Golf in Arlington

Originally a 9-hole course upon its opening in 1978, community-owned The Bridges at Claresholm expanded into an 18-hole course in 2005 after designer Les Furber spent four years expertly crafting a back nine. Four tee boxes and attachable Gadget arms precede each hole, allowing patrons to adjust their distance to the green and driving angle to better avoid obstacles such as 12 water hazards. The Bridges at Claresholm also employs golf expert Lyle Broderson to offer private, semiprivate, or group lessons to golfers looking to make improvements, and hosts tournaments and male, female, and gopher leagues. Additionally, an on-site pro shop supplies participants with essential gear such as balls, clubs, and golf-suitable clothing, and Mac's Diner in the facility's clubhouse satiates visitors with weekly specials such as the Wednesday Chinese buffet and the Friday-night all-you-can-eat fish fry.

The golfing gurus at Edwin Watts Golf Academy diagnose and correct their students' poor swing and putting habits in an effort to help them improve their shots and lower their scores. In one-on-one swing-analysis sessions, students learn a repeatable swing that eliminates tendencies they may have to slice, hook, push, or pull the ball. A special laser attaches to the end of the player's club and tracks the swing path while JC Video swing-analysis software records the session from two separate angles, lest analysis be thrown off by only looking at the golfer’s good side. Putting analysis employs Tomi technology to measure eight separate parameters of the putting stroke, from clubhead orientation at address to swing path and tempo. After swing and putting lessons, students may access the recordings on a password-protected website, so they can forward videos to friends or sports-documentary filmmakers.

Ranked in Golfweek's Best Courses You Can Play in Indiana, the course at Prairie View Golf Club is situated on 206 acres of environmentally protected land along the White River with scenic prairieland and five lakes. The Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design features natural wetlands with a rushing stream that comes into play on four holes, forcing players to demonstrate deft control or gilled golf bags. On the front nine, the prairie setting invites harsh winds to blow across bentgrass fairways, often knocking shots off course. As players make the turn onto the back nine, they notice a marked difference in the environment, as open prairies give way to tall sycamore, oak, beech, and cottonwood trees lying just beyond the Kentucky bluegrass rough. Across the river lies Conner Prairie, a historical re-enactment village whose elegant, 1830s-era style was adopted for the design of the course's 15,000-square-foot clubhouse.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 7,073 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 74.5 from the back tees
• Course slope of 138 from the back tees
• Four sets of tees per hole

In 1995, architect Jeffrey Brauer cast a series of 18 holes over the hilly, forested acres adjacent to Ash Creek inside Cross Timbers Golf Course. Mr. Brauer choreographed the layout’s turns and gyrations to take advantage of the site’s natural attributes, such as its numerous changes in elevation and absolute lack of active volcanoes. Today, players cruise over the meticulously kempt fairways en route to Champion bermuda greens. On the front nine, players must tackle the 484-yard, par 4 fifth hole and the course's signature ninth, where tee shots soar over a treacherous ravine onto a green teetering on the precipice of a cliff. At hole 18, a par 5 is reachable with calculated risk-taking and precise execution.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Total length of 6,734 yards from the back tees