A foreclosure auction of the River Trace Golf Course has been set for April 8 in front of the Greene County Courthouse "to secure a certain indebtedness ..."

River Trace Golf Course, operating as Mountain River Development, LLC, suspended operations on March 5.

It is a par-70 layout that threads its way amid a number of upscale homes, near Tenn. Rt. 70 (the Asheville Highway) and the Nolichucky River.

The River Trace course has generally been recognized by East Tennessee golfers as one of the best tests of the game.

The sale is only of the golf course. None of the adjoining residential properties is involved.

There are some 70 residential lots along the golf course, with about half with homes built on them.

According to a legal advertisement that appeared in The Greeneville Sun on March 13, the sale will be held at 10:01 a.m. on Tuesday, April 8, at the door of the Greene County Courthouse.

Gregg and Cynthia Sayler were the original principal owners of the golf course, with a smaller onwnership share held by Robert M. Ward.

A first mortgage on the River Trace course is jointly held by Andrew Johnson Bank and Greeneville Federal Bank, according to Bill Hickerson, Andrew Johnson Bank's president.

A second mortgage is held by Scott M. Niswonger, the local business leader and philanthropist.

Asked on Wednesday whether he would be bidding in the auction, Niswonger said he had "no comment at this time."

The River Trace Golf Course was developed in the late 1990s at the site of the old Nolichucky Golf Course, a popular 9-hole layout.

Additional property was obtained and the old layout was redesigned, with the exception of four holes which remained as a part of the new course, and the 18-hole River Trace was built.