GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — Every golfer wants more distance. However, distance is something you won't find at Long Hollow Golf Course.

"The camaraderie of playing with these guys is what it's all about," said Stu Gillham, a regular at the course.

Long Hollow has been in the heart of Gallatin for more than 40 years. It's been in Ken Thompson's heart much longer than that.

"I have a personal history," Thompson told News 2. "My family has been in Davidson County and Sumner County since 1780."

Thompson is a local historian and the great-great-great grandson of the course's longest owner, Andrew Everman Frakes.

"In November 1852 he bought the place and paid $5,064 for it," Thompson said. "Then, he bought the other farms around it."

During the Civil War, the Frakes family worked on the farm and sold their crops until Andrew contracted a leg infection and asked for help from some nearby Confederate soldiers.

"As a last-ditch effort he went to the general and said 'would you help get the corn crop in?'" Thompson explained. "So the general sent as many soldiers as they needed there and they brought in the crop."

Frakes died in 1863. Years later, the property was divided amongst the children.

More than a century later, the land is now the links.

"I think it's kind of neat that place has been preserved," Thompson expressed. "So many have been torn down. Sometimes progress is legalized vandalism."

In golf, tradition is everything. The original house, now pro shot, is still standing with Frakes and his family buried on site.

"For me, personally, it's a respect thing," Long Hollow Assistant Manager Bob James said. "We're trying to maintain it and improve the condition of the home and yet utilize it."

Even decades later, Long Hollow is still looking to build on tradition. After all, the most important shot is the next one.

"You have beginning golfers that have never played the game before and we try to make that inviting and enjoyable for them," James added.

Because at Long Hollow, everyone is family.

"Everything in life is based on history," Thompson said. "A lot of people today have no idea. Everything that those people did is part of your life, whether it's your family or not."

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/on-tour-middle-tn/long-hollow-golf-course-in-gallatin-built-on-tradition/