Kentucky Dam Golf Course

Golf Travel Guide To Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park

An Interview With Mel McIntyre, PGA Professional

By Brian Weis

Looking to plan the perfect golf trip to Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park? Planning a buddies trip or a romantic golf getaway can be a full time job not to mention pressure filled to deliver a memorable experience. Below is an interview with Mel McIntyre, PGA Professional who shares some insider information about golfing and traveling to Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park, must play courses, a sample itinerary and where you can go for more planning tools.

Give our readers an overview of your destination and why they should consider it for their next golf trip? Beautiful Kentucky Lakes Region, resort is right on Kentucky Lake the largest Lake in Kentucky. Only 2 miles off of I-24 less than 200 miles from Louisville, St. Louis, Memphis and only 120 miles from Nashville. Easy days drive from Northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. Whatever your recreational passion is we have it covered, golf, boating, fishing, swimming, tennis, riding stables, eagle watching in winter. Wide variety of accommodations available including 72 Lodge rooms all with lake view. The Village Green Inn a 14 room Inn right on the Perry Maxwell designed 18 Hole golf course. Sixty two one, two or three bedroom cottages. Convention Center & Meeting rooms also available. Campground with 221 paved sites with utility hookups open from April-October. Even fly right into Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park at our 4000 foot paved airstrip located on the Park. The Harbour Lights restaurant provides excellent meals and is open year around.

For golfers our Tee's and Zzz's packages offer great value and include lodging, breakfast and dinner, 18 holes of golf with cart, welcome gift card and preferred tee times

What are the must play courses in Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park?
The golf course at Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park is the granddaddy of the Kentucky State Parks Golf Trail, opened in 1951. The championship style par 72 layout on a gently sloping terrain was designed by notable course architect Perry Maxwell. Four sets of tees ranging from 4949-6692 yards accommodate players of all skill levels. The course is always in fabulous condition and features Bermuda fairways and tees with bent grass greens. The golf course is open year around and features a fully equipped pro shop with golf carts, pull carts and clubs available for rent. Lessons are also available from our PGA Professional.

What is the hidden gem and/or best value course?
Two other State Park golf courses Mineral Mound and Lake Barkley are located nearby and provide a great opportunity to play three great golf courses on one Tee's and Zzz's package. Mineral Mound is only 20 minutes away and provides a challenging course with fabulous views of Lake Barkley. The Boots Randolph Course at Lake Barkley State Resort park is only 45 minutes away and provides another great course to play.

Can you provide our readers with an ideal itinerary for a long weekend?
Arrive Thursday afternoon at Kentucky Dam Village check into your room or cottage and enjoy a afternoon round at Kentucky Dam Village. Friday morning after breakfast at the Harbor Lights Restaurant at KDV make a short 20 minute drive and play Mineral Mound State Park and perhaps even play a replay 9 or 18 for only $10 for 9 or $20 for 18 cart included. Return to KDV and enjoy dinner at Harbor Lights Restaurant. Saturday morning after breakfast drive 45 minutes and play the Boots Randolph course at Lake Barkley State Resort and return to KDV for dinner. Sunday morning after breakfast play Kentucky Dam Village and then return home Sunday afternoon.

After golf, what are the "must do" things or attractions to see? After golf there are lots of things to do, take a swim in our pool or the beach area on Kentucky Lake. Take a stroll across the TVA Dam of the Tennessee River which formed Kentucky Lake. Check out the Kentucky Dam Village Marina where rental fishing boats, pontoons, houseboats, ski boats, and seadoos are available. Group excursions are also available. World Class fishing in Kentucky Lake, bass, bluegill, catfish, crappie and sauger can be caught either in a boat or right off the dock. Our riding stable offers 45 minute scenic rides along the lakeshore. Tennis courts, picnic tables and playground equipment are also available.

What is the best time to travel?
Typically the early spring months of March and April is when we get visits from our friends up north in Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois. daytime high temperature in March average 63 and it warms up in April to a average high of 72.From May til October our groups tend to be from St. Louis and Louisville. We really are the perfect location for "Buddy Golf Trips". Summer months are the popular time of year for Family Reunion's and our location in the center of the country and wide variety of accommodations and things to do make Kentucky Dam Village the perfect spot for a Family Reunion's..

Anything else you would like to share about the Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park?
Easy to get to beautiful area, friendly people

Where can golfers go for more information to research and plan their trip?
At our website www.parks.ky.gov or by calling 1-800-325-0146

Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park
800-295-1877 or 800-325-0146
www.parks.ky.gov

Revised: 01/28/2014 - Article Viewed 32,397 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.