Shelby Golf Course

The City of Nashville established its first municipal golf course at Shelby Park in 1924, part of a broader progressive-era push to add recreation facilities to the expanding East Nashville park system. Contemporary municipal records and press accounts show that Chicago-based architect Tom Bendelow was retained to lay out the course and that construction commenced under his direction in the spring of 1924; the nine-hole facility opened that summer and was soon expanded to a full eighteen. Although many later summaries and casual listings credited Donald Ross with the design, the most substantive documentary thread links Ross to an earlier planning episode rather than to the course that opened. The Golfer’s Journal published photographs and analysis of a Ross drawing for Shelby Park preserved in Tennessee Golf Association files, then traced city actions indicating that Nashville hired Bendelow to design and build the municipal course instead. This line of evidence reframes Ross’s relationship to Shelby as planning only—his plan on paper, Bendelow’s course in the ground. The park itself expanded through the late 1920s to accommodate growing recreation, and a second nine-hole course, Riverview, opened on riverfront land in 1930. That separate facility later evolved into today’s VinnyLinks (a First Tee-programmed, 9-hole par-3 course opened in 2000). Local park histories sometimes conflate Riverview/VinnyLinks with the Shelby 18, but they are distinct footprints within Shelby Park and have separate developmental histories. Recent municipal investment in 2024–25 targeted Shelby’s existing 18 holes and clubhouse for turf upgrades, greens resurfacing, irrigation and drainage repairs, and modest building improvements. No record has surfaced of Ross returning to Nashville to supervise work on the built course, nor is there evidence that his plan informed later phases on the ground. Unique Design Characteristics Because Ross’s Shelby plan was not executed, there are no confirmed, surviving Ross-built features on the current 18 holes. Attributions in popular golf guides—e.g., generalized references to “Ross-style” small greens, diagonal bunkering, or false fronts—cannot be responsibly mapped to specific holes without construction drawings or field notes tying those elements to Ross. The present bunkering is sparse and utilitarian, consistent with a muni that has seen periodic maintenance renewals rather than historically rigorous restoration. Greens today are resurfaced Bermuda and appear largely the product of post-war maintenance eras and modern turf renovations rather than early-1920s contours attributable to a specific architect. Players will note a parkland routing that uses Shelby Park’s rolling topography to create variety in stance and lie. Fairways often tilt with the hillside, and the par-5 corridors are hemmed by mature tree lines typical of mid-century growth. Drainage channels and small creeklets influence strategy on several holes, but these features were shaped as part of municipal improvements rather than as evidence of Ross’s hand. Without authenticated Ross field work at Shelby, it would be misleading to single out particular greens or bunkers as “Ross originals.” Historical Significance Shelby’s significance in a Donald Ross directory is historiographic rather than architectural: the course illustrates how Ross’s widespread consulting and plan-making sometimes generated later misattribution when cities proceeded with different architects or revised budgets. The Golfer’s Journal’s independent Ross-versus-Bendelow analysis—supported by a 1924 Nashville Banner report identifying Bendelow as the city’s course architect—demonstrates how primary documents can overturn comfortable local lore. Within Nashville’s golf story, Shelby matters as the first municipal course and as part of a multi-facility park complex that later included Riverview/VinnyLinks; within Ross studies, it is a case study in the gap between plan authorship and constructed reality. Shelby has not been a venue for national championships, but it has had civic importance—producing local players and serving as an accessible public course on the city’s east side. In 2023–25 a public-private initiative led by the Tennessee Golf Foundation and Metro Nashville spotlighted Shelby’s centennial and funneled capital dollars into course renewal, ensuring continued public access. Public statements during that process sometimes repeated the traditional Ross credit; the documentary record suggests that credit should be qualified as “planned by Ross; built by Bendelow.” Current Condition / Integrity Routing. The current 18-hole routing at Shelby reflects municipal evolution rather than adherence to a documented 1924 “master plan” from Ross. Absent primary-source hole-by-hole drawings, the working assumption is that Bendelow’s 1924 nine and subsequent municipal additions established the corridors, with later tree growth and park infrastructure narrowing playing widths. Greens and bunkers. Greens were replanted to Bermuda dwarf in 2006 and resurfaced again during the 2024 centennial improvements, which focused on turf health and playability rather than historic restoration. Bunkering is limited in number and comparatively shallow. No source ties the present green shapes or bunker placements to Ross; they appear to be the product of municipal stewardship across decades. Clubhouse and facilities. The clubhouse received interior upgrades (lighting, flooring, counters) during the 2024 works. Practice facilities remain modest—a putting green and small warm-up area—befitting a land-tight park course. Landscape. The course’s character today is defined by mature canopy and rolling parkland; tree lines have likely altered original widths and angles over time. Any meaningful restoration of early-era strategic character (whether Bendelow’s or an unrealized Ross vision) would require archival plans and early aerials to guide clearing and hazard work. Bottom line on integrity. There is no verifiable Ross fabric in the ground at Shelby. Its integrity as a Ross work is therefore non-extant; as a historic Nashville muni, however, Shelby retains its social and recreational significance, now underpinned by fresh investment to keep the course playable and accessible. Sources & Notes Metropolitan Nashville Parks & Recreation, “Shelby Golf Course” official page. Basic facility description; confirms 1924 opening and 18-hole public status; notes Bermuda dwarf greens in 2006. Shelby Golf Course scorecard (Metro Nashville PDF). Establishes current par (72) and yardage (6,079) from back tees; provides hole lengths. The Golfer’s Journal, “Reunderstanding Ross, Part II: Ross vs. Bendelow—Shelby Park” (2024). Presents photographs of Ross’s Shelby drawing preserved in TGA files; argues the city hired Bendelow to design/build the municipal course that opened in 1924, not Ross; discusses frequent misattribution. Nashville Banner (newspapers.com clip). Contemporary report identifying “golf course architect Tom Bendelow” beginning work on the public course at Shelby Park, spring 1924—primary-era corroboration of Bendelow’s field role. Friends of Shelby Park & Bottoms – History pages. Park development chronology; notes 1924 opening of the municipal course and a second nine in 1932 on riverfront land later occupied by VinnyLinks; also provides broader park context. VinnyLinks (Metro & TGF pages) and HMDB entry. Establishes that Riverview (opened 1930) evolved into today’s VinnyLinks (par-3 course opened in 2000), clarifying that Riverview/VinnyLinks is a separate footprint from Shelby’s 18. Local reporting on 2024 centennial improvements. Coverage of Shelby’s temporary closure and reopening with course/clubhouse upgrades in the centennial window; useful for present-day condition.