ALEXANDRIA
— Alexandria Golf Club’s newest attraction recently received national recognition from a top golfing publication.
It’s an honor everyone involved is not taking lightly.
The
Little Darling Par 3 Course
at AGC was named as one of the 11 best new short courses anyone can play in a Golf Digest magazine article on Sept. 21. It highlights the course’s open-front green along with the surrounding shoulders and kick slopes to increase excitement in playing a round.
With a world audience of around 19 million people, the hope from the club’s members is that the recognition from Golf Digest will help turn the club’s courses and the Alexandria area into a premier golfing destination in the country.
Based on early feedback, there’s reason for excitement.
The entrance sign for the Little Darling Par 3 Course is pictured at the Alexandria Golf Club on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
Blake Durham / Alexandria Echo Press
“It adds another layer of excellence to our area,” AGC president Larry Novotny said. “Already, the phone calls about the course have been amazing from around the country. People want to experience it. Anytime you get recognized in a nationally-followed publication, it’s a feather in your hat and it’ll bring people to the area.”
The Tom Lehman-designed course opened back in June, playing at 1,177 yards from the back tees and played host to the inaugural
Resorters
par-3 contest in August. However, the multiple tee options provide different approaches to playing each hole, while the most forward tees are set up in front of open fairways to help people of all skillsets to get into the game of golf.
It’s been especially noticeable in the younger golfers taking to the course, as the Little Darling course provides them a place to play without having to go through a potential four-hour round on an 18-hole golf course, along with additional space for instructional opportunities.
The finishing No. 9 hole and clubhouse are pictured as part of the Little Darling Par 3 Course at the Alexandria Golf Club on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
Blake Durham / Alexandria Echo Press
“It’s not intimidating for people to learn how to play out there,” Novotny said of the course’s forward tee design. “The kids that play the course are just smiling and having a great time instead of just beating balls or practicing this. … Alexandria has a great history of developing young golfers and we want to continue to reinforce that.”
A typical round takes just over an hour according to Novotny, ideal for golfers to get in quick swings when pressed for time or have other plans for the day. The course also has admirers of its overall layout, designed by Lehman as a links-style course in similar vein to Scottish golf courses like Carnoustie and St. Andrews.
As for the layout of the holes, there are nine distinct holes where depending on the tee position can create optical illusions. The No. 6 hole from the back tee positions make the wide green look narrow and the closing No. 9 hole appears to require a longer forced carry to an elevated green when there is room to miss it short, only two of the examples of a fun challenge for everyone who comes out to play.
The birdie bell at the No. 7 hole that golfers can ring after recording a birdie is pictured as part of the Little Darling Par 3 Course at the Alexandria Golf Club on Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.
Blake Durham / Alexandria Echo Press
Little Darling’s signature hole is the short No. 7 hole, a downhill par-3 with a small green where golfers can ring a bell at the end of the hole if they make a birdie, signaling their achievement to the rest of the golfers on the course, giving everyone the realization of the impact a short round of golf can make on everyone involved.
“Tom designed this course with nine different styles of greens, and people like that not one hole is similar,” Novotny said. “It’s a culmination of three years of hard work and this is the fruition for the work of our staff, course builders and everybody involved that it’s recognized rather quickly as a top course.”
Work is still being done mainly to ensure the grass in a couple areas are planted properly to prepare for next year’s growing season, while plans to build a new learning center at AGC were approved back in April by the Alexandria City Council. Golfers still have the opportunity to play the
Little Darling par-3 course
until Nov. 1 depending on the weather and the overall condition of the property.
Overall, Novotny is pleased to see the Little Darling par-3 course in great shape, a testament to superintendent Jake Fenno and the grounds crew at the property and all the people involved in bringing a different look to the Alexandria area golf scene.
“It was a total team effort to make Little Darling a reality,” Novotny said, “And we are beyond ecstatic for the positive publicity it received so quickly.”
Blake Durham is the Sports and Outdoors Editor at the Echo Press. He joined the newspaper in September 2025 and covers various sports in Alexandria and throughout Douglas County. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a bachelor’s degree in communications in 2022.
