09/18/2021
Franklin Alderman Bev Burger has recused herself from the vote on Cheekwood Golf Club's expansion, but as an alderman she gets questions about the project from her constituents. We believe the information she provided recently to a constituent is important and should be shared with as many people in the community as possible, so with her permission we have reproduced her email below:
I met with the Nicklaus Design President and Executive Vice President personally when they first came to town. They said the main obstacles to growing the game of golf are: 1) Time, 2) Expense, and 3) Difficulty of learning the game.
Nicklaus Design promotes "Play Nine" since more and more people are leaving the game of golf. I am sure you have seen the ads on TV during all the golf tournaments. I have looked over all the plans and drawings and this is NOT anything like a “Top Golf” design. Top Golf is pure entertainment and uses the large nets as their calling card. From everything I have seen, it is anything but.
The original proposals by the former owner of Spencer Creek, the Johnson family, and their partners, did initially propose an 18-hole course. But, over time the city built a solar field over part of the property planned for that original golf course layout. The Cheekwood proposal has always been a nine-hole proposal. As to the city wanting to run a golf course on this land, to my knowledge, the city has never wanted to own and operate a municipal golf course, and I don't believe cities need to be in the golf business.
The facility proposed by Cheekwood is going to be top-notch with over an acre and half putting green that was inspired by the Himalayas putting green at St. Andrews course in Scotland; an outdoor driving range; as well as hitting bays outfitted with Trackman Range type of technology that will help golfers learn the game of golf, perfect their game, and help with instruction for improving one's game.
The new facility will cater to all golfers and will also provide a place for our junior high/ high school golf teams and some local college golf teams to practice. This is an important concern since public course availability in our city may be shrinking. It is my understanding that about 12 months ago a developer from Birmingham put a contract on the Little Course property. The contract was contingent on the Birmingham developer getting their development plan of proposed apartments approved by the city. In addition, rumor has it that the entire Legends Club could be sold for future development.
I know that The Golf Foundation took an active and integral role with Cheekwood’s design team and aided their architect Mike Hathaway in the layout of about one-third of the building space. The Foundation also asked for a player development course and over an acre of natural turf driving range hitting surface. I have been aware that they were looking to move/expand and may be interested in joining forces with the Cheekwood partners. The floor plan of the large building at the end of the oval includes a new Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame. Both Cheekwood and the Golf Foundation are striving to build the new “home of golf” for the state of Tennessee on this property. I think many people sure would like to keep them in Franklin and this very well could be a win-win opportunity.
Here is a short video on the project you might like to see.
https://youtu.be/A8MfcOxqVys
Finally, I do have a copy of the site plan which I will attach.
Thanks for your reply,
Bev
