The Keep at McLemore is a bold, modern championship layout perched cliffside on Lookout Mountain. It brings visually stunning golf and thoughtful architecture to the Southeast, offering a regionally elite experience that’s already racking up national awards.
The Keep at McLemore is a mountaintop marvel, leveraging cliff-edge landforms and sweeping elevation into golf with both spectacle and nuance. Bill Bergin and Rees Jones created a course that flows along the plateau, using broad vistas, rugged outcrops, and strategic risk-reward to ensure no two holes play the same. With generous fairways set against dizzying drop-offs and expansive, thoughtfully contoured greens, every round is a blend of challenge and unforgettable drama. The routing traces the mountain’s rim for multiple holes, maximizing scenic impact without sacrificing walkability thanks to intelligent transition points and varied pacing.
Bergin’s lead vision combines Rees Jones’s championship instincts with a sense of adventure—playing golf at The Keep is a true journey along the mountain’s edge.
The first hole at The Keep immediately introduces you to the grand scale—450 yards of gently downhill, exposed fairway with the plateau to your right and a sweeping opening view. It’s an instant tone-setter high above McLemore Cove.
A well-placed drive is crucial; avoid being over-aggressive, as the mountain wind can exaggerate misses and leave awkward stances into a deftly contoured green.
Stray tee balls risk tough lies or even finding cliffside trouble, especially when wind whips across the plateau.
Excellent turf with room for further maturing in first seasons; expect well-maintained, firm mountain surfaces.
High-end mountain-resort exclusivity with a focus on golf-centric camaraderie and cliffside spectacle.
Pack layers—temperatures and wind can swing quickly atop the plateau, especially in spring and fall.
Though walkable, the mountain terrain and elevation shifts can be demanding—hydration and good footwear are a must.
Prepare to solve different problems on every hole; conservative lines and intelligent layups are often rewarded over sheer bravado.
Rees Jones predicts 'could host a major' during U.S. Open coverage
The Keep at McLemore completes construction
The Keep officially opens for play
Named Sports Illustrated Best New Course
Debuts at No. 25 on Golfweek’s Top 200 Resort Courses
Runner-up for Golf Digest Best New Course in the U.S.
When Bergin and Jones first scouted the site, they insisted on routing holes steps from Lookout Mountain’s edge, transforming extreme topography into head-turning golf drama. Five holes now perch on the clifftop, delivering true jaw-droppers.
At the 2021 U.S. Open, Rees Jones declared The Keep’s stage so dramatic it ‘could host a major’—a remark that set expectations sky-high long before opening day.
Within a year of opening, The Keep swept major ‘Best New’ awards and soared to No. 2 among Georgia’s public-access courses—an unheard-of ascent for a modern resort mountain layout.
Five holes skirt the cliff edge, with uninterrupted mountain panoramas.
The closing hole is regularly cited as one of the best finishing holes in American resort golf.
Within 12 months of opening, The Keep was a runner-up for Golf Digest's Best New Course and broke into Golfweek’s Top 25 Resort Courses.
Ribbon tees allow the course to stretch over 7,700 yards or play much shorter, adapting to conditions.
Sister course—spectacular routing and cliff views
Accessible, classic public golf in Chattanooga
Cult favorite with creative architecture, 40 minutes away
Elite Donald Ross design (with access)
Highly ranked regional modern club (if available)
Chattanooga or directly at McLemore Resort for best access and mountain views
Courses with the most similar DNA profile — matched by deviation shape across all eight playing characteristics.
Why it matches: If The Keep at McLemore is your kind of course, Poipu Bay Golf Course is worth a look because it makes the landscape part of the experience.
Why it matches: If The Keep at McLemore is your kind of course, Snake River Sporting Club is worth a look because it makes the landscape part of the experience.
Why it matches: If The Keep at McLemore is your kind of course, Coral Canyon Golf Course is worth a look because it makes the landscape part of the experience.
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