I’ve played very little golf so far this year. There are a couple reasons for that, but mainly I’ve just wanted to spend my time and money doing other things that interest me. That said, I wanted to take advantage of a three day weekend. The forecast looked hot but mostly dry. But unfortunately for me – and more importantly for the affected residents – a tornado-producing storm blew through early Sunday morning while I in town. Scary.

Currently, there are seven golf courses at Bella Vista – five eighteen hole courses and two nine-hole courses – and I was hoping to check out most of them. But, because of the weather I cut my trip short. There were tornadoes, straight-line winds, power outages, a landslide, and Sugar Creek flooded! I drove by a couple Bella Vista courses on Sunday morning and some of the holes at the Country Club course (and two of the other courses) were under water, about twelve hours after I played.

I paired up with a couple locals at the Country Club course who were pretty good players. They thought that the Scotsdale course, the Highlands course, and the Country Club course were the best courses at Bella Vista. Overall, I enjoyed the Country Club course. The course is quite playable considering the area’s rugged terrain.

The Country Club course is located in a valley, along Sugar Creek. I thought the course’s natural beauty was its best quality. More than half the holes play along the creek and people were out enjoying the water, having a good time. Plus, the course isn’t lined with homes along every hole which added to the tranquility. Arkansas calls itself “The Natural State” and the course seems to showcase that claim.

Joe Finger – an architect I’m not very familiar with – designed the Country Club course in 1968. The course’s design is basic and functional. And, I don’t mean that in a negative way either. I’ve found that many golf courses designed during this period are pretty simple, architecturally speaking. For example, different tee boxes have similar angles, the bunkers are flat and not much of a penalty, and many par-4’s are in that 400 yard range. We played the black tees (73.0/137/6745) and my club selection didn’t vary much.

The holes that play close to the creek are fairly flat and if you are in good shape (or ambitious), I think the course would be a good walk. The non-creek holes holes have some minor elevation change and were my favorite holes. For example, the 136 yard par-3 2nd hole plays slightly downhill and over the creek. The 10th is a pretty downhill par-4 where drives can really run out. It reminded me of a hole you’d find in Virginia. The 17th is another downhill par-3. It is 208 yards and a good test with a mid/long iron.

The conditions were fine for the price and the course offers a good value. My green fee was $55 to ride on a holiday weekend, which is hard to beat these days. The greens were the highlight of the maintenance. They were smooth and fast. The fairways and tees were on the thin side and there were a number of patches of what looked to be winterkill. The sand was rocky so watch out if you have nice wedges. Overall though, no complaints for the price.

If I was a local I think the Country Club course would be in my regular rotation. It won’t blow you away, but it is playable and scenic. If you find yourself in Northwest Arkansas – or perhaps traveling to Branson, MO – and are looking for a course that allows public play, I’d put this one on the list.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):