What Changes If You Leave a Northern Country Club for Tennessee?

Three things change when you leave a northern country club for Tennessee National: the length of the golf year, where the course sits in your day, and the terms of membership. The first two are easy to describe. The third you have to get from the club in writing.

You know the starter by name. You have a standing Saturday game. And every fall you watch the season wind down and start counting weeks. If a move south is on the table, the golf question is not whether the course is good. It is what exactly you would be trading. Tennessee National is a private, gated lake and golf community on Watts Bar Lake in Loudon, Tennessee.

What changes if you leave a northern country club for Tennessee National?

The season gets longer, the course moves closer to home, and the membership terms are new. Here is the side-by-side.

What should you ask before you resign anything?

Ask both clubs for their rules in writing, and read them side by side. Golf membership terms at Tennessee National come from the club, and they can change, so you will not find them printed here.

Questions for the club at Tennessee National:

• Which membership categories include golf?
• Is membership tied to owning property, and can it transfer when you sell?
• What are the initiation fee, dues, minimums and cart fees today, and how are increases decided?
• Can the club assess members for capital projects?
• How do tee times work, and how far ahead can members book?
• What are the guest rules for friends and family who visit?
• Can I use my own golf cart on the course?
• Does membership include play at any other course? Do not assume it does.
• How does the course run in winter: frost delays, cart path days, planned closures?
• Is there a waiting list?

Questions for the club you are leaving:

• What does resignation cost, and when does it take effect?
• Is any part of my initiation or equity refundable, and on what schedule?
• Is there a non-resident or seasonal category that keeps a foot in the door?
• Can I go inactive for a year while I decide?

Start at the golf page, then ask for the membership document. Pricing for homesites and homes is separate, and it is in the info pack.

Is golf really year-round in East Tennessee?

Mostly, with honest exceptions. East Tennessee has four seasons with mild winters, so the golf year is longer here than in colder states. It is not Florida.

Winter is a mix. Some days are sweater golf. Some are frost delays or rain. In July the afternoons are warm and humid, which is why summer golf here happens early.

The best test costs one trip. Come in February, when your home course is closed, and ask the club about playing a round. That day will tell you more than this page.

For the course itself, see what the golf course is like. At 7,393 yards at full length, tee choice matters, and this guide for average golfers covers it.

What do you gain that a drive-to club does not have?

A lake, and a course you live on.

At a drive-to club, golf is an appointment. Here it is part of the neighborhood. Tennessee National is a golf cart community, so the cart that takes you to the first tee also takes you to dinner and to the marina.

The marina is the part a golf-only club does not have. It is full service, with 140+ boat slips on Watts Bar Lake, a TVA lake with more than 39,000 acres of water. On the days you do not play, there are pontoon cruises, kayaks and sunset runs.

Two practical gains:

• Location. Knoxville is about 30 minutes away. McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) is about 35 minutes from the gate, which keeps the member-guest back home on your calendar.
• Taxes. Tennessee has no state income tax. Check the state line on your own return, and ask a CPA what a move would change.

How hard is it to start over socially?

Harder than the golf, and worth planning for. A standing game takes years to build, and at a new club you are the new person.

Three things help at Tennessee National:

• You live where you play. You see the same people on the course, at Kendall's and on the cart path.
• There is more than golf. The community has 22 social clubs and 180+ events a year, including trivia, live music and wine tastings. Not every friendship has to start on the first tee.
• You can ask. Ask the golf staff how new members get into games, and whether there are leagues or regular groups to join.

Give it a full season before you judge it.

The honest trade-offs

• One course. If you love a rotation of several courses, know that Tennessee National has one. It is the only course on the property.
• Your standing. Your handicap travels. Your history at the old club does not.
• Winter is still winter. Milder and shorter, but real.
• Unknowns until you ask. Membership terms can make or break the math. Do not resign anything on the strength of a blog post.
• Living on a course is not visiting one. Mowers start early. See the pros and cons of living on a golf course.

If the list still reads like a good trade, bring your clubs and your questions, and get the answers in writing.

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.