Cherokee Valley Celebrates Connections to Local Golf Industry

In 2017 when Cherokee Valley owner Matt Jennings and his uncle Ted Levine were looking to buy a golf course, they considered acquisitions in a handful of metro areas in the Midwest and Southeast. It didn’t take long for Greenville to stand out among the other options.

“This is an amazing place for golf, to do business and to raise a family,” Jennings says. “From the onset we wanted to be part of this community.”

You see, Greenville isn’t just a good golf city; it’s a great one. It isn’t home to a host of bigtime PGA TOUR players like Southeast Florida. Nor does it have big name golf resorts like Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head and Charleston.

But the connections to the golf industry in this region run deep. There’s a wildly popular (Korn Ferry Tour) professional golf tournament, the BMW Charity Pro-Am. TOUR players Bill Haas (and father Jay), Lucas Glover and William McGirt live here, albeit quietly.

For golfers, the area offers an array of value-packed public venues (like Furman Golf Club), an innovative and inviting family-focused club (Cherokee Valley) and time-honored private clubs (Greenville Country Club and Thornblade).

And in the ultimate sign of golf legitimacy these days, a new TopGolf opened off Pelham Road near the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport earlier this year. While it didn’t make as big a splash, popular golf instruction and custom club fitter GOLFTEC recently opened a branch around the corner from TopGolf.

Following the tried-and-true “think globally, act locally” mantra, Jennings and the team at Cherokee Valley have made it their mission to form strong relationships with other homegrown golf brands.

“One of our goals is to forge strategic partnerships with golf and non-golf businesses in the area to better serve our members and customers,” Jennings says.

Many of these partnerships are obvious. Others are “hidden in plain sight.”

But as you make your way around the golf course, practice range and golf shop, keeps your eyes peeled for these local golf offerings.

If you’ve perused the clothing racks in the golf shop you’ve likely come upon Southern Tide and its iconic Skip Jack logoed apparel. Or, maybe you’ve spotted Jennings and associate director of operations Lauren Landreth rocking the premier coastal brand’s performance golf polos and outerwear. Founded and based in Greenville, Southern Tide has carved out a niche in the resort and collegiate golf categories. Its Instagram account is a must-follow, with posts from SEC and ACC tailgate parties, sugar sand beaches and pristine golf courses. And keep an eye out for the brand in 2020. In one of the most perfect golf marriages of all-time, Southern Tide was named the official “Style Sponsor” of the PGA TOUR’s RBC Heritage at Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island in April.