Balboa Golf Course
Hot Springs Village, Arkansas · 18 holes · par 72 · Semi-Private. Opened 1987.
A caddie's yardage book for every hole: plays-like distance from USGS lidar elevation, reach and carry numbers for every bunker and water hazard, green front, middle and back, which way each green falls, and the lay-up zone on par 5s. Distances are from the back tees along the mapped hole; for a shorter tee, take off the scorecard difference.
Course profile
- At about 570 ft the ball carries about 1% farther than at sea level, so a 150-yard shot plays like about 149. Golfers visiting from low elevation should expect to club down.
- Biggest climb: hole 12, where the green sits 40 ft above the tee and plays about 13 yards longer.
- Biggest drop: hole 6, where the green sits 37 ft below the tee and plays about 12 yards shorter.
- Driving-zone hazards sit on the left on 4 holes and on the right on 1: a tee shot missed left costs more here.
- 14 greens tilt 2% or more. Each hole below says which side of the hole leaves an uphill putt.
Maps: tee at the bottom, green at the top. The dashed line is the mapped hole; the gold band is the lay-up zone; the arrow on the green points downhill.
Scorecard
| Hole | Par | Hcp | Black | Blue | White | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 7 | 481 | 462 | 436 | 340 |
| 2 | 4 | 3 | 437 | 418 | 394 | 359 |
| 3 | 4 | 11 | 383 | 367 | 351 | 312 |
| 4 | 3 | 15 | 205 | 162 | 145 | 120 |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 511 | 487 | 473 | 441 |
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 457 | 428 | 410 | 379 |
| 7 | 3 | 17 | 166 | 149 | 137 | 119 |
| 8 | 4 | 13 | 340 | 321 | 280 | 268 |
| 9 | 4 | 9 | 391 | 372 | 350 | 313 |
| 10 | 5 | 2 | 548 | 521 | 490 | 466 |
| 11 | 4 | 12 | 339 | 327 | 308 | 294 |
| 12 | 4 | 6 | 411 | 376 | 332 | 319 |
| 13 | 5 | 8 | 494 | 473 | 449 | 419 |
| 14 | 3 | 16 | 196 | 180 | 157 | 133 |
| 15 | 4 | 10 | 424 | 382 | 342 | 329 |
| 16 | 4 | 14 | 332 | 317 | 298 | 281 |
| 17 | 3 | 18 | 170 | 162 | 146 | 135 |
| 18 | 4 | 4 | 440 | 403 | 380 | 335 |
Tees
| Tee | Yards | Rating | Slope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | Male | 6640 | 73.2 | 139 |
| Blue | Male | 6383 | 71.8 | 137 |
| White | Male | 6054 | 69.9 | 131 |
| White | Female | 6054 | 76 | 134 |
| Silver | Female | 5649 | 73.9 | 131 |
| Silver | Male | 5649 | 68 | 126 |
| Gold | Male | 5344 | 66.9 | 118 |
| Gold | Female | 5344 | 71.6 | 127 |
| Orange | Male | 3714 |
Hole 1 · Par 5
- Plays like
- 475-18 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 470 · 481 · 492front · middle · back
- Green size
- 25 × 29yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 45 ydswide at 230
- Green slope
- 2.5%falls to the front
In play
- Water front of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 6 yards shorter: the green sits 18 ft below the tee.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 45 yards wide at 230 and narrows to 29 at 280.
- Best lay-up: 150 to 170 yards from the green, where the fairway is about 21 yards wide with no bunkers or water within 16 yards.
- Water short of the green; take enough club to carry it.
- The green falls from back to front, about 2.5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Hole 2 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 444+20 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 423 · 437 · 456front · middle · back
- Green size
- 35 × 26yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 31 ydswide at 197
- Green slope
- 3.5%falls to the front-left
In play
- Water left: -33 to reach, 54 to carry
- Water right: 60 to reach, 102 to carry
- Water left: 414 to reach, 493 to carry
Playing notes
- Plays about 7 yards longer: the green sits 20 ft above the tee.
- Dogleg right at about -5 yards.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 31 yards wide at 197.
- No hazards mapped around the green.
- The green falls from back-right to front-left, about 3.5%. Finish on the front-left side of the hole for an uphill putt.
- The green is 35 yards deep: a back pin can play about 2 clubs more than a front pin.
Hole 3 · Par 4
- Plays like
- 396+40 ft
- Green · Black tee
- 366 · 383 · 400front · middle · back
- Green size
- 34 × 20yards deep × wide
- Fairway
- 18 ydswide at 234
- Green slope
- 5%falls to the front
In play
- Bunker front-left of the green
- Bunker back-right of the green
Playing notes
- Plays about 13 yards longer: the green sits 40 ft above the tee.
- Dogleg left at about 220 yards.
- No hazards mapped in the driving zone (180 to 300 yards).
- The fairway is about 18 yards wide at 234.
- Hazards guard both sides of the green; aim for the middle.
- The green falls from back to front, about 5%. Finish on the front side of the hole for an uphill putt.
Holes 4 to 18
4 · Par 35 · Par 56 · Par 47 · Par 38 · Par 49 · Par 410 · Par 511 · Par 412 · Par 413 · Par 514 · Par 315 · Par 416 · Par 417 · Par 318 · Par 4
The rest of this guide has the same caddie detail for every hole:
- 15 plays-like yardages
- 53 hazards with reach and carry
- 15 green slope reads
- 3 par-5 lay-up zones
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Hole maps, hazards and playing notes come from mapped course data and USGS 3DEP elevation (public domain), not a visit. Plays-like numbers use the Skitty caddie's rule of one yard per 3 ft of rise, from the longest tee; altitude uses 1.16% of carry per 1,000 ft. Tees, hazards and conditions change; check with the course before you play. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0) via OpenGolfAPI. Scorecard yardages and ratings as published. See a mistake? Email [email protected].