The Best Muni (and Best Value) We’ve Uncovered in 2024 + Let's Get Rid of Those 3-putts

TIPS & DRILLS
Let’s Get Rid of Those 3-putts
Tap into your your natural tempo to get your first putt closer

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To Recap…

Before you step into a long putt, how frequently do you walk off the distance and compare it to previous putts? Better yet, how frequently do you take a look at the putt from the opposite side of the hole or from the sides? Doing any of the above is likely to help you get your 1st putt closer, but you might be overlooking the silver bullet… tapping into your natural feel and athleticism. Here’s how you can do it:

-STEP 1: Make a stroke imagining you’re rolling the putt with your dominant hand. If you’re on a practice green, you can even toss a ball underhand to prove to yourself that you do, in fact, have innate natural touch.
-STEP 2: Now grab your putter with only your dominant hand and take a practice stroke while looking at the hole. Take note of your natural tempo and acceleration.
-STEP 3: Replicate the same motion when you hit your actual putt. If you’re on the practice green, you might even try closing your eyes on the 1st putt attempt.

COURSES
The Best Muni (and Best Value) We’ve Uncovered in 2024
We almost hate to share this one

The Ridges at Village Creek
Wynne, AR

The Ridges at Village Creek is situated ~40 miles west of Memphis inside Village Creek State Park in Arkansas. It’s a municipal facility with 27 holes that sits atop Crowley’s Ridge alongside Lake Austell and Lake Dunn (both of which offer superb hiking and fishing). Designed by Andy Dye (Pete’s nephew) and comprised of 3 different 9-hole courses (the North, East & West), the facility opened in 2012 and slowly gained recognition. In 2018, it was rated the #1 golf course you can play in Arkansas by Golfweek Magazine.

With loads of visual interest, stemming from the undulating natural terrain and mountain-like elevation drops as well as water on 12 of the 27 holes, all 3 nines will hold your attention until the end. The greens often roll at 11+ on the stimpmeter, and the conditioning is right up there with any high ranking private club in the south. And yet, the greens fees scream just the opposite. Peak rates range from $38-$50, which makes this the best value we’ve come across in all of our research in 2024. Calling this a hidden gem is an understatement; for a publicly-operated facility to offer these conditions at this price point is virtually unheard of.

Perhaps it’s the distance from a major population hub, perhaps it’s because it’s a publicly-run facility in a relatively overlooked state for golf (Arkansas), perhaps it’s because it was designed by a lesser-known member of the Dye architect family… for some odd reason, this course has flown completely under the radar. As one reviewer wrote, “This course is one of the best courses our group has played on our tour of the 50 states. Unbelievably no one is playing this course… Best money can buy. Don't miss this gem.” Another reviewer said, “Calling this one the 7th best in the state is just dead wrong. This is may be the best golf course in Arkansas.” And that puts it up against the renowned Alotian Club (i.e. the 34th best course in America according to Golf Digest). So if you’re ever within an hour of Wynne, AR, take the detour and go play The Ridges at Village Creek. It’s not an understatement to say it might be worth 3-4x the price of admission.

Pro Tip: The state park has 10 awesome cabins on-site that can be rented by the night if you don’t want to make the trek back to Memphis or Little Rock.

Rates: $30-$50 dependent upon the season and day of the week

Check out this overview from @contenttitan

(it’s such a hidden gem, even video of the course was hard to find!)

@contenttitan

Come with us on location! ☀️ We love a shoot on a beautiful summer day. This one was a lot of fun! ⛳️🎬 #videoproduction #dronevideo #bts ... See more

STATISTICS
Stat of the Day: Probability of a One-Putt (by Skill Level and Distance)
presented by…

The Stat: While Tour Pros and Scratch golfers are a good bit more likely to make a 20 footer, they really separate themselves from amateurs with their consistency inside 10 feet.

The Takeaway: We all tend to believe the best golfers hole long putts more consistently. And while that’s true, it’s not where they truly gain the majority of their strokes over lesser skilled golfers. They separate themselves by their ability to make less mistakes when putting from closer distances, and they achieve this through dedicated practice.

This reminded of Tiger’s putting practice regimen: He wouldn’t let himself leave the putting green until he’d made at least 100 four-foot putts in a row, often getting up to 200 in a row. That’s absolutely mind-boggling, and it further proves just how consistent (and confident) the best players are when putting from close distances.

TODAY’S TRIVIA
Answer to Win a Set of 3 Mizuno T24 Denim Copper Wedges
(1 winner chosen on 11/30/24 across all November trivia entries, 1,000 correct respondents minimum)

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