The Links at Kahite was recently named the Private Golf Course of the Year by the Tennessee Turfgrass Association.

The award was presented as part of TTA’s annual conference and trade show in Murfreesboro, and comes at a time when Kahite is gaining increased notoriety following significant renovations over the past two years.

“It means a lot to me, it means a lot to really my entire staff,” Jordan Clark, head golf course superintendent at Kahite, said. “We’ve worked really hard, especially the past two years with the bunker renovation. … It was a lot of hard work for all of us not only to complete the project but to maintain the golf course as well, which is a big deal. And to be a recipient of the award, to receive it after all that hard work was done, that really set it in stone as far as all the hard work that was put in. I just couldn’t be prouder of my team.”


When Clark joined Kahite in 2016, he said the need for major renovations was readily apparent since bunkers no longer functioned as they should. Major weather events took hours — if not days — for multiple staff members to address, and even in normal conditions the sand no longer allowed golfers to play as they should have been able.

Kahite hired a golf architect to redesign the bunkers for easier maintenance and better playability, while also tweaking a few additional items such as additional tee boxes on a few holes. Split into two parts, the front nine and back nine, work on the project began in May 2021 and finished in September, just in time to host the Tennessee Golf Association’s Women’s Mid-Amateur and Women’s Senior Championships.

“It’s just a testament to Tellico Village and especially The Links at Kahite, how far golf has come and well thought of golf is in the Village,” Chris Sykes, director of golf, said. “Just the transformation the golf course has gone under with respects to Jordan Clark’s leadership is phenomenal. We were fortunate to work with one of the best golf architects in the industry in Bill Bergin, and between Bill’s plans and Jordan, his personal efforts and the efforts of his team … what a phenomenal golf course and setting it is.

“It was very deserving, and if you go to the Tennessee Turfgrass website and look at the past recipients of the award, it’s pretty significant,” he added. “Some really highly thought of and historic in nature golf courses across the state have won in the past, so just to be considered in that category is impressive.”

Nominations for all TTA awards are submitted throughout the year and reviewed by a committee that votes and selects winners in each category. Kahite was notified Dec. 15 about winning Private Golf Course of the Year and received the award as part of the TTA conference awards luncheon Jan. 9.

Sykes, who is also TTA board president, said he was delighted he was the one who presented the award to Clark.

“That was really special too, that I was able to personally present that award to Jordan,” Sykes said. “Just being able to do that and acknowledge Jordan and his team’s accomplishments specifically at Kahite was really a privilege.”

With the award and positive reviews following September’s state tournament, Kahite’s stock is on the rise. The golf course will host another state tournament, the TGA Men’s Match Play Championship, July 25-28.

Sykes said he hopes Kahite can one day be chosen as the venue for the TGA Men’s Amateur Championship, the most prestigious state tournament, and he and Clark agreed the recent award and successful tournaments should provide a big boost in getting them there.

“When you work with the Tennessee Golf Association, you’re dealing with people in the entire state, not just people in our local area or East Tennessee,” Clark said. “So it gives more recognition to Tellico Village as a whole, because we’re a multiple-course facility and that just brings recognition to what we’ve done over the years and brings awareness that we have a pretty quality golf course over here.

“We hope to host more future state events to kind of gain more recognition, or to market that we’re a pretty good golf course over here and we can provide championship-style conditions,” he added.