Honors, Black Creek Honored by Golf Digest

A bit of tweaking in the way Golf Digest compiles its America's 100 Greatest Golf Course list has given The Honors Course what many believe is some long overdue consideration. The Honors is ranked No. 32 in the Golf Digest's Top 100, released in the magazine's May issue, up from 58 in the 2003 rankings.

Golf Digest no longer considers tradition points in ranking the courses. That change was made because of the many critics who thought tradition points unfairly gave credit to older courses and held back newer courses. Though The Honors has hosted its share of significant tournaments, including the U.S. Amateur, the Curtis Cup and the NCAA men's championship, it simply wasn't old enough (or inclined to host professional events) to have accumulated enough of a tournament history.

Now that tradition points have been replaced by what Golf Digest calls "ambiance," The Honors' ranking has risen considerably. The Honors received 8.48 points among its total of 65.72 for ambiance. The leader among the 100 greatest in ambiance was Augusta National, which received 9.46.

The Honors, along with Black Creek, turns up again in Golf Digest's list of the top courses by state. The Honors is No. 1 and Black Creek No. 7. The complete list:

1. The Honors Course
2. Spring Creek Ranch, Collierville
3. The Golf Club of Tennessee, Kingston
4. The Tennessean Golf Club, Paris
5. Richland Country Club, Nashville
6. Holston Hills Country Club, Knoxville
7. Black Greek Club
8. River Islands Golf Club, Kodak
9. Belle Meade Country Club, Nashville
10 Hermitage Golf Course (President's Reserve), Old Hickory

The Farm is rated No. 12 in Georgia. Augusta National and Peachtree are 1-2 in the list, just as they were in the last ranking released two years ago.

— Chris Dortch