Despite starting his elementary school education at Cleveland (Tenn.) Day School, Golf Channel analyst Charlie Rymer didn't spend his formative golf years in Southeast Tennessee, the family having moved to the Charlotte, N.C., area when he was midway through the second grade.
But because the 1985 United States Golf Association Junior Amateur winner is a longtime member of The Honors Course in Ooltewah, he thinks he knows what it will take for this year's crop of sub-18-year-olds to conquer the Pete Dye masterpiece when the Junior Am is staged there from July 18-23.
"This course will scare them a bit," Rymer said Tuesday morning during a news conference announcing the event. "You won't see them laughing and giggling. But it will be fun for them, even if there's trouble everywhere."
The USGA has no trouble awarding its top events to The Honors Course. This is the fifth one of its national championships to be staged here, joining the 1991 U.S. Amateur, the 1994 Curtis Cup, the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur and the 2011 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur.
But as club Chairman Joel W. Richardson Jr. noted during the press conference when he referred to the late Honors Course founder and Chattanooga business giant Jack Lupton: "We wouldn't be here except for Jack Lupton. Jack loved amateur golf. And what better way to honor amateur golf than to host a national amateur tournament?"
Beyond that, what better way for any Chattanooga area golf lover to experience the private Honors Course than to volunteer to work the Junior Am, where admission will be free to the general public?
For $35, volunteer coordinator Tim Haralson said a volunteer will receive a shirt, a hat, a backpack and food. Anyone working three shifts or three rounds will qualify for one round of golf at The Honors after the tournament ends.
"It's really a pretty easy sell, just because you can play the course if you're willing to work hard enough," Haralson said. "But while we've already got about 350 volunteers, we really need about 500 to make everything run perfectly."
One job that will become hugely important in July is that of "hydration volunteer," since they make sure no one is without water who needs it.
"Anyone who wants to register just go to 'www.chattanoogaclassic.club,'" Haralson said. "Hit the 'Register Now' button. It's pretty easy."
But it's anything but easy to win the Junior Amateur, which will find as many as 3,000 golfers under the age of 18, and with a Handicap Index of 6.4 or less, attempting to qualify at 57 sites nationwide from June 6 through June 30. The top 156 advance to The Honors. After two rounds of stroke play, the top 64 players qualify for match play. The final covers 36 holes. A golfer must win six matches to claim the championship. Last year's winner, Shreveport, La.-native Philip Barbaree, can't defend his title because he'll turn 18 before the 2016 Junior Am is completed.
Of the first 68 winners of the event, only two players - Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth - have won it more than once, with Woods claiming three titles between 1991 and 1993, and Spieth winning in 2009 and 2011.
Rymer described with joy what capturing the 1985 Junior Am did for his future.
"It had a very positive impact on my life," he said. "Before the tournament, I was probably going to some small school like Georgia. After winning the Junior Am, I got a full ride to Georgia Tech, baby."
Bulldog backers might take offense at Rymer's digs, but when the event's only multiple winners are Woods and Spieth, the Junior Am would seem to be a must-see for every serious golf fan in the Chattanooga area, regardless of their collegiate affiliation.
Contact staff writer Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.