Integrity Golf Company has announced the company is now overseeing golf operations at Country Club of Bristol in northeastern Tennessee.
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The long-term lease agreement, effective July 1, helps broaden Integrity Golf’s footprint in Tennessee and represents a new era for this historic property that dates to 1894. Earlier in the week, the club was acquired by Bristol Preservation LLC, a local Tri-Cities Tennessee group controlled by well-known local businessmen Mitch Walters and Roscoe Bowman. Longtime real estate professional Tim Carter also is part of Bristol Preservation LLC.
“The whole idea behind this effort is to preserve this golf course and keep Tennessee’s oldest club alive,” said Walters, whose Friendship Family of Dealerships is one of the leading automotive companies in the Southeast. “We didn’t want it closed and turned into a major development because you can never build it back once that happens. Integrity Golf gives us the opportunity to do that.
“This isn’t something that’s going to be good just for us. It’s really great for the entire community. Great for the Tri-Cities region. Great for golf and for the state of Tennessee too.”
The Country Club of Bristol is not only considered the birthplace of organized golf in Tennessee, it’s one of the longest-running clubs in America. The current 18-hole course was built in 1958 by Morristown, Tenn., golf course architect A.G. McKay on land which was then known as the Gray and Bentley properties.
Titles to the Gray family tracts date to land grants issued in 1800 by the Commonwealth of Virginia, and were signed by then-Virginia Governor and future U.S. President James Monroe.
Integrity Golf president/CEO Gene Garrote and his Orlando-based organization are no strangers to the Tri-Cities market. The company also manages Crockett Ridge Golf Course in nearby Kingsport, Tenn., and Integrity Golf Chairman William “Jack” Davis II has family ties to nearby Coeburn, Va., and Integrity Golf’s accounting office is located in nearby Wise, Va.
“We look forward to partnering with the Bristol Preservation team,” Garrote said. “We’re eager to start sharing our expertise and local knowledge with this landmark property. This is a beautiful golf course with a rich history and we’re excited about the future viability of this Tri-Cities treasure.”
