Black Creek Club is a private, non-equity golf and social club in Lookout Valley, about 10 minutes from downtown Chattanooga, and you can only get in by joining or playing as a member’s guest.
Its Brian Silva-designed, 7,204-yard course is the main draw, but the club publishes no prices and offers no public tee times, so keep reading for a more detailed explanation.
What Black Creek Club Is and How It Came to Be
Black Creek Club opened on September 2, 2000, at the base of Raccoon Mountain, in what was then the Cummings Cove development.
The course grew out of the vision of Doug Stein, a Chattanooga contractor who built The Honors Course and later led the restoration of Seth Raynor’s Lookout Mountain course.
He hired Brian Silva for that restoration, and he now calls Black Creek “the grandson of the course at Lookout Mountain.”
Ownership: Who Runs the Club
Troon Golf was brought in to manage the club in 2001, though the club now appears to be run in-house. On the ownership side, the timeline depends on which account you read.
One report says Stein and partners Gary and Bobby Chazen acquired Cummings Cove and Aetna Mountain land in 2006, while another says original developer Jimmy Chapin was bought out in 2007.
The group came close to changing hands in November 2015, when the golf course was listed for sale at $2.5 million and 2,200 acres on Aetna Mountain at $9.9 million.
Stein said a New York partner in the ownership group wanted to explore a sale. The remaining partners instead bought out the New York hedge fund, York Capital, in 2016.
Today, Andy Stone is president of Black Creek. Gary Chazen, who is president of Perimeter Properties, and his brother Bob Chazen are named as partners.
City records list the developer entity as MBSC Black Creek, LLC, and county tax records show some River Gorge Drive parcels moving to Black Creek Farms LLC in 2024. How that second entity relates to the club itself isn’t confirmed.
Black Creek is a non-equity club. When you join, you pay for access and don’t own any part of the club.
Community Growth
The club is the centerpiece of a master-planned community that keeps expanding. About 600 homes were occupied by September 2020, which may already make Black Creek the largest residential development in Chattanooga history.
The developer has since opened River Gorge Drive, a $16 million road up Aetna Mountain, with about 1,200 more homes planned over the next decade. The first phase is more than 200 homes in The Pass.
Current marketing also mentions a walkable village and a nine-acre lake. Both are plans, not finished amenities.
If you’re considering a golf membership, that growth raises a practical question worth asking: how will tee-time availability hold up as the member count rises?
Location and Directions
The club’s address is 4700 Cummings Cove Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37419, in Lookout Valley (Hamilton County). You’ll also see 2934 River Gorge Dr on the community website, but that’s the community and sales address. Use Cummings Cove Drive for golf and dining.
From I-24, take Exit 174 (US-41/US-64/US-11). The club is about 1.1 miles west of the exit, roughly a 5-minute drive.
The Golf Course: Design, Layout and What Players Say
Brian Silva, Golf World’s 1999 Architect of the Year, designed the course, and it was his first original design in the Southeast. From the back tees it plays as a par 72 of 7,204 yards, with a course rating of 74.6 and a slope of 138. Other listings show 7,044 yards (74.3/134) and 7,090 yards (74.8/138), which reflects tee changes over the years, so check the current scorecard before you plan around any one number.
The course has bentgrass greens, Bermuda fairways and five sets of tees. It’s walkable and open year-round.
Design Character
Silva built the course as a tribute to Seth Raynor, and you’ll see it in the details: squared-off green corners, steep and deep bunkers, and generous fairways. The routing also borrows Macdonald/Raynor template holes, including:
- Double Plateau (1st)
- Road (2nd)
- Short (3rd)
- Reverse Redan (7th)
- Redan (11th)
- Biarritz (17th)
The 17th stands out, with a green nearly 70 yards long and a six-foot-deep swale running through it.
A few other holes get regular mention. The par-5 6th has a blind approach to a 14,000-square-foot punchbowl green, and Stein says Golf Digest named it the best 6th hole built in the last 20 years. The drivable par-4 15th is one reviewer’s favorite. Over on the 9th, you’ll find a tiny bunker tucked beside an old farm stone wall.
Rankings
Each list uses its own criteria, so treat the numbers as separate snapshots rather than a single verdict.
- Golf Digest: No. 12 in Tennessee for 2025-26, after top-10 finishes in 2003-2020 and 2023-2024.
- Golfweek’s Best 2024: No. 5 among Tennessee private courses, behind The Honors Course, Holston Hills, GC of Tennessee and Spring Creek Ranch.
- Another list: No. 7 in Tennessee.
The club also calls itself the state’s only Golfweek Top 100 Residential course. In 2020, though, Stein cited a ranking of 115th in the country, so ask which list and year the club means when you hear that claim.
What Players Say
Reviews agree on where the course shines and where it doesn’t. The front nine winds through housing, which some players find disjointed, and street crossings add to that feel. The course can also play soft after rain. The back nine, which runs along Raccoon Mountain, earns stronger reviews. One independent reviewer scored the course 63/80 and found the 7th and 18th holes weaker than the rest.
Practice and Instruction
You’ll find a driving range, putting greens and PGA instruction on site, along with Titleist and Ping club fitting.
Pro Shop Hours
The pro shop keeps these hours, Tuesday through Sunday:
- April through October: 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM
- November through March: 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM
That schedule implies the shop is closed on Mondays. Some directories list different hours, so go with what the club publishes.
Beyond Golf: Dining, Pools, Fitness and Racquet Sports
Black Creek works as a social club as much as a golf club. The amenities below are open to members and their guests, and the Social membership covers all of them without golf.
Dining
The clubhouse has a full-service restaurant and bar with seasonal, chef-driven menus. Private event space is available for celebrations. Current menus and hours are posted only on ForeTees, the members’ app, so you won’t find them on the public website. Dining is for members and their guests, which means a visit as a non-member requires a host.
Pools
The club has two pools:
- Upper pool: adults only.
- Lower pool: family-friendly, connected to the upper pool by a waterfall.
Both are fully staffed from Memorial Day to Labor Day. You get towel service, changing areas, showers and lockers, and you can book poolside parties.
Fitness Center
The fitness center was recently renovated and expanded. It’s open 24 hours with key-code access for members, and towels and water are provided. A dedicated classroom hosts instructor-led classes through a YMCA partnership.
Tennis and Pickleball
Two tennis courts can be configured as four pickleball courts, and play is first come, first served. The club said more pickleball courts were planned for 2025, but whether they were built isn’t confirmed, so ask if court availability matters to you.
Locker Rooms and Social Calendar
Men’s and women’s locker rooms both include saunas. Throughout the year, the club runs trivia nights, wine dinners, cooking classes and seasonal celebrations, all posted on ForeTees.
The Clubhouse Team
Knowing who runs the club helps when you start asking questions. As of 2026, the team includes:
- Mark Grisham, General Manager
- Toby Browne, Membership Director
- Jordan Douglas, PGA, Head Golf Professional
- Michael Krueger, Executive Chef
- Brent Roberson, Golf Course Superintendent
Chris Fischer (Clubhouse Manager), Ansley Kuneman (Events & Programming Manager), Tyler Cundiff (Assistant Golf Professional) and Reva Pruett (Comptroller) round out the listed staff. For membership questions, Browne is the person to contact.
Membership Types, Costs and the Joining Process
Black Creek offers four membership categories. The club publishes the details of each, but it doesn’t publish any prices.
The Four Membership Types
- Golf: Unlimited use of all facilities, including the course, range, putting greens and social amenities. It covers a spouse and dependent children under 23, and it includes PGA instruction and club fitting.
- Junior Golf: The same full access for you, your spouse and dependents, with a payment plan that runs to age 35. The club doesn’t publish the age limits or payment terms.
- National: Full access for you, your spouse and dependents under 23, but your primary residence must be more than 100 miles from the club. If you keep a second home within that radius, you can’t live there more than six calendar months a year.
- Social: Access to the fitness center, pools, racquet courts, restaurant and bar, locker rooms with saunas and the social calendar. Golf isn’t included.
Do You Have to Own a Home Here?
Homeownership isn’t a stated requirement, and listings describe membership as optional for homeowners. Some online commenters say the membership leans heavily toward homeowners, though, so ask how that plays out in practice. If you do buy in the community, HOA dues are a separate charge from club dues.
What It Costs
The club publishes no initiation fees or dues, so treat every figure below as unverified.
Aggregator estimates (undated)
- Golf initiation: $2,501 to $10,000
- Social initiation: $2,000 to $10,000
- Golf dues: $425 to $575
- National dues: $135
- Cart fees: $11 to $22 per round
- Unlimited carts: $130 to $165 per month
These same estimates list a 60-mile radius for National membership, while the club says 100 miles. That mismatch is a good reason to doubt how current the other numbers are.
Forum and listing reports
- A June 2025 forum comment says initiation was “supposed to” rise to $40,000. Nothing confirms the increase took effect, and older comments mention initiation of about $10,000.
- One townhome disclosure showed a $2,000 initiation fee, though it doesn’t say whether that was a club or HOA charge.
- HOA dues examples include $600 a year, $480 a quarter, and $160 or $170 a month.
You won’t find food and beverage minimums, assessments, or official guest and cart fees anywhere. If the $40,000 figure is accurate, it would put Golf membership far above the aggregator range, so don’t budget from any of these numbers.
How to Join
Start with the “Join Us” contact form on the Black Creek website, or call 423-822-2582. The club doesn’t publish sponsorship rules, waitlists, application forms or interview steps, and the full Membership Rules and Regulations sit behind the member portal.
What to Ask Before You Commit
Request a written fee schedule that covers:
- Initiation fee and monthly dues for your membership type
- Food and beverage minimums
- Cart and trail fees
- Capital assessments
- Junior payment-plan terms, if that applies to you
- Resignation and refund policy
Since the club is non-equity, the refund policy matters more than it might at an equity club, so get it in writing alongside the rest.
How to Play, Visit or Attend Events Without Being a Member
Black Creek has no public play. Third-party sites such as GolfNow list the course, but that isn’t public tee-time inventory, so you can’t book a round the way you would at a daily-fee course.
Ways to Get on the Course
- Play as a member’s guest. This is the most reliable route.
- Ask your home club’s pro to call the pro shop. One online commenter claims the club allows unaccompanied guests arranged pro to pro and does so often. That’s unverified, so confirm with the pro shop before you plan a trip around it.
- Enter a qualifier. The club has hosted Tennessee Golf Association and USGA events, including a U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifier on July 15, 2026, and the Chattanooga Cup on November 19, 2024. Watch the TGA, USGA and amateurgolf.com schedules for the next one.
If you’re thinking about joining or buying a home in the community, you can book a Discovery Tour of the club on the Black Creek website.
Dining and Events
Dining and events are for members and their guests. Members can book private celebrations through the Clubhouse Manager or the member app, so a non-member would need a host to arrange one.
Rules to Know Before You Go
On the course, the club asks for proper golf attire and no metal spikes. Pool rules, guest limits and the detailed clubhouse dress code appear only in the members-only Rules and Regulations, so ask your host about them. One thing that’s public: the upper pool is adults only, and swimsuits are required.
Tournament History
The course has hosted real competition, which helps explain its reputation.
Professional golf
The Nationwide Tour’s Chattanooga Classic was played at Black Creek from 2003 to 2011, and it was renamed the Children’s Hospital Classic in 2011. Stein has said the event came for eight years, but those dates point to nine editions, so sources differ slightly.
Brandt Snedeker and Kyle Reifers share the tournament record of 262 (-26), set in 2006. Miguel Ángel Carballo won the final edition in 2011, which carried a $500,000 purse.
Amateur and junior golf
- 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur: Black Creek co-hosted stroke play with The Honors Course.
- Tennessee Golf Association: The club has hosted TGA championships, and Stein said in 2020 that it continues to host them at every level.
- High school and junior: It’s the home course of the Baylor School golf team. A PGA Jr. League team also ran there in 2025, at $409 per player with club membership required.
Several PGA Tour players played high school golf at Black Creek, including Luke List, Harris English, Keith Mitchell and Stephan Jaeger.
Is Black Creek Right for You? Reputation, Next Steps and Caveats
Black Creek earns strong marks for its architecture and setting. Whether it fits you depends mostly on how you plan to use it, and on a few answers the club doesn’t publish.
Reputation
User ratings run high: 18Birdies shows 4.9/5 from 90 reviews, Yelp has 5.0 from 4 reviews, and GolfPass has 4.8 from 4 reviews. Those samples are small and self-selected, so read them as a general mood and not a precise score.
Reviewers consistently praise the architecture, the setting, the staff and the clubhouse. A 2023 review called the guest fee “more than reasonable.” The recurring complaints are the front nine’s route through housing and soft conditions after wet weather. One independent reviewer awarded the course 1 Egg and called it arguably the first template course of the modern era.
Next Steps for Your Situation
- You want to join: Call Toby Browne, the Membership Director, at 423-822-2582. Get the fees in writing, and ask about tee-time availability given the planned community growth.
- You want to play once: Find a member to host you, or have your home club’s pro contact the pro shop.
- You’re buying a home in Black Creek: Get the HOA documents for the specific address. Confirm in writing that membership is optional for that section, and that no transfer or initiation fee applies.
- You live more than 100 miles away: Ask about National Membership, which is likely the lowest-cost route to full golf access.
- You want a single tournament round: Watch the TGA and USGA schedules for qualifiers held at Black Creek.
Contact Information
- Phone: 423-822-2582, which covers the main line and pro shop. Directories also list 423-821-5551 and 423-822-9875.
- Website: blackcreekliving.com/club
- Member login: members.blackcreekliving.com
- Social: Facebook and Instagram at @blackcreekchattanooga
Caveats to Keep in Mind
Several details in this guide come with limits:
- The club publishes no official pricing, so every dollar figure is an estimate, a forum claim or an isolated listing disclosure.
- Guest policy and dress code details sit behind the member portal and couldn’t be verified.
- Some ownership relationships, such as how Black Creek Farms LLC connects to the club, aren’t confirmed.
- Ratings, yardage and hours vary by site, so go with the club’s own information where you can.
- The nine-acre lake, the village, the extra pickleball courts and the roughly 1,200 additional homes are plans, not completions.
If you’re serious about joining, the written fee schedule is the document that settles most of these open questions. Ask for it first.
Conclusion
Black Creek Club pairs a Brian Silva course with a full social side, but you can only get in through membership or a member’s guest, and the club publishes no prices.
Whether it’s worth it depends on how you plan to use it, so match your situation to the right membership type or access route. Call 423-822-2582, ask for a written fee schedule, and decide from the real numbers.
