and dedicated course management in the Middle Tennessee area.

See y'all next time when Davis finally outdrives me.