The Shoals lies between the Wheeler and Wilson dams on the Tennessee River. Wheeler Dam is named in honor of General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler - the only Confederate General to attain the same rank later in the United States Army. General Wheeler's intense desire to show that Southerners could be counted on as citizens of the U.S. prompted him to volunteer, at age 62, for service in the Spanish-American War.
The east championship course at The Shoals is named after General Wheeler. Fighting Joe was the first Trail course to break 8,000 yards, measuring 8,092 yards from the Black tees. It's long, really long, and this links style course is simply good straight-forward golf. Some say the spectacular 17th hole is the signature hole on the course, but the 18th green overlooking Wilson Lake on the Tennessee River will distract you with its beauty, if not its treachery.
The second course, The Schoolmaster (named for President Woodrow Wilson who was responsible for getting Wilson Dam built on the Tennessee River and who was known as "The Schoolmaster of Politics"), may be tougher than Fighting Joe. This tree lined course is traditional golf with every hole keeping with the natural topography along the Tennessee River. It's wooded, rolling, and spectacular.
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is the largest golf course construction project ever attempted. The New York Times calls it "...some of the best public golf on Earth."
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