By
BUDDY PEARSON
HERALD-CITIZEN
Sports Editor
CUMBERLAND COVE - If you think you know Mountain Ridge Golf Course,
think again.
A course known to have "bad greens" located on highway 70
about 15 minutes from Cookeville is now being resurrected into one
of the nicest courses in the Upper Cumberland.
The par-72, 18-hole layout plays almost 6,700 yards from the championship
tees, nestling around Cumberland Cove.
"Some things have changed," said co-owner Martin Foutch,
who, along with Chip Carlen, bought the property in September of 1994.
"The greens are good and the course is going to be better than
it has ever been.
"In a few weeks, the course is going to green up and will be
beautiful," he added. "All we need is some warm weather.
This is going to be our best year yet."
One of the most noticeable changes has been the presence of greenskeeper
Charles Palmquist. The Florida native has been on a quest to make
Mountain Ridge one of the nicest and most challenging places to play
in the area.
"We've come a long ways and we have a long way to go," said
Palmquist, who was hired over a year ago. "When the weather starts
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getting
warmer, I will put this course up against any other course in the
area. With the layout and as good a shape as it is, golfers will probably
get as much or more for their money here than any course around."
Palmquist is leaving his mark on Mountain Ridge, from manicuring the
greens to seeding the fairways to subtle landscaping changes around
the course that make it play better and more attractive to look at.
With his 10-plus years of experience, he has taken on the task to
turning Mountain Ridge around.
"We just want people to come up and play the course once,"
he said. "I think that once they get up here and play it, they
will like what we have done to it."
The greens have been the biggest concern and has been the focus of
attention for Foutch, Carlen and Palmquist. That's one of the reasons
why they are trying to new things to make the greens the best they
can possibly be.
"There's a new technology that is out this year," said Foutch.
"Instead of using the old way to aerate, which includes plugging
and pulling a core out which leaves big holes, there's a machine that
drills a hole. Instead of having a core, you have sawdust-type particles
which is easily cleaned up.
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"This is
less stress on the greens and you don't see very many holes in the
green," Foutch added. "It used to take us two days to
deep core and top dress them and this took just six hours to do
19 greens."
Foutch is also pushing new memberships for $275 a year, while maintaining
very reasonable 18-hole rates of $23 weekdays and $26 on the weekends
for nonmembers that includes cart. Mountain Ridge also has a fully-functional
clubhouse that has a snack bar and a modest assortment of Titleist
items.
'"The course is very playable right now," Foutch said.
"We don't have the amenities of the Crossville courses, but
we are doing everything we can to make this one of the best courses
to play in the area."
For more information or to set up a tee time, call Mountain Ridge
at (931) 839-3313.
Article reprinted
in its entirety with the author's permission. Visit the Herald citizen
at www.herald-citizen.com.
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