Nashville Golf Courses & Tee Times

Who runs public golf in Nashville

Metro Parks runs six regular courses: Harpeth Hills, McCabe (27 holes), Percy Warner (nine holes), Shelby, Ted Rhodes and Two Rivers, plus the VinnyLinks par 3, which First Tee programs. Rates since April 1, 2025 are $34 to walk 18 on a weekday and $44 on weekends, with senior rates for 60 and over Monday through Thursday. An annual membership is $1,000 for residents and $1,200 for non-residents, plus a $5 surcharge per nine. Metro no longer sells youth memberships; kids play through Youth on Course. Tennessee State Parks has two courses within an hour: Montgomery Bell, about 45 minutes west, and Henry Horton in Chapel Hill, the first course on what became the Tennessee Golf Trail.

Public courses worth knowing in Nashville

• Harpeth Hills Golf Course: Par 72 in Percy Warner Park, designed in 1965 and rebuilt in 1991. It became a regional qualifying site for the USGA Public Links that year.
• Shelby Golf Course: Nashville's first municipal course, opened in 1924 in East Nashville, with new TifEagle greens in 2024.
• Ted Rhodes Golf Course: Opened in 1953 as the nine-hole Cumberland course, renamed in 1969 for Ted Rhodes and expanded to 18 in 1992. Metro calls it an easy course to walk, on the Cumberland River.
• McCabe Golf Course - Middle-South: 27 holes a few minutes from downtown. The original 18 date to 1942, and five local golf associations play out of it.
• Percy Warner Golf Course: Nine holes, par 34 at 2,600 yards, where Nashvillians have learned the game since 1937. Recently restored with new greens.
• Hermitage Golf Course: Two 18-hole courses, open since 1986; hosted the LPGA Sara Lee Classic from 1988 to 1999.
• Henry Horton Golf Course: State park course from the early 1960s, 7,060 yards from the back tees, and the first on what became the Tennessee Golf Trail.

Booking tee times in Nashville: the local rules

Metro courses release tee times exactly seven days ahead, the same for everyone. On release day you can book in person when the clubhouse opens, by phone from the first tee time, or online from 10:00 AM through Chronogolf. Online, each person gets one tee time of up to four players per release day. The state park courses run their own windows: Montgomery Bell six days out, Henry Horton seven by phone and six online.

Why tee times in Nashville are hard to get

Spring and fall are peak season in Nashville. In summer the heat pushes everyone toward early morning, so the first few hours of the day fill before anything else.

Each course releases its tee times on its own schedule, commonly a week or two out, with residents of town and county courses often booking first. Leagues, outings and members claim chunks of the sheet in advance, and whatever prime weekend times are left tend to go on release day.

When tee time cancellations happen

A full tee sheet rarely stays full. Many courses let you cancel without a fee up to 24 or 48 hours before your time, so spots tend to reappear in the last couple of days. A bad forecast shakes more loose, and a foursome that drops to three opens a single. None of it is announced. The time just shows up again on the booking page, and whoever looks first gets it.

How to get a tee time in Nashville

Doing it by hand? Here's what works.

1. Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
2. Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
3. Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
4. Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
5. Keep a quicker course in your back pocket. Nine-hole and executive courses are easier to get on and play faster. Around here that includes 9 Hole Executive Course, Harpeth Hills Golf Course and Mason Rudolph Golf Course.

Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked