The first course we played in Hot Springs Village was Ponce De Leon.  From the moment you arrive you can tell they are all about the golf.  Check in at the golf shop, grab your cart from the lot, hit a few balls and head to the first tee.  With all of the rain that the Midwest has experienced this Spring, we had to stay on the paths on day one, but the greens were still in great condition.  Firm and smooth so a well struck putt always had a chance to go in.  And don’t let the yardage fool you, there is plenty of bite in this golf course with a Course Rating / Slope of 72.1 / 132 from the Blue Tees at just 6,400 yards.

I think the signature at Ponce was a lot of elevation change throughout the entire course, which provided for some very interesting holes.  The par-5 third hole was one of my favorites.  A tight landing area that slopes drastically from right to left but if you can hit the fairway gives you a great opportunity to reach the green in two.  If you have to lay up, there is a steep hill about 70 yards from the green that will catch and keep your ball on an awkward like should you reach it.  Also deceiving is the appearance of a bail out area long and right of the green, but go over and your ball shoots down a hill into the woods.

The front nine consists of numerous solid holes with varying risk reward.  Several of the par-4’s give you the option to hit everything from long iron to driver off the tee, but the real beauty of Ponce shows up immediately on the back nine.  Both holes 10 and 11 play down hill through the trees.  The 10^th hole is a short hole with a slightly hidden fairway and a green protected well by bunkers.  The 11^th hole is a beautiful but reachable par-5.  That is, if you hit it down the middle.  With trees on both sides and a pond protecting all shots short and right of this green, you either have to be confident in your ball striking or lay-up with merely a wedge or 9 iron.

The finishing stretch at Ponce De Leon is really what makes you want to play 18 more.  The par-3 16^th  hole is an uphill shot of 180 – 200 yards.  There is no running it up on this green and while there is a slope to the right, balls still gather off the green.  Just hitting this green is an accomplishment and with the slope running from back to front, the correct yardage is a must to avoid a challenging two putt.  Next is the par-5 17^th.  A three shot hole for almost everyone, the tee shot plays downhill to a pretty wide landing area and then snakes back up the hill to a very elevated green.  Laying up is a challenge with strategically placed fairway bunkers everywhere.  Even with a sand wedge in your hands hitting this green is not a gimme, which I proved twice.  The green itself is nearly 50 yards from left to right so a missed approach shot could cause an easy three-putt.  The 18^th hole is a challenging tee shot with the fairway half hidden to the left, fairway bunkers on the right and trees further right of the bunkers.  Even a good tee shot leaves you 180+ yards to the green that is very well protected by bunkers short and right.  Fortunately for us we had a front pin location, shortening the hole and allowing you to keep it short of the hole and still have a good chance to get up and down.

We enjoyed Ponce so much we played a second 18 and could not wait to get to the last three holes for a second time.  It is amazing how golf can repeat itself.

To see the scorecard of Ponce De Leon, Go Here.