Andrew Green's First Original Design: Firefly Golf Course

From Restoration Master to Original Visionary

"Having a raw piece of land is a tremendous privilege," Green reflects on his first original design. "Early in my career, there were very limited opportunities to create a golf course from scratch. I had to hone my skills by renovating and protecting golf courses that were already well established. While there were times it was frustrating, it prepared me for moments like this."

That preparation has been extensive and impressive. Green's restoration of East Lake Golf Club, unveiled at the 2024 Tour Championship, has been widely praised for restoring the course's historic Donald Ross character while enhancing playability for the world's best golfers. His work at Interlachen Country Club earned him Golf Digest's coveted Best U.S. Remodel Award, while his transformations of Oak Hill for the 2023 PGA Championship and Inverness for the 2021 Solheim Cup have set new standards for championship venue preparation.

But Firefly is different. Here, Green isn't working within the constraints of historical preservation or the footprint of a golden-age master. Instead, he's working with more than 700 acres of rolling Tennessee countryside that he describes with the enthusiasm of an artist who's finally found the perfect canvas.

The Land That Golf Was Meant For

"I absolutely love the ground at Firefly," Green says, his excitement palpable when discussing the property's natural features. "It almost feels as if it was destined to be here. The clubhouse is well set on a sprawling high point that allows for access and play in multiple directions."

The topography reads like a golf architect's dream: rolling hills that provide natural elevation changes, a winding creek that offers dramatic visual and strategic elements, and a tremendous rock formation along the 14th hole that the course plays alongside rather than around. It's the kind of varied terrain that allows for what Green calls "one-of-a-kind golf shots" — the hallmark of memorable golf course design.

"The front nine loops out onto a flatter portion of the property, then turns and returns through a soft valley that truly sets itself apart from the rest of the layout," Green explains. "The back nine borders part of the front before climbing onto a wonderful high point that is both stunning and the setting for a series of amazing holes."

This natural variety has allowed Green to create what he believes will be a course that feels like it has "existed for decades" despite being built from scratch — the ultimate compliment for any golf course architect.

Golden Age Principles Meet Modern Innovation

Green's design philosophy has always centered on what he calls "Golden Age principles" — the time-tested concepts pioneered by architects like Donald Ross, Alister MacKenzie and A.W. Tillinghast in the early 20th century. These principles emphasize strategic options over penal design, natural ground movement over artificial features, and variety in shot values that keep golfers engaged from first tee to final putt.

"I love the Golden Age principles," Green explains. "They are time-tested and adored by golfers, whether they recognize them inherently or not. The ability to play over a piece of ground with only minor manipulation by the bulldozer creates one-of-a-kind golf shots."

At Firefly, these principles manifest in several key ways. The course will feature greens with interesting shapes and contours that allow the course to play differently every day, making hole location selection crucial.

Bunkers and hazards are positioned to make players think strategically rather than simply flanking the line of play. Width paired with rolling ground puts a premium on course management while still giving higher handicap golfers room to maneuver.

Perhaps most importantly, Green has designed Firefly to offer "a wide range of shot values and distances" that will make golfers "hit every club in the bag and remain so engaged that they are ready to play again the minute the round is over."

A Course for Every Golfer

One of the most impressive aspects of Firefly's design is its scalability. With tees ranging from more than 7,300 yards down to 4,860 yards, the course can challenge scratch golfers while remaining enjoyable for beginners. This flexibility reflects Green's adherence to a favorite Donald Ross quote: "The ideal course is one that presents a test of golf for the everyday golfer and first-class player."

"We want the best golfers to be tested — so we can push the tees back, and we have greens that allow for exciting hole locations," Green notes. "If the club wants to host an event, we have that covered. At the same time, we also have the ability to set up the course in a more modest manner — where we still achieve great variety, but make it more enjoyable for the higher handicap golfer."

This philosophy extends beyond just tee placement. The course routing itself tells a story, with what Green describes as a unique opening stretch featuring holes 2-5 that includes "two par-3s and two par-5s — a unique set of circumstances, but ones that are truly intriguing." The closing stretch of holes 14-18 promises to "test every single aspect of your game" with opportunities to score balanced against places where even good golfers might struggle.

More Than Just 18 Holes

Firefly's golf offering extends well beyond the championship 18-hole course. Green has also designed a nine-hole short course that he envisions as much more than a beginner's layout or quick-play option.

"With the short course, I wanted to give players an opportunity to challenge themselves with every scoring shot the game of golf offers," Green explains. "This means the tees allow most players to hit every iron in their bag, while the green surrounds provide unlimited chances to recover, practice and push yourself."

The facility will also feature extensive practice amenities, including a driving range, three short game greens and what Green describes as "a massive putting green." For those with limited time, these practice facilities ensure that even a 30-minute visit can be productive and enjoyable.

Perhaps most significantly, Firefly plans to implement a walking and caddie program — a nod to golf's traditional roots that's becoming increasingly rare in modern course design. This commitment to the walking game reflects Green's belief in golf as both physical activity and mental engagement, where the rhythm of walking between shots enhances the strategic thinking that great golf course design demands.

Learning from East Lake

Green's recent work at East Lake Golf Club has provided valuable insights that he's applying to Firefly. The Atlanta course, which hosts the season-ending Tour Championship, presented unique challenges in restoring Donald Ross' original vision while meeting the demands of modern professional golf.

"East Lake is a testament to using the ground you have to make the golf course play in unique ways," Green reflects. "It is a very simple piece of land, with each nine leaning toward the lake. Ross used this in an ingenious manner, routing today's front nine east and west and making No. 8 the key hole that returns to the clubhouse."

At Firefly, Green has applied similar routing principles to much more complex terrain. "The topography and shape of the parcel are much more irregular, but the routing still has to journey out and back appropriately to provide returning nines. We used a series of holes with differing lengths to make this work. Nothing feels congested, yet the golf course fits together seamlessly, with things close by and quaint in a way that echoes East Lake."

A Community Built Around Golf

Firefly represents more than just a golf course — it's a comprehensive luxury community that will eventually include 407 single-family homes with prices starting at $2.5 million on home sites ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million. The development, a partnership between Storied Development and Wheelock Street Capital, is designed to create what Mark Enderle of Storied calls "the premier club community in the Nashville area."

The community's amenities extend far beyond golf, including a full-service clubhouse, fitness center, family club with adult and children's pools, bowling alley, golf simulators and a racquet club featuring tennis courts and indoor pickleball facilities. These amenities are designed to create what the developers call "a comprehensive lifestyle experience within the serene Tennessee countryside."

Already, 60 Founder memberships have been secured, with Encore memberships now available for those seeking priority access to this exclusive community. The strong early interest reflects both the scarcity of private golf options in the rapidly growing Nashville area and the anticipation surrounding Green's first original design.

The Architect's Evolution

For Green, Firefly represents the culmination of lessons learned from every major project in his career. "I feel every project I work on builds upon the wealth of knowledge gained from the prior ones," he explains. "There are elements of each project I've done woven into Firefly. It's not the 'greatest hits' album of my career, but rather the collection of golf shots I value, have learned from and embrace as great golf."

This evolution is evident in Green's approach to sustainability, strategic design and player experience. His work at Congressional Country Club introduced bold sustainable design concepts, while his restoration of Inverness created strategic, engaging layouts that produced dramatic competitive moments. At Oak Hill, he demonstrated his ability to prepare courses for major championship play while maintaining their essential character.

"I also feel there are things I've seen and experienced that I want to improve upon compared to the places I've previously worked," Green adds. "And because I haven't been constrained in any way here, I hope I've been able to do exactly that."

Looking Toward 2026

With construction well underway and completion scheduled for the end of 2025, anticipation for Firefly's opening continues to build. The course is expected to begin member play in spring 2026, marking not just the debut of Green's first original design but potentially the arrival of a new standard-bearer for golf course architecture in the Southeast.

"I can't wait for golfers to see what we have created at Firefly," Green says. "I feel the routing, property and elements fit together in such a flowing manner that it will feel as if this place has existed for decades."

For an architect whose career has been defined by honoring the past while enhancing the present, Firefly represents something entirely new: the chance to create a future classic from the ground up. Given Green's track record and the natural beauty of the Tennessee countryside he's working with, that future may arrive sooner than anyone expects.

The Bottom Line

When Firefly opens for play in summer 2026, it will mark a significant moment in American golf course architecture. Andrew Green, who has spent his career proving that great golf courses can be both historically respectful and strategically modern, will finally have the chance to show what he can create when given complete creative freedom.

"As for my legacy, I'm not sure how to fully define that," Green concludes with characteristic humility. "I hope people simply enjoy Firefly — a place where all kinds of golfers can have a great time on a unique course that pushes on tradition while still paying respectful homage to the Golden Age of golf course design that I value so deeply."

If his restoration work is any indication, that hope is likely to become reality. And for golfers in the Nashville area and beyond, that reality can't come soon enough.