"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Stan Crawley

May 27, 2003

If it were not for bad luck, Danny Tribble, Jr. and his Hickory Valley golf course would have had no luck the last three years.

Business was good three years ago when Tribble was approached by Hunt Gilliland and the First Tee group about purchasing the Hickory Valley course. Tribble wasn't looking to sell, but like any good businessman decided to listen.

Word got out in the community that the course was going to be sold.

"And people just quit coming to play,'' Tribble said.

Eventually, the negotiations failed and the First Tee folks pulled out to look elsewhere. They are currently looking at an area near Alton Park.

So Tribble went back to work trying to keep the golf course in good condition and hoping the golfers would return.

Almost immediately, Brainerd Baptist Church officials approached Tribble about purchasing the course. Unlike First Tee, which would have kept the property as a golf facility, the church wanted to build a school with sports facilities.

Word about the negotiations appeared on the church website, and parents were notified that the property would be purchased.

However, the option to purchase the golf course expired in April 2002. Brainerd Baptist eventually purchased the property of Hamilton Christian School.

"Everybody thought the course was going to be sold,'' Tribble said. "Business dropped off even more.''

Tribble forgot about selling the property and went back to work trying to keep the course, which has been in his family since 1969, in good working condition.

With business still not back to normal, bad luck once again found its way to the golf course.

State road officials closed Hickory Valley Road just south of the golf course to build a new bridge. The road was shut off in October of 2002 and just recently re-opened.

With the road closed, it made it more difficult for golfers to find the golf course.

Tribble thought his luck might be changing when the road opened, but the same week the flood of 2003 struck Chattanooga and Hickory Valley Golf Club was suddenly under water.

"We had been under water before, but we had never had water go over No. 9 green,'' Tribble said. "We felt the reason for that was the work that had been done on the bridge. The bridge carries twice as much water as the old bridge and they lowered the bank.''

Two weeks have passed since the flooding and Tribble has his course back in good condition.

"We're going to have to do some repairs because of the flooding,'' Tribble said. "But for now, the course is very playable.''

Hickory Valley, a public course, has always been one of the best in the city. The Tribble family has always taken pride in keeping the course in good condition and welcomes beginners and veteran golfers.

"We'd just like to get back to where we have the same volume of players we had three years ago before all the talk started about us selling the course,'' Tribble said.

So as June 2003 approaches, there are no negotiations for the purchase of Hickory Valley Golf Club. Hickory Valley Road is open and hopefully the flooding is over.

The only thing Tribble is looking for is golfers. Lots of golfers. We wish him luck.

(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)

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