Hot Springs Village, Arkansas
Magellan Golf Club in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas is the shortest full-length course in the Village from the back tees. It originally only had three holes intended for practice and teaching. Three of the four par 5s are under 500 yards and there are only two par 4s that play over 400 yards from the back tees.
While there are still plenty of out-of-bounds at Magellan, like the other HSV courses, there are only a few penalty areas. Ponds come into play on holes 7, 12, and 13, while a creek runs through 10 and 11.
See where Magellan ranks among our Best Golf Courses in Hot Springs Village
The greens at Magellan were the first in HSV to be switched from Bentgrass to Bermuda. This has drastically reduced the number of ball marks on the green, especially in summer, making for a smoother putting surface. These greens are Magellan’s main defense. Some are challenging because of their undulation, while others have little depth and require precise distance control on approach shots.
Favorite Golf Holes at Magellan
Number 8 is one of the longer par fours on the course. The tee shot plays dramatically down the hill and must carry the bunker on the left while avoiding the bunker on the right.
The challenge of the hole comes on the approach shot which plays back uphill. It is often hard to judge exactly where the pin is located on the green, especially for first-time players. Distance control going up the hill, often with a mid-iron unless you are a longer driver of the ball, is key to getting the ball close. The green is wide and allows players who miss left or right to still have a putt.
Number 18 is a strong finishing hole that stretches out to almost 440 yards from the back tees and 400 yards from the white tees. A large tree towers over the left side of the fairway. It is the prominent feature of the hole and forces the golfer to try to hit his or her tee shot down the right side of the fairway to have an unobstructed approach shot.
A pin on the back left forces the golfer to take on the large, deep bunker on the front left of the green. Like number 8, a par on number 18 leaves the player feeling good about how the round ended.
Least Favorite Golf Holes at Magellan
Number 4 is a relatively short par 5 that could be a really fun hole if it didn’t become so penal at the green site. The hole doglegs to the right and many longer players will have to take on quite a risk in attempting to get it around the corner. This risk comes becomes out of bounds that comes into play through the fairway as it doglegs. This means longer players will be hitting at the out of bounds if they try to hit it around the corner and any shot hit left of the target line brings OB into play.
The green site also leaves almost no room for error with a creek left and vegetation to the right. The bank to the right of the green used to be cut and players could use it to feed a ball down onto the green. Now that the bank is grown up, the approach shot plays more difficult, especially for a shorter player trying to hit the green in two with a fairway wood or hybrid.