April 2002 |

Golf courses available in and around the Fort Smith, Arkansas, area with commentary by Jamie Mitchell. Scroll down to read through them all or click on a course name to go directly to its information.

Having the longest tenure in our area, Fort Smith Country Club is a favorite place for golfers. Representing three generations of club managers and operators, Trent Parker is carrying on the family tradition as he offers a 9-hole course featuring towering oak-lined fairways and small greens. Designed to test the players' ability to hit fairways and play a bump-and-run, FSCC is a perfect place for both experienced and new golfers.Recent renovations to the old clubhouse and course have only added to the already strong character of FSCC. Proof of the turn-of-the century designer mentality is the club's sixth hole. The 135-yard par 3 hole features an elevated tee box and a small green that falls from the right to left as the landing area. Simple enough, right? Wrong. With O.B. already to the right, the designer must have thought it too easy. So he added a bunker to the left of the green, pushed the green fifteen paces from a creek on the front and ten on the left. Moreover, adding insult to injury, he planted a crabapple tree behind it. In essence, it is a make-or-break kind of hole. Nevertheless, aren't they all?

Across the river in Van Buren, players can hit the hills at Cedars Country Club. Offering another 9-hole course, Clubhouse Manager Chris Boze and staff keep the game affordable and fun. Changing from bent to Bermuda grass greens this May, Boze will offer new challenges for any players' short game. The course features several elevation changes and small greens, scattered with sand traps and some water holes. The second hole, a long par-3 at 200 yards, will just about be the hardest hole on the course. If the wind picks up, your best bet is to play short and just roll the ball to the green. Known for its thick quagmire of rough and hilly terrain, Cedars Country Club is still a family-friendly course that a golfer at any age or skill level will enjoy. In addition, for the non-golfing family member, the course sits in a beautiful park that offers a fishing lake, swimming pool, picnic area and playground.

Offering 27 holes on three courses, Ben Geren is a fun place to play. If you just want to knock the ball around, Magnolia and Willow, the original 18 holes, will fit the need. My favorite hole on Willow is the 13th hole, a dogleg left with water all the way down the left side. A good drive will land you on the green and you could snag an eagle with one good putt. The Park also offers exercise trails, go-karts, tennis, picnic areas, play grounds, soccer fields and a swimming pool. If you are looking for a fun place to spend a Sunday afternoon, the park is always a place to go. And soon the Fort Smith First Tee will open its practice facilities inside the park property.

Another old style course that takes away the high, soft landing shots and makes you play more on the ground. Small, hard greens make this a target course, relying on more shot control than strength and distance. More of a members club than public course but still worth playing. Once Fort Chaffee opens up to housing, this may all change. However, like all good soldiers, there will be those who want to just keep things the way they are.

The youngest of the area golf courses, Quail Run is a wonderful addition to local links. This short course is much improved since first opening a few years back. Expect a lot of short irons and shots from hardpan lies due to the still underdeveloped fairways. The course has proven to be stable in such a finicky market. Local high schools have taken advantage of the course and are starting to show up in numbers, showing a growing interest in the Oklahoma area.

I have been told that if you ever see a steer come into the sale barn with legs on one side longer than the other does, you'll know that they've been grazing on the back nine at Vache Grasse Country Club. Playing a more open course on the front nine, members and guest alike will tell you not to count your score on the front nine because the back plays twice as hard. As if the front is not hard enough already. For instance, take the first hole, a long 592-yard par-5 with a little twist to the left at the green. The fairway is open with few trees to worry about. Your first instinct is to grab the driver and just rip it. Ok, but do not leave it to the right because you will be behind a tree as big as a house. Seems that you really don't need that much sand on the course when you have hulking trees to the left and right at about 250-yards off the tee. Another shot-maker course, so bring what brought ya and hope it can take you home.

One of the better semi-private courses in the area and only 20-minutes from downtown Fort Smith, Eagle Crest is a "must" play. Cut into the side of a mountain, the course offers large greens, wide fairways and a natural beauty that can only be described as stunning. Keeping with this natural beauty, the course designer uses massive natural stones; fieldstone and native landscaping dictate the course layout. Eagle Crest management and staff also have gone out of their way to make available to the general public the latest styles and merchandise in golf apparel and equipment. The club also offers a large putting green and driving range for use while waiting for your required tee-time.

Shadow Creek Country Club offers a course that will call for every shot in your bag. You see this from the first tee, a par 4 playing over a creek to a small green. If you can knock down a nice five iron off the tee, you can play a safe wedge to the green. If you've gotten yourself in a few trees to the right or left then you could be in for a long day. The course crosses or runs parallel to so much water that you may need the coast guard to bail you out more than once. In addition, if you hit into the woods, just drop one, only big animals that eat golf balls and people live in that thick stuff.

Home of the Buy.Com Fort Smith Open, Hardscrabble Country Club is plush, beautiful and private. If you can find your way on the course you might agree that playing in such conditions might well be worth every penny spent. From the moment you arrive, you revel in the idea of being a member, having access to such playing and practicing facilities and finishing the round in the men's club room with a scotch in one hand and a high-dollar cigar in the other. Life cannot get much better than this. The course signature hole is the par-3, 17th. Teeing the ball up from the back of the fairway is an intimidating feeling when you see the green 205-yards down hill and across the lake. During the tournament, bleachers are erected behind the green, offering one of the best viewing spots on the course. The golf pro shop offers the latest and the greatest in equipment and attire.

With probably the best view in Fort Smith, the dining room of Fianna Hills Country Club is a fitting spot to end your round of golf. Perched high on top of the hills on the state line, you can enjoy the night-lights of the city at a distance. All of this and more, after being beat to death by one of the hardest courses in the area. With wide plush fairways, you would think that the course might be a little easy, however, that is before you step onto the massive green that putts like the top of glass table. Long par-5's, long par-3's and trees everywhere can make a golfer drop to their knees for mercy. Take for instance the second hole, a 185-yard par three. Seems simple enough, but fly the ball long short, to the left or right and your going to card at least a bogey. This is a green that you must hit to save par. If not, it could be a long day high on the hill.