Blessings Golf Club
Fayetteville, AR • Private
Walt Beazley
Walt Beazley
Walt Beazley
Walt Beazley
Overview
George Thomas conceived of the idea of a “course within a course” when designing Los Angeles Country Club in the early 1920s, creating various tees for different holes that changed the angles of play and even the par values on different days. That’s part of the concept of Blessings in northwest Arkansas, where Robert Trent Jones II built a multifaceted routing that can be played in a variety of different lengths and combinations intended to challenge the game’s best collegiate players (Blessings hosts a variety of NCAA tournaments and was the site of the 2019 National Championships), including one setup with a USGA course rating of 80.9 and a 155 slope. Several holes cross over each other in the manner of old links courses, though there’s nothing linksy about the rural, wooded and sloping property bisected by Clear Creek. When you build a course for an individual owner—in this case John Tyson of Tyson Foods—you get to break the rules. In 2018, architect Kyle Phillips remodeled Blessings to make it more walkable, creating a new first hole, relocating several greens, and shifitng and rebuilding bunkers to increase strategic diversity.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
Second 100 Greatest: Making its inaugural appearance on our national rankings.
2023-'24 ranking: 144th.
Best in State: Ranked second, 2013-'24. Ranked third, 2011-'12. Ranked inside the top 5, 2007-'10.
2023-'24 ranking: 2nd.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“A course which both wows you on first visit, but that would be enjoyable to play over and over as a home club. The original routing was awkward and required too much movement. This has been remedied to a large degree. The conditioning is second to none, but this place is still about the golf, not just manicured fairways and greens (which were flawless). The land has two distinct movements, a low land 9 which still has great undulation and character, and then the 9 truly in the foothills of the ozarks, with dramatic elevation changes, used to great (but not gimmicky) effect. An enjoyable, serious, and challenging round of golf."
Read More2022
Review
“This is a really challenging course for an accomplished golfer. It's probably impossible from the very back tees (8000 yards, 80.9/155) and only almost impossible from the next box up. Many of the tee shots require a long fade. This course is an example of how hole width can produce shot options, as a number of holes can be attacked from different angles. A picturesque landscape with varying terrain and elevation changes. This is a pure golf facility that is also home to the Univ. of Arkansas golf teams. A great test for accomplished golfers—if you shoot a good score here, you've earned it. Conversely, it's probably quite difficult for a novice player."
Read More2021
Review
“The conditions are always good. The Blessings is the home of the Arkansas Razorbacks golf teams. It hosted the 2019 NCAA championship and annually hosts the Blessings Collegiate tournament. This is a top 5 course in Arkansas with potential to be a top 200 in U.S."
Read More2021
Review
“The course is highlighted by double fairways, narrow landing areas and heavy bunkering. It was clear with the design and renovations that they wanted to make this a US open style course. It is far too penal and unnecessary on some holes. "
Read More2022
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