Best Golf Courses Near Athens, TN

Nicknamed “The Friendly City,” the small city of Athens, Tennessee sits in the Tennessee Valley about midway between Knoxville and Chattanooga. Athens’ rural setting makes for appealing golf terrain. The family-run Mouse Creek Golf Course (formerly Rock Springs Golf Club) is a picturesque par-64 executive course that weaves around trees and ponds. Pretty wooded surroundings highlight Ridgewood Golf Course, which recently redid its greens with Bermuda grass, making it the only such greens within a 50 mile radius (according to Ridgewood). White Oaks Golf Course is a mostly flat playing field with a few water hazards. In Vonore on Lake Tellico, hilly Rarity Bay Golf Club, which winds through a residential development, stands out as one of East Tennessee’s most scenic golf courses. After golf, you can get a feel for the history and culture of Athens at the McGlinn County Living Heritage Museum. Other top attractions include The Gardens of Sunshine Hollows, one of the largest private gardens in East Tennessee, and the Swift Museum, where you’ll learn all about the light, low-wing Swift aircraft that were produced right after World War II.