No. 9: Prairie Creek Country Club

SCOTT CAIN
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

PRAIRIE CREEK -- Three things stand out about the Prairie Creek Country Club golf course.
It's tight. It's beautiful. And it's tight.
Put it this way: The Arkansas men's golf team has access to a number of popular, manicured courses in Northwest Arkansas, both private and public. But when Coach Bill Woodley wants to find out precisely how straight his players are hitting it, he takes them to Prairie Creek, an 18-hole treasure tucked between Rogers and Beaver Lake.
"It's a great testing track," Woodley said. "You just have to keep it in play. I love the style. Every time we've been up there, it's been a pleasure to play."
Prairie Creek rates No. 9 on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's list of top 10 public courses in the state.
Word about 32-year-old Prairie Creek has spread over the years, attracting out-of-state players and national attention. Two years ago,USA Today ranked it as the best course in Arkansas for less than $50 a round and Golf Digest gave it 31/₂ stars on a five-star scale.
If it wasn't routinely honored as a quality golf destination, Prairie Creek could be recognized for its scenery. The course cuts through thick woods. A spring-fed stream crisscrosses the back nine and supplies a man-made lake. Massive pine trees form a canopy over many of the cart paths.
It's quite a come-on for golfers who savor surroundings as much as they do the game. This is a nature hike in Softspikes. But it's not to be confused with a picnic, either.
Players looking for a course that will forgive stray shots and coddle their egos won't find it on Prairie Creek's two-tiered layout.
The front nine winds around the top of a ridge and the back nine cuts through a valley. That elevation change provides a vista from No. 10 worth taking in before you decide whether to try to carry the creek some 225 yards beyond, and a few stories below, the tee box.
In fact, players face decisions on almost every hole. It's not the kind of course that can played robotically -- hit driver, chip and putt.
Most of the first nine holes have varying degrees of doglegs hemmed with trees and dotted with sand bunkers around small and sloped greens. It's a placement nine. Tee shots are better off on the left side of many fairways.
The back nine is longer and opens up -- a little -- but the creek and lake come into play on seven holes. With a couple of exceptions, the back nine bunkers are grass instead of sand.
If there is a signature hole, it is No. 11, a 174-yard par-3 that doesn't play as long as the distance would suggest. It's downhill. It's also a double bogey waiting to happen. The lake guards the right side and cuts partially in front of the green, and there is sand in front of and behind the green.
Par is golden at 11 and perhaps even more coveted on the three closing holes.
The creek cuts through the par-4 16th twice, requiring a layup off the tee or a drive that carries 220 yards, and the second shot must carry the creek in front of the green.
No. 17, a 427-yard par 4 from the middle tees, is lined with trees left and right with the creek lurking under the right-side vegetation. The landing area narrows to about 30 yards in width.
A blind tee shot is required on the 181-yard, par-3 18th hole because it plays sharply uphill. The flag is visible but the green is not. There are trees left and a black diamond ski slope right.
"There have been more tournaments won or lost on the last three holes down there," Prairie Creek pro Don Rountree said. "If two people are in contention, it's not unusual for someone to pick up two or three strokes or to lose two or three strokes on those holes."
Rountree's family is as synonymous with Prairie Creek Country Club as the course itself.
Hogan Rountree has owned and run the course since 1971 and his sons, Don and Bobby, have had a hand in the operations over the years. Bobby is the superintendent.
The Rountrees and the staff put visitors at ease. Even if you're not a regular, you won't feel like you're nothing more than a green fee -- which, by the way, is refreshingly reasonable at Prairie Creek. Weekdays and weekends can be played for less than $20 without cart.
Bring your straight game.

AT A GLANCE
ADDRESS/PHONE Highway 12 East, Prairie Creek; (501) 925-2414
HOW TO GET THERE FROM LITTLE ROCK Take Interstate 40 west to Interstate 540 north and take Exit 85; turn right onto Highway 62B and follow 3.7 miles; turn left on Second Street and follow .3 miles; turn right on Highway 12 and follow 3.4 miles; turn right on Country Club Road and follow .7 miles to the course entrance on the left.
GREENS FEES $15 weekdays, $17 weekends for 18 holes; after 5 p.m. $9.50 weekdays and $10.50 weekends for 9 holes.
CARTS $20 for 18 holes; $10 for 9 holes.
GREENS Penncross Bentgrass
FAIRWAYS 419 Bermuda
BEST TIME TO BEAT THE CROWD Mid-morning weekdays
BETTER GET A TEE TIME None taken
CLOSED Christmas day
EASIEST HOLE No. 8, par 4, 344 yards from the middle tees. A relatively wide landing area leaves a second shot to a green flanked by sand right and front-left. But with a short iron in hand, the green is a very hitable target.
HARDEST HOLE No. 16, par 4, 411 yards. It can be played a few different ways. The tee shot has to fly 220 yards to carry the creek leaving an 8-iron or less to the green, but that second shot must carry the creek in front of the green and there are trees to the left-front and right side of the green. Many have to lay up off the tee, and that leaves a second shot of 180 or more yards or, for the less nervy, a second layup.
YARDAGE Blue tees, 6,707 yards; white tees, 6,468 yards; brown tees 5,878, red tees 5,599 yards.
YEARS IN EXISTENCE Front nine opened in 1968, back nine opened in 1970.
DRIVING RANGE $4 and $6 per bucket (35 and 75 balls)
CLUBHOUSE Golf equipment and apparel, snacks, drinks.
WE RECOMMEND Patience. Don't let ego blackmail you into hitting driver on many of the par 4s unless you're unshakably straight off the tee. Prairie Creek's chutes and alleys have a way of making your confidence flinch on the tee box and most holes, including the par 5s, can be played with a 3-wood.

This article was published on Thursday, June 8, 2000

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