Kahite Pro Shop — Local services in Loudon

In all my years of writing about golf and golf communities, I have never come across anything as impressive as Tellico Village. I know there are communities with more courses, but geographically speaking it has to be one of the largest golf communities in the country.

Tellico Village is nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains on the Tennessee side and encompasses more than 5,000 acres in and around Tellico Lake. There are around 5,000 homes and more than 8,000 people who call Tellico Village home. Tellico Village was created in 1986 when Cooper Communities first broke ground on this master-planned, ungated community. Located about 30 minutes from Knoxville, Tellico Village has three championship golf courses and unlimited resources for boating, fishing, and swimming. There are outstanding medical facilities in the area too, with more than 200 doctors and state-of-the-art medical technologies.

Tellico Village has become one of the premier senior planned retirement communities in the southeast. In addition to golf and boating, Tellico Village offers residents a wide array of recreation facilities and activities. For many residents, golf is the main attraction here. Tellico Village boasts three of the area’s most pristine golf courses: Tanasi, Toqua, and Kahite. All three courses were designed by Ault, Clark & Associates. These three private, championship golf courses have hosted many state and national championship events including the Tennessee Golf Association’s Junior Amateur Qualifier, Women’s and Men’s Senior Amateur Championships, Four-Ball, and Senior Four-Ball Championships as well as the PGA Tour Nationwide Knoxville Open Qualifier. All Tellico Village, when you become a property owner you automatically become a full golf club member with rights and privileges on all three courses. Each clubhouse has a restaurant with a unique menu and taste. These are not your average clubhouse restaurants.

Tellico Village’s 3rd course - the Links at Kahite - opened for play in 2002 and in 2003, the course was nominated to Golf Digest’s list of “Best New Private Courses.” Kahite is a links-style course with some very unusual design characteristics including tall fescue grasses that line some of the fairways. It features Bermuda fairways and Bentgrass greens and can be played anywhere from 7,170 yards to 4,435 yards. The course meanders through a serene, natural setting with several holes offering beautiful panoramic views of the Great Smoky Mountains. There are a couple of things that differentiate Kahite from Tellico’s other two tracks. The first is the number of bunkers, all well placed. There are 93 bunkers in all, with 12 of those being on the 18th hole. Perhaps the most notable characteristic of Kahite is the 808-yard (back tees) par 6 9th hole. Although it’s a long - OK really long – hole, it’s fairly straightforward. If you can keep it in play for four straight shots and hit it straight, you can score well.

Kahite features the Village’s newest driving range facility, practice bunkers, and putting green. The Kahite Clubhouse has great casual dining and an outdoor patio for post-game refreshments.

With three golf courses to keep in pristine condition, you have to imagine things can get rough for those in charge. Chris Sykes, who has served as the Head Golf Course Superintendent at Toqua Golf Club and was recently promoted to Director of Golf has said that their biggest challenge in maintaining all three courses is managing the putting surfaces through the summer season in the transition zone. Chris had the good fortune of working for David Stone at The Honors Course at the beginning of his career, where he formed the foundation for Tellico Village’s ongoing agronomic programs. David Stone is in the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame and won every award imaginable including the USGA Green Section Award.

All things considered, Tellico Village is a great location for active adults who want to concentrate on enjoying their golden years rather than worry about their...

what shouldv’ve been a great day on the course was ruined by a ranger who lacks the ability to use tact when talking to people. 20 of us were down for a weekend golf trip. my foursome was the last to tee off. Pace was extremely slow out of the gate, and we were having to wait at each tee. At the third tee, the ladies behind us who were frustrated with the pace, told us they were going to call the club house. We thought that was great because through text we were told there was a group in front of our first group moving at a snails pace. What ended up happening instead, the ranger came and told us that we were the problem and that we needed to pick it up. We asked how are we supposed to play faster when we are waiting at every tee box? He provided no answer but kept saying it was us, we were the problem. I admittedly got heated, as i was in disbelief of what i was hearing. I asked again, How can we go faster when we are forced to wait at every tee box. At that point we were told that if we say one more word he would remove us from “His” golf course. To his credit, pace did get better. We still had to wait to tee off on 14/18 holes but it moved quick enough that the ladies behind us never caught us again. if that was his goal, then mission accomplished. However, the end result in his accusatory and uneducated approach to the situation, is that our group will never return to this course when there are so many great course down there ran by...

The course is absolutely beautiful. Very challenging. Customer service is TERRIBLE. When i paid for my round of golf the man at the counter didn't say a single word. I asked how he was doing.... Nothing. Said thanks after I paid and no response. Then on hole 17 the grounds keeper came to us in a very unprofessional manner. He was rude in trying to tell us to get off the course. Saying we were 40 minutes late (which wasn't true) when we were maybe 10 minutes late on the tee time. He then started a argument when we stated that we didn't need to be lectured and we would be off the course when he needed. He didn't stop there and we got angry and told him that he really prided himself on customer service. He then backed off and left us alone. Afterwards he had a different tone and we left. The course is nice and fun, but make sure you don't make the grounds keeper stay past his bed time. He will...