Alright, so I ended up at Granada Golf Course in Arkansas not too long ago. Heard some folks mention it, figured I’d see what it was all about. You know how it is, always looking for a new patch of grass to hit a ball around on.
Getting there was pretty straightforward. Just punched it into the GPS and off I went. The drive itself was nothing special, just your typical Arkansas scenery, which is nice enough, I suppose. Pulled into the parking lot, and it looked like, well, a golf course. No grand entrance, no trumpets, just a sign and a building. That’s usually how these things go, right?
Walked into the pro shop. It was… functional. Got my green fee paid, snagged a cart. The guy behind the counter was pleasant enough, pointed me towards the first tee. No big song and dance. Sometimes I prefer it that way. Just let me get out there and play.
So, the course itself. It was a golf course. Some holes were decent, some were forgettable. That’s the honest truth. I wasn’t expecting Pebble Beach, and I didn’t get it. There were trees, there was grass, there were sand traps. Some of those traps looked like they hadn’t seen a rake in a while, if I’m being honest. But hey, I’ve played worse.
I remember one hole, a par 4, dogleg left. Thought I hit a great drive, right down the middle. Got up there, ball’s vanished. Poof. Spent a good five minutes looking for it. Finally found it nestled down in some thick stuff just off the fairway. That’s golf for you. One minute you’re feeling like a pro, the next you’re hacking it out of the weeds. It’s a humbling game, that’s for sure.
The greens were a mixed bag. Some rolled true, others were a bit bumpy. You just adapt, you know? Can’t expect perfection everywhere you go, especially at these local tracks. The pace of play wasn’t too bad, which was a plus. Didn’t feel rushed, didn’t have to wait around too much. That always makes for a better day.
Here’s a few things I jotted down, mentally anyway:
- The layout had a couple of tricky spots. Forced you to think a bit.
- Water came into play more than I expected. Lost a ball or two. Or three.
- Fairways were generally okay, a bit thin in places maybe.
- It wasn’t overly crowded, which I appreciated.
I’ve played a lot of courses in a lot of places. Some are fancy, some are bare-bones. Granada kind of fell in the middle. It wasn’t trying to be something it wasn’t. It was just a place to play golf. And sometimes, that’s all you need. You show up, you hit your shots, some are good, many are bad, and then you go home.
Would I rush back? Maybe not rush. But if I was in the area and had my clubs, sure, I might play it again. It served its purpose. Got me out of the house, got me swinging a club. Sometimes we overthink these things. It’s just a game. You find a course, you play it. Granada was one of those courses. Nothing more, nothing less. And that’s perfectly fine.
