The Bear Trace at Tims Ford | Tennessee (West) Top Courses | Where2Golf (2024)

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 Tims Ford benefits from a wonderfully natural setting. The course sits on its own island in the middle of Tims Ford Lake.

The opening holes have a predominantly open, links-style character, gently rolling across former pasture land. These early stretches gradually transition to incorporate wooded, tree-lined holes where giant oak trees dominate. The back-nine, also pleasantly undulating and a mix of open and tree-lined holes, lays down an arguably stronger test. It culminates in the long par-4 18th that features traditional Nicklaus bunkering and, on the rightside, the shoreline of the surrounding lake.

With generous width fairways, not overly penal rough and a relative absence of threatening water hazards, this is not perhaps one of Jack Nicklaus's sternest tests. However, the many partially "concealed" fairway bunkers, deeper greenside bunkering and generally smallish putting surfaces, call for good-quality shot-making if you are to score well.

The expansive Tims Ford reservoir is visible from most holes, either through the trees or from the course's higher elevations; rarely however is it directly in play. Roads and housing play no part in proceedings here. Much in evidence is the quality of the course and its conditioning, as well as many wonderfully scenic views onto the lake.

This well-rated and always popular golf course contains many attractive features, scenic lake views and several excellent holes to enjoy. It is also home to several families of deer.

Stay&Play at Tims Ford State Park: onsite accommodation available, see Where2Stay section below.

Tims Ford Lake, which surrounds the golf course, was created as part of an electricity generation and recreation project. Long before the construction of Tims Ford Dam on the headwaters of the Elk River, the area was used extensively by Native Americans as a hunting and fishing territory.

Archaeological excavations uncovered numerous sites and artefacts, indicating that people had occupied the area as much as 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. The 10,700-acre Tims Ford Lake is one of the most picturesque in Tennessee and is regarded as one of the top bass fishing and recreational lakes in the Southeast.

Originally five Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses made up The Bear Trace quintet, which is spread out from east to west in southern Tennessee. Still in operation as Bear Trace courses are those at Tims Ford, Cumberland Mountain and Harrison Bay. In western Tennessee, the former Bear Trace courses at Chickasaw and Ross Creek Landing are now operated independently of the Tennessee State Parks' "Bear Trace" golf collection.