Arkansas

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Golf Arkansas

Arkansas has a wealth of natural beauty that lends itself well to golf courses. Rolling hills, mild winters and a decent annual rainfall ensure this central state’s future as a golf destination. The Natural State’s fairways and greens truly are picturesque. With courses from A to W (Alma to Wynne) and everywhere in between – hundreds, all told – you’re just about guaranteed to find a championship course nearby.

Arkadelphia, for example, has a 9-hole and an 18 hole course in the same small town. Both courses are open year-round, and both offer driving ranges and cart rentals. Cherokee Village has two championship 18 hole courses, both built in 1962, one designed by Ed Ault, the other by John Cooper. Hot Springs National Park has 3 public courses and one semi-private offering, the Belvedere Country Club.

Little Rock hosts at least 11 courses. Fort Smith, near the Oklahoma border, offers 7 more. Jonesboro has 6. In all, just fewer than 100 locations that have at least one course each are listed. Most have at least two, and many have several.

Of course, quantity isn’t everything. While there’s truth in that the worst day spent golfing beats the best day spent working, we’re still after a standard of quality. What can you expect to find in Arkansas? Many of the courses were conceived and constructed by venerable designers, experts of the time. The Hardscrabble Country Club, a private holding in the Fort Smith area, was designed by the venerable Herman Hackbarth and built in 1926. This classic environment is a treasure, and appears alongside the Fianna Hills Country Club, a James L. Holmes design from 1973, the public Fort Smith Country Club, which is a 9-hold Alex Findlay design made in 1903, and the Links, a semi-private 9-hole year-round course designed by Lyndy Lindsey and built in 1996. Marvin Ferguson is the designer behind 3 public city-operated 18-hole courses in that same relatively small town, at the Ben Green Regional Park.

Diversity is key in a golfing destination. With any luck, there’s something for everyone, from a comfortable facile course to a challenging set of natural obstacles. Given the diverse terrain of Arkansas and the state’s rich water supplies, one is all but guaranteed to find several very different course designs within the very same area or region.

Country Clubs seem to just about universally offer reciprocity, so if you’re a member at any other club, you’ll be able to play the private courses as well as the public and semi privates. While one wouldn’t expect it to be a haughty environment, country clubs tend to be jealous guards of their exclusivity. Those who aren’t members of a country club will find Arkansas’s other courses are still plentiful and equally challenging, without the elitist edge.

Arkansas has a Golf Trail that features 13 locations with 15 courses. The state also hosts a number of tournaments all year long. Even in January, you’ll find a tournament every weekend! With this sort of enthusiasm, it’s no wonder it has so many courses! Put Arkansas on your list of golf vacation destinations. You’ll be pleased that you did.