Belle Meade Country Club began as the Nashville Golf and Country Club in 1901, then located on Harding Pike. Men’s and Women’s golf tournaments began immediately and were accompanied by lavish dances and parties, establishing a thriving social scene. At the annual meeting on November 13, 1911, club president Frank O. Watts recommended relocating the club to Belle Meade in order to “have the biggest and best golf and country club in the South,” and noted that this would be the most important step in the club’s history. Later that evening, the move was unanimously approved. In 1916, the club was relocated to its current home on Belle Meade Boulevard. These new grounds were once part of the Belle Meade Plantation, a prominent thoroughbred horse farm of 2,500 acres which surrounded a spectacular antebellum mansion. The limestone rock face to the left of the Hole #4 tee box was once the plantation’s quarry. The Club’s fairways then served as grazing pastures for the famed Iroquois racehorse and other top thoroughbreds raised on the property. Richland Creek, which runs through the course, once provided hydropower for the plantation’s grist and saw mills.

On June 7, 1921, club president Walter Keith and the directors voted to change the name from Nashville Golf and Country Club to Belle Meade Country Club to reflect the new location on the former plantation and celebrated stud farm. Throughout the years, Belle Meade Country Club has gradually adapted to stay attuned to the changing times while maintaining its modest and historic foundation. Not only does this club take pride in being one of the premier private clubs in America, it takes pride in continuing to nurture multigenerational friendships and serve as the social and recreational epicenter in our members’ lives.

Via Belle Meade CC