The short answer
Start with the cart, not the cars. In a golf cart community such as Tennessee National, on Watts Bar Lake in Loudon, Tennessee, a home works best with a cart bay that has its own door and charger outlet, a gear room right beside it, and porches set for the sun and the view. Homes at Tennessee National are custom built and go through design review.
Key facts
- Tennessee National is a golf cart community on 1,492 gated acres in Loudon, Tennessee.
- Homes at Tennessee National are custom built and go through design review.
- There is no deadline to build after you buy a homesite.
- The full-service marina has 140+ boat slips on Watts Bar Lake.
- East Tennessee has four seasons and mild winters.
Most house plans are drawn for a street where every trip is a car trip. Two bays, a front door, done.
Tennessee National is a golf cart community. It covers 1,492 gated acres on Watts Bar Lake in Loudon, Tennessee, and the golf course, the marina, the clubhouse and the pickleball courts are all inside the gates. A plan that ignores the cart will still work. It will also annoy you a little every day.
Here are the choices that matter in a place like this and rarely show up on a stock plan.
Where should the golf cart go?
In its own bay, with its own door. A common regret in cart communities is a cart squeezed into a car bay, or left outside.
- Size the bay for a cart. A cart bay is shorter and narrower than a car bay, so it takes less room than a third car bay would.
- Give it its own door. You pull the cart out without opening the main garage or moving a car.
- Put an outlet where the charger will sit. Decide this before the electrician decides it for you.
- Open it into the gear room. You come home with clubs, a cooler and wet towels. Those should not walk through the kitchen.
Cart rules come from the community. Ask what kind of cart is allowed and where it can be parked and driven before your plans are final. For how the cart fits into an ordinary day, see golf cart living at Tennessee National.
What goes in a gear room?
Everything that rides home on the cart. Call it a mudroom if you like, but plan it around what it will hold: golf bags, life jackets, paddles, pickleball and tennis gear, leashes, and the shoes that go with all of it.
- Golf bag storage that keeps bags upright and off the floor.
- A wet zone by the outside door, with a tile floor and hooks for towels and life jackets.
- Rod storage up high, if you plan to fish Watts Bar Lake.
- A bench. Plain, and used every day.
This room does more work in a lake and golf community than a formal dining room ever will. Give it real floor space.
Which way should the house face?
Toward the view you bought, with the sun in mind. The two do not always agree, so settle it on the homesite and not on paper.
- A west-facing porch gets sunsets and afternoon heat.
- An east-facing porch gets morning light and cool evenings.
- Screened or open? East Tennessee has four seasons and mild winters. A screened porch stretches the outdoor months at both ends. Plenty of plans include one of each.
If the home sits beside the golf course, think about where a golf ball can land. Place the patio and the big windows with the hole in mind. Living on a golf course covers how to judge that before you build.
Where does the lake gear go?
The boat, ideally, goes to the marina. Tennessee National has a full-service marina with 140+ boat slips on Watts Bar Lake. Ask about slip availability early, and ask where a boat spends the off-season, because the answer decides how much garage you need. The boat slips page is the place to start.
The house still has to hold the small stuff: kayaks, paddleboards, coolers, water toys and off-season gear. A tall wall with racks solves most of it. Plan the racks now. Adding them to a finished garage is never as tidy.
How much house do you need for guests?
Less than you think. People overbuild for visitors who come a few weeks a year.
- A bunk room sleeps a crowd in the space of one bedroom.
- A guest suite with its own entry lets visitors come and go without waking the house.
- Build for the ordinary weeks. Those are most of the year.
The decisions at a glance
| Decision | What to plan | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Cart bay | Its own door, a charger outlet, a path to the gear room | The cart gets used daily |
| Gear room | Bag storage, a wet zone, a bench, hooks | Keeps clubs and lake gear out of the kitchen |
| Porches | Sun direction, screened or open | Decides which hours you sit outside |
| Lake storage | Wall racks, a tall bay | Kayaks and paddleboards need a home |
| Guest space | A bunk room or a separate suite | Hosts a crowd without a bigger house |
| Main level | Primary suite, step-free entry from the cart bay | Keeps the house easy to live in for decades |
A house you can stay in
A few choices cost little on paper and are expensive to add later.
- A primary suite on the main level.
- A step-free entry from the cart bay into the house.
- Wider doorways and a shower with no curb. Both read as design choices.
- A second main-level bedroom that starts life as an office.
What does design review mean for your plan?
It means the community looks at your plans before you build. Homes at Tennessee National are custom built, and they go through design review.
So bring the review in early. Ask what it covers and what it asks for before your architect draws a line. A cart door, a screened porch or a storage wall is far cheaper to change on paper than in framing.
What drives the cost?
Three things: the size of the house, the homesite, and the finishes. A cart bay and a gear room add floor space. A sloped homesite adds site work. Porches add roof.
Pricing is in the info pack. If you would rather not build, finished homes are listed on the properties page.
Walk the homesite before you draw the house
There is no deadline to build after you buy a homesite at Tennessee National. Use that. Stand on the land in the morning and again in the evening. Go in summer and in winter if you can. Notice where the sun sets and what you carry home.
The honest trade-off: every bay, porch and bunk room is money, and each one goes through review. You will not need all of them. Pick the ones you would use on an ordinary Tuesday, and start with the cart.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a golf cart garage at Tennessee National?
A golf cart garage is worth planning from the start. Tennessee National is a golf cart community in Loudon, Tennessee, so a small bay with its own door and a charger outlet keeps the cart close and out of the car bays. Ask the community about cart rules and what design review allows.
Do homes at Tennessee National go through design review?
Yes. Homes at Tennessee National are custom built and go through design review. Ask what the review covers before your architect starts, so features such as a cart door or a screened porch are planned with the review and not changed later.
Is there a deadline to build at Tennessee National?
No. There is no deadline to build after you buy a homesite at Tennessee National. That leaves time to walk the homesite in different seasons and plan the house around the sun, the view and how you will use a golf cart.
Where do residents keep boats at Tennessee National?
Tennessee National has a full-service marina with 140+ boat slips on Watts Bar Lake. A boat kept in a slip leaves the house to store smaller gear such as kayaks and paddleboards. Ask the marina about current slip availability and off-season storage before you plan a garage around one.
Facts about Tennessee National come from the community. Lake facts come from TVA. Rules, taxes, loans and insurance change, so confirm anything that affects a purchase with the right office or professional before you buy.