Inside the course: Black Creek Club

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Oct. 15, 2008

The Nationwide Tour will play the Chattanooga Classic presented by Black Creek at Black Creek Club. Learn more about this venue:

Fast facts

Original architect	Brian Silva (2000)
Course superintendent	Scott Wicker
Number of Nationwide Tour events as host venue	6 (including 2008)
Course ranking	Ranked 30 out of 34 on the Nationwide Tour in 2007
Yardage history	7,044 (2003-2004)
	7,024 (2005-2006)
	7,149 (2007-present)
Grass	Bermudagrass (tees, fairways, rough); Bentgrass (greens)
Tournament Stimpmeter	11 ft
Sand bunkers	69
Water hazards	1
Course tour	Click here

Course record

Player
Kyle Reifers

Year
2006

Round
4th

Finish
WON

Holes-in-one

There has been 1 ace recorded at Black Creek Club.

Player	Hole	Year
Matt Kuchar	No. 11	2006

2007 Rankings

Most Difficult Hole

	The par-4, 458-yard 13th "Long" - Faders will appreciate the tee shot on this dogleg that turns slightly right and plays uphill all the way from tee to green. The defining features of this hole are the boulder-strewn creek all along the left side, and the yawning fairway bunker in the right center of the fairway. The bulk of the green slopes slightly away from the player, requiring the approach to be thoughtfully gauged. 2007: 0 eagles, 42 birdies, 229 pars, 120 bogeys, 22 double bogey, 2 others.
Easiest hole in 2007
	The par-5, 533-yard 14th "Go On" -- Heading home with one of the most panoramic vistas the golf course has to offer, the downhill tee shot on this par 5 reacts best to a right to left shot, while the approach begs the long hitters to set their sites on an eagle, after clearing the fearsome cluster of bunkers short of the green 2007: 25 eagles, 243 birdies, 128 pars, 17 bogeys, 1 bogey, 1 other.

Black Creek Club			2007 rankings		Last 5 years
Hole	Par	Yards	Avg. Score	Rank	Avg. Score	Rank
1	4	421	4.053	8	4.034	6
2	4	427	3.911	11	3.927	11
3	3	165	3.077	7	2.955	8
4	5	586	4.675	15	4.637	16
5	4	374	3.894	12	3.875	12
6	5	559	4.395	17	4.388	17
7	3	239	3.166	3	3.174	3
8	4	392	3.986	10	3.939	10
9	4	431	4.149	5	4.056	5
10	4	360	3.889	13	3.834	13
11	3	195	3.123	6	3.001	7
12	4	458	4.161	4	4.166	4
13	4	485	4.308	1	4.202	2
14	5	526	4.347	18	4.293	18
15	4	347	3.725	14	3.817	14
16	4	446	3.998	9	3.942	9
17	3	206	3.277	2	3.234	1
18	5	532	4.639	16	4.684	15

Course origins

Inspired by the work of legendary architect Seth Raynor and designed by Brian Silva, Black Creek Club integrates vintage design characteristics into the modern game. Silva, Golf World's Architect of the Year in 1999, equipped the course with an array of Old World features that include blind approaches, punchbowl and Redan greens, driveable par 4s, random bunkering to promote alternate routes of play, and green settings whose contours encourage, and perhaps require, players to put the ball on the ground.

The course was developed by an ardent but unoffical chapter of the Seth Raynor Fan Club, all of whom are members at nearby Lookout Mountain Golf Club, a 1926 Raynor design that was restored by Silva in 1999.

While Black Creek Club has a number of classic hole designs, the signature hole may be the "reverse" Redan 7th, a 235-yard par 3 that can play as long as 250 yards. The hole's Redan characteristics call for a low, running tee shot played short and left of the putting surface, where the contouring, combined with firm turf, will usher the ball back onto the green. Even the best players cannot fly the ball on the green and stop it on the firm surface with a front-to-back pitch.

-- Source: Golf Course Superintendents Association of America

Tournament course history