After playing in Memphis on late afternoon Wednesday, my initial plan for the following day was to skip across the Mississippi into Arkansas, play there and then head straight north into Missouri. With time running out on this current trip and a scheduled stop in Kentucky to visit relatives, I came to the realization that I hadn’t done any site-seeing whatsoever. Before going to bed Wednesday I was contemplating skipping golf altogether, going to Graceland and then heading off to Kentucky where I could easily pick up a couple of other states not previously on this planned itinerary (Ohio, Indiana – right near Cincinnati).
But when I woke up this morning, the small urge disappeared. I was never a big Elvis fan to begin with and the thought of paying $35 or $40 for a tour that I can probably do virtually on the internet, instead of spending that money at a golf course, made my decision to stick with original plan pretty easy. Boy, did I make the right call.
In the town of Marion, Arkansas there exists a golf course (Marion Golf and Athletic Club) commonly known as “the Monster”. It is definitely one of the nicest tracks I have ever played. Challenging as all hell, especially with the wind gusting at about 40 mph today. And apparently the wind blows quite often. Combine that with the fact that you’ve got water on just about every hole on the course and well, you get the picture of how the course got it’s moniker. Yes, the monster ate a few of my balls, but I still ended up shooting one of my better rounds. It is a links style course and that’s the type I tend to prefer.
For the spring time, both the fairways and greens were in phenomenal shape. And apparently it rates as tough, if not tougher than the TPC course that the Memphis Open is played on. It also happens to be a popular stop amongst people like myself who are on the 50 state quest, because of the proximity to Memphis. I can certainly see why. At and a rate of $40 including cart, a virtual steal.
So if you’re ever in the area, it is a must. But only if you’re not intimidated by water. But even if you have no issues with water, make sure that you have a good supply of balls because inevitably you’re going to feed a couple to the monster!
Anyway, a big thanks to Jeremy for the hospitality and thanks for the compliment about me being much younger than all the other guys who are attempting the 50 state quest!
