VinnyLinks at Shelby Golf Course

VinnyLinks occupies the riverside part of Shelby Park, beside the 18-hole Shelby Golf Course. Its dedication plaque says the nine-hole course was originally named Riverview and opened in 1930, was renovated in 1967 and given a new clubhouse in 1972, closed after the 1998 season, and reopened on 9 May 2001 as a First Tee facility, with the entire course rebuilt and a new learning center and clubhouse. The $1.3 million project was a partnership of the Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation and the Tennessee Golf Foundation, and the course is named for Vince Gill. The plaque gives the course architect as "Donald Ross ‘Inspired’", the building architect as Earl Swensson and Associates and the contractor as Greenlinks Construction. Metro Parks dates the opening to 2000 and describes a nine-hole, 1,210-yard par-3 course programmed by the First Tee of Tennessee.

Ross’s link to the park is older than the course. Ross visited Shelby Park and mapped out a course before Nashville’s first municipal course opened in 1924, but the city built that course in a different part of the park to a layout The Tennessean credited to Tom Bendelow (Sven Nilsen, citing The Tennessean of 1924). No source places the course Ross mapped on the Riverview ground. In April 2004 a Golf Club Atlas poster reported that the new First Tee course "purportedly incorporates the design principals of Donald J. Ross whose long lost plans for the nine hole course there were recently discovered". The plaque’s "inspired" credit and the Ross Society listing appear to rest on those plans.

Ross’s Design Here

Ross did not build this course, and nothing on the ground is documented as his. The 2001 course is a complete rebuild, and whether it used the rediscovered plans directly, adapted them, or only borrowed their principles is not recorded. In 2024 another Golf Club Atlas poster asked whether the story that Ross plans found in storage were used at VinnyLinks was true; nobody in that thread confirmed it.

Historical Significance

The Donald Ross Society’s directory (January 2026) lists VinnyLinks at Shelby Golf Course as a nine-hole Ross course dated 2001, with Tufts Archives material. Riverview was where Lou Graham, the 1975 U.S. Open champion, first played, and since 2001 VinnyLinks has been the home of the First Tee of Tennessee, a short course built for junior golf.

Changes Since Ross

Ross built nothing here, so this covers the course’s own history. Riverview opened as nine holes in 1930, was renovated in 1967 and gained a clubhouse in 1972. It closed after 1998 and was rebuilt as VinnyLinks, reopening in May 2001. In September 2023 Metro Nashville and the Tennessee Golf Foundation announced a $2 million-plus project for Shelby and VinnyLinks; the Tennessee Lookout reported that the work at VinnyLinks would be dedicated to expanding tee boxes. No source after 2023 says whether that work was done.

Uncertainties

• The opening year. The plaque gives 1930 for Riverview; Friends of Shelby Park & Bottoms says another nine opened in 1932 on the ground now occupied by VinnyLinks, and Nilsen says the Shelby course had 18 holes by 1931. Whether Riverview was a separate course or the second nine of Shelby is unclear.

• The rebuild. Metro dates VinnyLinks to 2000; the plaque and the Ross Society give 2001. The plaque’s date is the reopening.

• Ross’s plans. No source identifies the drawings found around 2004, says where in the park they were meant for, or shows how closely the 2001 course follows them.

• The 2024 work. The planned tee expansion is reported only as a plan.

Sources & Notes

1. VinnyLinks dedication plaque, at the course (photographed 2026). Riverview 1930; renovated 1967; clubhouse 1972; closed after 1998; reopened 9 May 2001 as a First Tee facility, completely rebuilt; $1.3 million; Metro Parks and the Tennessee Golf Foundation; named for Vince Gill; "Course Architect – Donald Ross ‘Inspired’"; Earl Swensson and Associates; Greenlinks Construction, LLC.

2. Metro Nashville Parks, VinnyLinks Golf Course. https://www.nashville.gov/departments/parks/golf-courses/vinnylinks-golf-course Opened 2000; nine-hole 1,210-yard par-3 course; open March–November; First Tee of Tennessee; Lou Graham learned at Riverview, which became VinnyLinks.

3. Donald Ross Society, Directory of Donald Ross Golf Courses, January 2026. https://www.rosssociety.org/resources/Documents/Ross%20Course%20List/Final%20Ross%20Directory%20of%20Courses%20Jan%202026%20website.pdf VinnyLinks at Shelby Golf Course: nine holes, 2001, Tufts information yes.

4. Golf Club Atlas, "First Tee Courses", Mike Hendren, Apr 2004. https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,12602.msg215173.html Ross’s long-lost plans for a nine-hole course rediscovered; the First Tee course said to incorporate his design principles.

5. Sven Nilsen, "Reunderstanding Ross", reply #88, Golf Club Atlas, 26 Feb 2018, citing The Tennessean of 29 Mar and 26 Oct 1924. https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,65481.msg1565872.html Ross mapped a course for a different part of the park; Bendelow designed the 1924 course; 18 holes by 1931.

6. Golf Club Atlas, "The American Muni", Nigel Islam, 22 Mar 2024. https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,71706.msg1746631.html Asks whether Ross plans found in storage were used at VinnyLinks.

7. Friends of Shelby Park & Bottoms, History. https://www.friendsofshelby.org/history Another nine opened in 1932, on ground now occupied by VinnyLinks.

8. Sam Stockard, "Metro, Tennessee Golf Foundation to put $2M-plus into Shelby, Vinny Links courses", Tennessee Lookout, 8 Sep 2023. https://tennesseelookout.com/2023/09/08/metro-tennessee-golf-foundation-to-put-2m-plus-into-shelby-vinny-links-courses/ Work at Vinny Links to be dedicated to expanding tee boxes.

9. NewsChannel 5, "Mayor Cooper to give $2 million towards golf course renovations at Shelby Park and VinnyLinks", 7 Sep 2023. https://www.newschannel5.com/news/mayor-cooper-to-give-2-million-towards-golf-course-renovations-at-shelby-park-and-vinnylinks