Longhills Golf Course

Benton sits in Saline County, roughly halfway between Little Rock and Hot Springs — two cities with their own well-established golf scenes — which means a course here has to earn its local following on its own merits rather than riding a destination's coattails. Longhills Golf Course has done exactly that, serving the community as a straightforward, accessible public layout where central Arkansas golfers can get a round in without the fuss of a resort or the exclusivity of a private club.

The terrain across this part of Arkansas is gently rolling Ouachita foothills country, with open skies and the kind of warm, humid summers that keep the fairways lush well into the season. Spring and fall are the sweet spots for playing here, when the heat backs off and the course shows its best conditions.

For Benton residents and anyone passing through on the corridor between Little Rock and Hot Springs, Longhills fills an important role: a full 18-hole public track where the emphasis is on straightforward, unpretentious golf at an everyday pace.