Turtle Point Yacht & Country Club

Overview: Turtle Point Yacht & Country Club occupies a Tennessee River setting in Killen, where wooded ground, water and broad views give the Robert Trent Jones Sr. design its identity. The 18-hole course measures 7,133 yards at par 72 and uses the river landscape as a recurring strategic and visual element. Tree-lined corridors are balanced by more open holes, while the changing relationship with the water affects club selection and the preferred line into several greens. The result is a substantial private-club course whose character comes from the combination of river scenery, mature vegetation and Jones’s clear strategic shaping.

History: George McBurney became Turtle Point’s first president in 1961, when construction began on the clubhouse, marina, golf course and first tennis court. The club contacted Robert Trent Jones Sr. to design the course, and the clubhouse held its grand-opening celebration on December 17 of that year. Turtle Point later hosted the SEC Championship, the Alabama State Amateur, the Southern Amateur and other notable events. Its history is closely tied to the founding project and to the way the club combined golf, boating and tennis around the Tennessee River.

Did You Know? Turtle Point’s founding project included a clubhouse, marina, golf course and tennis court at the same time. The club was planned as a complete river-oriented country-club setting rather than as a golf course added to an existing property.