Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain's big changes earn the Environmental Stewardship Award

CROSSVILLE, Tenn. — With the sod seams no longer visible and the sun rising over the course at Cumberland Mountain State Park, it wasn’t just a new day dawning, it was a new era.

Scott Overly, the superintendent for Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain since 2023, oversaw a transformation of the golf course that vastly improved all aspects of the operation. From water conservation, financial savings and playability for golfers.

The big change is switching grass types in the fairways, tee boxes and areas around the green. They converted 28 acres of cool-season turf to a warm-weather Bermudagrass.

“We’re going to be using less water, less fungicides than we were in the previous years and you’re already starting to see those changes,” Overly said.

Before the switch to Bermudagrass last year, Overly said the course used 13.5 million gallons of water on the course. During the grow-in period for the new turf, the course used 11 million gallons of water, already a 2.5 million gallon decrease. In 2025, with the new Bermudagrass fully rooted, Overly expects to use even less water, saving both resources and money throughout the year.

In addition to using less water, the hardier Bermudagrass requires fewer fungicides, which means more positive impacts to the environment and the course’s resources. Overly said he estimates they’ll save between $45,000 and $55,000 a year in fungicides alone.

The change comes after reviewing climate data over the past 10 years. A combination of warming temperatures and a shift in when rain fall occurred, made it incredibly difficult to keep the course in the best possible condition.

“Cool season grass is labor intensive to keep alive during the summer months,” Overly said. “Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain was one of the few State Park courses that was wall-to-wall cool-season grass. Switching to warm season is going to make it aesthetically more pleasing and playability dramatically better.”

One of the benefits of freeing up labor from constantly keeping the cool-season grass watered is the addition of more native areas. The course has made a conscious effort to introduce more native areas to provide more habitats for local wildlife. One of those initiatives includes planting sunflowers in the native areas to help increase the population of local polinator populations like bees and butterflies.

It comes down to why golfers choose to play at a Tennessee State Park course over one in a developed area.

“People want to see wildlife on the golf course here,” Overly said. “There are no houses out here, folks want to embrace the nature around them.”

All of the changes should continue to produce a positive impact for years to come, especially as the new Bermudagrass settles in.

“I think you’ll see a continued savings in water usage and chemical usage, which will benefit the environment more and more,” Overly said.

Bear Trace at Cumberland Mountain and all of the Tennessee Golf Trail courses constantly work to improve how they interact with the natural environment. This recent change in Cumberland Mountain State Park is just another example of how they’re able to do it.

The Tennessee Turfgrass Association recognizes organizations every year with the Environmental Stewardship Award “for successful projects or activities designed to improve the environment through wildlife habitat preservation, water and resource conservation and reduction, and educational outreach.”