Firefly has opened the part of its community that will be hardest to change later: the golf. The 700-acre private development in Spring Hill, Tennessee, opened its 18-hole championship course and nine-hole short course over Labor Day weekend. Andrew Green designed both, which Firefly identifies as the first original designs of his career.
Much of the community around those courses remains unfinished. Home construction is expected to begin in 2027, three primary club buildings are scheduled for spring 2027 and several larger amenities remain part of the longer-range plan. For now, Firefly’s clearest finished statement is the golf sitting on the ground.
The Course Arrived First
For more than a year, Firefly could only be discussed in the future tense. Green’s course was coming. Homes were being sold. The Fieldhouse, Golf Shop, Outpost and clubhouse were still represented by plans and construction schedules.
The course opening changes that balance. Green built his reputation through restoration work at Oak Hill, Congressional and Inverness, a career path Athlon has explored in earlier coverage of Firefly and Kawonu Golf Club. That background needs only a line here. There are finally golf holes at Firefly that members can play rather than imagine.
Green said he wanted the course to feel “discovered rather than imposed.”
Those words establish his intention. They do not tell anyone how the course plays. The useful change is that golfers can now begin supplying that evidence with shots, misses, recoveries and repeat rounds.
Firefly lists the walking-friendly course at more than 7,300 yards from its longest tees and 4,860 from its shortest. Its materials point to strategic angles, varied shot selection and greens shaped with significant contour across Middle Tennessee’s rolling ground. All of that can now be tested instead of previewed.
Twenty-Seven Holes Give Members More Than One Way to Play
The nine-hole short course ranges from 70 to 210 yards. That is enough separation to keep it from becoming a string of similar wedge shots. Some holes can be played with touch and trajectory. Others may require considerably more club, depending on the golfer and the tees selected.
Firefly also describes a practice campus with an expansive practice field, three short-game greens and an 18,000-square-foot putting green. The teaching facility includes TrackMan technology, two indoor-outdoor hitting bays and a SAM putting lab.
A club’s golf life is often built in pieces smaller than an 18-hole round. A family may have an hour before dinner. A player working on one troublesome shot may need a short-game green more than another trip around the course. The range of spaces is intended to support those versions of the game, alongside the main event Green designed.
Much of Firefly Remains Ahead
Storied Development is building Firefly in partnership with Wheelock Street Capital. The developers report that nearly 150 homesites have sold since 2025, with fewer than 30 remaining across the first two sales phases. Those figures were supplied by Firefly and were not independently audited for this story.
The same release says more than 4,000 inquiries led to more than 350 property tours. Homesites are priced from $700,000 to more than $2 million, and home construction is expected to begin in 2027.
The Fieldhouse, Golf Shop and Outpost are scheduled to open in spring 2027. Firefly’s broader plans include a clubhouse, fitness center, pools, family spaces, bowling, golf simulators, a multisport court, music and learning areas, plus a racquet club. The supplied materials do not give opening dates for that entire list.
I Have Not Played It…Yet
Firefly sent the yardages and Green’s notes on the design. I have not walked a hole of it, so I am stopping there. The course is open. A review can wait until I play it next month.
That is where the next Firefly story begins. Green’s move beyond restoration work has been discussed for months. Now golfers can test the course for themselves. The useful reports will come after a few rounds, when players stop noticing what is new and start learning which lines actually work.
For now, the honest assessment is narrower. The golf is open while the rest of Firefly is still taking shape. I would rather wait to call Green’s design a success until I have walked it, played it and found out what happens after a miss.
PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on R.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.
