18th Hole at the Honors Course (USGA/Russell Kirk Photo)

The Honors Course, located just outside of Chattanooga, TN, in Ooltewah, will play 6,836 yards as a par 72. The course recently underwent major renovations with the assistance of Gil Hanse and has hosted five USGA championships previous to these changes, including the 1991 U.S. Amateur.

While the yardage is nothing unusual for players of this caliber, a few notable holes stand out on the scorecard. Hole #7, a 408-yard par 4, features a visually intimidating tee shot and approach with water running down the entire left side. Coupled with a beautifully designed green complex and bunker guarding the front right, it will be critical for players to leave their approach shots in the proper position, a theme throughout the course. One or two holes are expected to be pushed up specifically during match play to encourage risk-reward short par 4s.

While finals qualifying has not yet concluded, the mowing of the wispy secondary rough has. The USGA typically stretches beyond 7,000 yards for this setup, however with the Honors Course’s playing shorter it will rely on a defense of penalizing rough and greens expected to be rolling at a 12 and gaining speed through match play.

At stake for the eventual champion is a 10-year exemption to the tournament, in addition to the 2025 U.S. Senior Open, 2025 and 2026 U.S. Amateur Championships, and 2024 and 2025 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championships.  

The Honors Course, having hosted numerous elite amateur tournaments over the years, will lend an advantage to at least 24 players who participated in the John T. Lupton Memorial earlier this year. Players like Steve Johnson, who qualified at his home course in July at Lookout Mountain. Johnson was the beneficiary of divine intervention in 2020 when COVID-19 forced a reschedule of the U.S. Senior Amateur.  Johnson would not have been age-eligible to participate at the time at the event less than an hour from his home. The change in schedule allowed for qualifying through his home club and tee it up at the end of August.

Field Preview

Let’s take a look at some others we know are teeing it up as the final qualifiers conclude. In total, 29 of the AmateurGolf.com Top 100 Seniors were exempt from qualifying for the tournament. Notable players include:

Bob Royak – #1 in AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings. Coming off an incredible 2023, Royak won three major events: the Jones Cup Senior, North & South Senior, and the Lupton Senior Invitational. He also made the semifinals of last year’s edition of the U.S. Senior Amateur.

Doug Hanzel – #1 in AmateurGolf.com Super Senior Rankings. Hanzel, 67, from Savannah, GA, recently won the Golfweek Pacific Northwest Senior by 5 strokes and the 2023 Canadian Senior Amateur. Hanzel also won the 2013 edition of the U.S. Senior Amateur.

Rusty Strawn – #4 in AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings. Strawn is exempt for years to come thanks to his win at the 2022 U.S. Senior Amateur at The Kittansett Club, where he defeated Doug Hanzel.

Jon Lindstrom – #5 in AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings. Lindstrom recently won the Golfweek Senior Division National Championship and had top 5 finishes at the Golfweek Senior Amateur and Trans-Mississippi Senior.

Randy Haag – #2 in AmateurGolf.com Super Senior Rankings. With two wins in his last two events, including the Senior Masters, Haag comes in with plenty of momentum. He also made the final 16 in last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur.

Miles McConnell – #7 in AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings. McConnell has not finished outside of the top 10 in any of his AmateurGolf.com ranked starts in 2024. With wins at the Gasparilla Senior and Gateway Senior Invitational, McConnell seeks to improve upon making match play at the 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur.

Mike Combs – #8 in AmateurGolf.com Senior Rankings. Combs, another Savannah, GA resident, is coming off a win at the John T. Lupton Senior, also hosted at the Honors Course.

Jack Hall – #3 in AmateurGolf.com Super Senior Rankings. Hall earned his #3 ranking through a plethora of top 10 finishes in 2024. He notched two runner-up finishes at the Georgia Senior Match Play Championship and C.B. MacDonald Invitational.

Admission is free of charge, and spectators are encouraged to attend. The committee expects nearly 400 volunteers to assist in all aspects of tournament management. Interested in volunteering? Learn more by visiting the registration portal.

Future USGA tournaments the Honors Course is set to host include the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2031 U.S. Amateur.