The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay State Park

Like the other three Bear Trace courses designed by Jack Nicklaus for Tennessee State Parks (originally there were five - see Did You Know section below), the layout at Harrison Bay benefits from a wonderfully natural setting. It's not difficult to see why this course in particular is often rated the best of them all.

Here you'll experience a fabulous location on the banks of Harrison Bay, a raft of lakeside holes and excellent quality greenkeeping. Roads and housing play no part in proceedings here. When you are not looking across the broad expanse of the lake itself, you will probably be playing along one of its attractive inlets.

Individually carved through the nicely undulating woodland terrain, no hole encroaches on, or seems close to any other. The good-width fairways are generally routed through broad avenues of soaring pines and indigenous hardwood trees, with many holes sitting just above the lakeshore. Stretching to 7,140 yards from the back-tees, there's not as much water in play as you might expect for a course surrounded on three sides by water.

Some holes, like the short par-4 15th are wonderfully bunkered, others are bunkerless, but no worse for it. Most of the smallish, subtly sloping greens are open at the front, allowing bump-and-run shots onto the green, while also making things more user-friendly for higher-handicappers.

Its worth keeping an eye out for the abundant wildlife that lives on and around the golf course, which often includes nesting bald eagles. Although just 20 minutes north of downtown Chattanooga, it's well worth going out of your way to have this course on your Tennessee itinerary.