Our History

Written by Administrator Monday, 08 February 2010 02:04

Lookout Mountain Golf Club was designed in 1925 by one of the premiere architects in American golf: Seth J. Raynor and his assistant, Charles Banks. Raynor was the engineer for and protégé of the most influential architect in American golf: C. B. MacDonald. This was the last course that Raynor designed before his untimely death in 1926. It was the only course that he built on a mountain.

Lookout Mountain Golf Club was intended to be the premiere resort/championship golf course in the South. It possesses a unique architectural design – both an “inland” and “links” course set on a mountain. Currently, Lookout Mountain is one of only 35 Raynor courses left in existence today.

Because of the Depression and World War II, Lookout Mountain Golf Club was never completed as designed. In 1998, Brian Silva restored the course and put in 55 fairway bunkers that had never seen the light of day. The Par 70 golf course now measures 6605 yards. Even at such a short distance, it is a great test of golf. The competitive course record, set by Pat Corey in the Chattanooga Men’s Metro Tournament is 65.

We have been fortunate to have a distinguished membership with former Captains of both the Walker Cup and Curtis Cup, as well as a Bobby Jones Award recipient. Any club with such a rich background of membership makes Lookout Mountain Golf Club, in itself, a national “landmark”.

Lookout Mountain Golf Club has traditionally been a golf club. Our dedication to the game of golf has been undivided. Our membership loves golf, exists for golf. Golf is our most enduring, common bond. Excellence in golf, for all golfers at every level or playing ability, is our highest priority as a membership.

OUR LEGACY

The Lookout Mountain Golf Club features a beautiful 18 hole layout that is as breathtaking as it is challenging. From the first shot, you are rarely away from spectacular views of the valley and hills to the east and south. The course is a challenge for the accomplished player and fair to the novice. Without any appreciable water hazards, the course’s difficulty lies more in the errant shot into one of the Raynor styled bunkers, the slope of the natural lay of the land and the greens.

Lookout Mountain Golf Club was established in 1925 as Fairyland Golf Club. It began as the dream of two individuals who sought out one of golf’s master architects, Seth Raynor, to design a course that would endure the changes of both time and talents. Raynor’s untimely death before the construction of the course and the onset of the Depression prevented the original design from being completed. A remarkably fortunate discovery of the great architect’s drawings for the course led to the complete restoration of the golf course in 1998 to Raynor’s original plan. Today, the course is the focal point of a superlative golf experience.

Seth Raynor’s plan for the course was that it be fashioned after many of the great Scottish coastal links courses with what he called “strategic design”. It took great imagination and creativity to create a “links course on top of a mountain”. Today, the course has the timeless features that capture the very essence of strategically designed links golf…shallow bunkers that have steep faces on the approach, large greens with subtle undulations, and fairways that demand imagination as the player has several options to shape shots to conform to the natural mountain contours. It is here that strategy overcomes power. 

Playing golf at the Lookout Mountain Golf Club is always a unique experience; whether participating in an organized game or just walking out, hitting some balls, and teeing it up. Some call it the best kept secret in golf, and playing on a weekend without a tee time captures that experience.