The Secret Home of Golf: The History of King-Collins Golf and Sweetens Cove | Back Nine Press

Journey from a run-down nine-hole to a national landmark

In April 2010, a Chattanooga architect named Rob Collins sought a path back into golf course design. A chance conversation with Sewanee's renovation project and golf coach King Oehmig set in motion a chain of events that would birth a remarkable narrative—the Sweetens Cove story. This book chronicles how a humble nine-hole layout in rural Tennessee grew into a celebrated chapter in modern golf, filled with ambition, craft, and a sense of place.

The course sat in Sequatchie Valley’s quiet floodplain, in the small town of South Pittsburg, where locals cherished the “homemade, country golf” ethos more than any glossy brochure. When Sequatchie Valley Golf & Country Club faced financial threat, local businessman Bob Thomas stepped in, purchasing the 100-acre property just days before it would become a horse farm. With his son Reece, what began as a renovation evolved into a broader mission to save the course and give it a lasting life.

The narrative follows a cast of characters who believed in the project through countless near‑shutdown moments, sacrifices, and small wins. It paints a portrait of King-Collins Golf, a forerunner in design-build collaboration, and the people who rallied around a place that golfers grew to treasure. The result was more than a course; it became a symbol of resilience and an emblem of a new era in American golf, earning recognition among Golfweek’s Modern Top 60.

What you’ll gain from this book

• A vivid, real-life arc about dedication, teamwork, and the power of community to rescue a beloved course.
• Insight into the design and renovation choices that can transform a simple layout into a destination.
• Profiles of key figures and their motivations, plus the dynamics of a small-town golf revival.
• Rich storytelling that blends place, people, and sport into a memorable narrative.

Who this book is for

• Golf readers who crave stories of resilience and place-based history.
• Fans of Sweetens Cove and public course culture seeking a deeper origin story.
• Design enthusiasts curious about collaboration between architects, coaches, and local supporters.

Readers will encounter a sense of place—the Tennessee hills, the quiet fairways, and the hands-on work that turned a run-down nine into a talking point for golfers nationwide. The book is grounded in real moments of doubt and triumph, offering a human-centered view of course revival that complements the technical side of design. Whether you’re planning a golf pilgrimage or simply curious about how communities sustain cherished spaces, this narrative offers context, detail, and a touch of fascination that might spark your own exploration of the game.