SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tennessee – There’s not much to say about Sweetens Cove Golf Club that hasn’t already been said. Tucked just off a highway in the heart of rolling Tennessee hills, the course with an ownership group that includes Peyton Manning, Andy Roddick, PGA Tour vet Keith Mitchell and others is arguably golf’s greatest success story of the last decade.
A quirky, strategic, nine-hole course, since opening in 2015 Sweetens Cove has found its way on numerous lists, including its current ranking of No. 63 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses — which places the course above tracks like Erin Hills, Hazeltine and Shoal Creek.
What makes it so special? The Rob Collins layout is one that takes your breath away, from the moment you step to the first tee. But the on-site vibe — no beverage or food service, no dress code, unlimited play — is one that rekindles any love lost on stuffy corporate outings.
General manager Matt Adamski is the perfect representative for Sweetens Cove. Part golf addict, part trash talker, Adamski once played 254 holes here in a single day. That’d be like Joey Chestnut buying a hot dog cart, working it through a summer season and then eating every leftover before closing up for the winter.
Adamski starts each day with a morning chat for the group on hand before sending them on their way. It’s a funny, irreverent salvo, intended to put the players at ease and get them into the right mindset. He offers suggestions for money-game loops, and mentions what other groups have done in the past that he’s found interesting.
Adamski recently opened up to Golfweek on what he loves about coming to work each day, how he thinks Sweetens’ tee time system might cause sweeping changes in the industry and what’s next for the golf world’s darling.
