Hot Springs Country Club – Arlington Course Review

Hot Springs Country Club is a hard course for me to review. Read on and find out why.

First some history of the course. With more than a century of tradition, the Hot Springs Country Club was established in 1898 and is home to Arkansas’s first golf course. It is considered one of America’s oldest country clubs west of the Mississippi River.

Nestled in the Ouachita foothills and surrounded by neighboring lakes and national parks, the Hot Springs Country Club continues to operate with those same Southern traditions of service. With 36 holes of golf available, the Club offers a wide variety of golfing experiences.

I always look forward to a round of golf.

Especially when it is a course that charges more than I would usually pay. It is an indicator that I am going to play a special track with a higher standard for the course, clubhouse, retail and overall presentation.

And in this case the added bonus….we were able to add another state to our  bucket-list of golfing in all 50 states!

 

We don’t normally pay $140 for golf. Mainly because there are two of us. That means $280 a round for us. But….sometimes, you take a deep breath and enjoy the special day that is going to unfold ahead of you.

As you walk into the clubhouse, you enter a well stocked pro shop. There is plenty of golf gear. Everything you need for a round of golf.  However, clothes were strewn about in a pile of unfolded and unstacked mess. The space was crowded and cramped.

We had the first tee time. But, that didn’t seem to mean much. There was no starter. As we were getting our gear onto the cart. Other players were doing the same and heading for the tees. When we got to the Tee box. Other players were pulling away. They just jumped out there to get ahead of the people that made a tee time.

The course was nice….just……Nothing special. I guess I would say it was characterized by, “What you see is what you get”. 

As we played the round I noticed there was nothing special about it. It felt like many of the courses we have played that are half the price. 

Every hole was roughly the same. Open and straight….or open with a slight dogleg left or right.

The tee boxes didn’t have placards describing the hole and the course layout was poorly marked. Since this was our first time playing the course it was difficult finding our way from hole to hole.

The sand in the bunkers was hard and old.

Hot Springs Country Club has five separate tee boxes for every level player.

The fairways are in good shape and the greens are nicely maintained.

But…..for me….there was nothing that stood out about the course. Everything was there….just nothing special. Normally when we play a course in this price range there is a signature hole. Or a theme throughout the course that makes you remember the course.  There just seemed to be something missing everywhere we went.

It is all there, just in a lackluster style. 

There are other courses in the area that I am looking forward to playing. I will probably not play Hot Springs Country Club again. Instead, I will play other courses for half the green fees.

For the price, this is a par course.

Don’t get me wrong – You will get a nice course that is easy to play. I can’t find anything wrong with the course that would make me tell you not to play it. It’s just not a course that I will seek out or tell you it is a must play. 

Fairways and Greens – We are 18 Holes and Counting

Written By Marc Festa

COURSE REVIEW SCORE CARD

Course: Hot Springs Country Club – Arlington Course

Type: Semi Private

Date Played: 05 September 2023

HOLE	PAR	SCORE	COMMENTS
1 – Tee Time Availability	4	4	We were able to get our desired tee time without any problems.
2 – Cost of Green Fees	4	5	Much higher than other courses in the area.
3 – Condition of Tee Boxes	4	4	Well groomed.
4 – Condition of Fairways	5	4	Nice lush Bermuda grass.
5 – Condition of Greens	4	4	Full Bent grass.
6 – Length of Course	5	5	Back Tees are 6713 and Front Tees are 4673.
7 – Hazards	4	5	Bunker sand was hard and shallow.
8 – Starter/Marshal	3	4	The Pro Shop attendant provided the information about the course. There was no Starter or Marshall on course.
9 – High Handicap Friendly	3	3	Forward tee options provide good playability for higher handicap players.
OUT	36	38
10 – Practice Area	5	4	Driving range, putting green, pitching and chipping area.
11 – Locker Rooms	3	2	Very nice and spacious.
12 – Pro Shop	4	5	Completely furnished; unkept and crowded with items made it hard to shop.
13 – Location	4	4	Perfect – 5 mins from downtown Hot Springs.
14 – Rental Equipment	4	4	Available.
15 – Restaurant/Food Cart	4	5	There was a restaurant but we had an early tee-time so it wasn’t open. There was no food cart on the course the day we played.
16 – Club House	4	4	Full-service Clubhouse with casual dining
17 – Parking	3	3	Plenty of room.
18 – Customer Service	5	5	Pro Shop attendant was friendly and provided a couple of keys in playing the course.
IN	36	36
TOTAL	72	74	PLAYER: Marc F.   ATTESTED BY: Kathy F.