Dale Hollow Golf Course

Getting To Know: Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park

An Insightful Interview With Bruce Bottom, PGA Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Bruce Bottom who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Course opened in 2003. Course Architect: Brian Ault of Ault, Clark & Associates. 5 sets of tees allows the course to play between 5,000 and 7,000 yards. Large, undulating bent grass greens. Zoysia fairways. Many elevation changes. A very demanding test. Excellent practice facilities. Numerous golf publications consistently rank Dale Hollow as one of the top 10 courses in Kentucky.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
One of the top 10 courses in Kentucky and one of the most scenic in the country. Also, course is kept in excellent condition.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Select tee markers commensurate with your ability. Choose wisely. The first two holes are warm up holes, but after that, the game is on. It is also very helpful to hit your tee shots accurately (probably true for most courses). Approaching the green complexes: staying short is way better than missing to the sides or long. On the putting greens: the ball generally does not break as much as you would think.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
2013 Golf Digest Magazine State Rankings:

Dale Hollow was ranked as the 7th best course in Kentucky.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Hole #15, Par 3, yardage between 119 and 194. From the 3 longest tees, tee shot must carry over a ravine to a green that is fronted by a rock ledge. Accurate distance is a must. Long or short is adios.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Hole # 14, Par 5, yardage between 429 and 528. A classic risk reward par 5. It may be played as a traditional 3 shot hole by playing safely away from the pond that runs along the right side of the hole. You can cut off a lot of yardage by going over the pond with your tee shot. Careful though, the fairway gets narrower the further you go. The reward is an open, slightly uphill second shot to an easily reachable green.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The buffet at the State Park Lodge Island View Restaurant is a can't miss.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
The competitive course record is 66. Shot by Pierre Carlsson of the University of the Cumberlands in the second round of the 2010 Lindsey Wilson College Fall Invitational. This round was played from the #1 tee markers (7023 yards) in very wet conditions. It was a stunner.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7023
Slope: 136
Rating: 72.9

More Information
Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park
5970 State Park Rd. Burkesville, KY, 42717
270-433-7888
www.parks.ky.gov

Revised: 01/18/2014 - Article Viewed 34,065 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.