Two Country Clubs, One Big Dam Bridge: The Insider's Guide to Golf Living in Little Rock
The PGA TOUR Champions is coming back to Little Rock — and if you're anything like me, that's the excuse you needed to finally ask the question you've been putting off: what's it actually like to live here?
From October 26 – November 1, 2026, the Simmons Bank Championship presented by Stephens returns to Pleasant Valley Country Club for its third year as an official PGA TOUR Champions playoff stop (tournament rounds run October 30 – November 1). It's one of only two PGA TOUR-sanctioned events Arkansas has ever hosted, and it turns a quiet Little Rock neighborhood into a week-long golf carnival, complete with a newly renovated clubhouse and grandstands packed with people who apparently own more visors than I do.
But here's what nobody tells you when they're hyping the tournament: Little Rock has two serious country club communities, not one, and they could not feel more different if they tried. So let's skip the tourist brochure version and talk about what it's actually like to live near each — plus where to eat, and why an old dam bridge might be the best decision this city ever made.
The 2026 Simmons Bank Championship, Quick Facts
Dates: October 26 – November 1, 2026 (tournament play October 30 – November 1)
Location: Pleasant Valley Country Club, 1 Pleasant Valley Dr, Little Rock, AR 72212
What it is: The second of three PGA TOUR Champions Charles Schwab Cup Playoff events, featuring the top 54 players in the standings
2025 defending champion: Steve Alker
Fun fact: The 2025 event won the President's Award — the tour's top honor for hospitality — so if you go, expect it to be run like a very well-oiled, very Southern machine
Pleasant Valley vs. Chenal: Same City, Completely Different Vibe
If Pleasant Valley and Chenal were people, Pleasant Valley would be the neighbor who's lived on the same street since 1975 and knows everyone's dog by name. Chenal would be the newer neighbor with the impressive landscaping who just got back from Italy.
Pleasant Valley: Established, Central, Old-Money Quiet
Pleasant Valley is one of Little Rock's older west-side neighborhoods, tucked along Rodney Parham Road and centered entirely on Pleasant Valley Country Club — a course Golf Digest has ranked among the top handful in the entire state. The whole neighborhood sits inside the 72212 zip code, and it has a reputation as one of the more established, higher-income pockets of the city — this is the kind of place where the trees are as tall as the houses are nice.
It's close-in. You're minutes from downtown, the medical district, and the Heights/Hillcrest shopping and restaurant strip. If your priority is "I want to be near everything, in a neighborhood that already feels finished," this is your zip code.
Chenal: Newer, Bigger, Built for the Long Game
Now drive about fifteen minutes west and the whole picture changes. Chenal Valley is a sprawling, still-growing master-planned community — roughly 4,800 acres, more than 30 neighborhoods, and somewhere north of 50,000 residents — built around Chenal Country Club, which isn't one golf course but two: the Founders Course and the Bear Den Course, both designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Fourteen of Chenal's neighborhoods actually sit along the two courses, so "golf course lot" isn't a rare listing feature out here — it's practically the default. Add in walking trails, three community pools, tennis, and a fitness center, and Chenal reads less like "a neighborhood near a country club" and more like its own small, extremely manicured city.
And unlike Pleasant Valley, Chenal comes with its own downtown: The Promenade at Chenal, an open-air shopping and dining hub with Arkansas's only IMAX screen, an Apple Store, and enough restaurants that "where do you want to eat" stops being a fight.
Bottom line: Pleasant Valley if you want established and central. Chenal if you want space, newer construction, and a golf course view that comes standard rather than as an upgrade.
The Food Scene: Two Golf Communities, Two Very Different Menus
Around Pleasant Valley
You're a short drive from The Heights and Hillcrest, which means you've got access to some of the city's most beloved local spots without much of a commute. It's the kind of area where "let's just grab something quick" somehow still turns into a 90-minute dinner because you ran into three people you know.
Around Chenal
The Promenade at Chenal is basically a tasting menu of West Little Rock's best. A few that keep showing up on every local "best of" list:
YaYa's Euro Bistro — the reservation you make when you actually want to impress someone
The Buttered Biscuit — scratch-made Southern breakfast that will absolutely ruin you for gas station biscuits forever
City Silo Table + Pantry — for the friend who "just wants something healthy" and somehow always orders dessert anyway
Local Lime & Big Orange — casual, reliable, exactly what you want after 18 holes when you don't feel like putting on real pants
Honestly, the food alone has convinced more than one buyer to expand their search radius to "anywhere within walking distance of the Promenade."
The Big Dam Bridge: Yes, That's Really Its Name
If you're new to Little Rock, at some point someone is going to casually mention "the Big Dam Bridge" and you're going to think you misheard them. You didn't.
The Big Dam Bridge is exactly what it sounds like — a bridge built on top of the Murray Lock and Dam, spanning the Arkansas River between Little Rock and North Little Rock. And it's not a small bridge:
4,226 feet long — the longest pedestrian-and-bicycle-only bridge in North America
90 feet above the river at its highest point
Connects to the Arkansas River Trail, a 14+ mile network of paths that link up with over 70,000 acres of parkland
Opened in 2006, and yes, the name really did come from a county judge who insisted, "We're going to build that dam bridge," and just never backed down from the pun
It's free, it's open 24/7, and on a fall evening — say, during tournament week — it might be the single best sunset view in the whole metro. Whether you're biking it, walking it, or just standing in the middle pretending you're not out of breath, it's one of those only-in-Little-Rock landmarks that makes new residents realize this city takes its outdoor life seriously.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far apart are Pleasant Valley and Chenal? About 10-15 minutes by car, depending on traffic — they're both in the western half of Little Rock, just on opposite ends of it.
Does Chenal Country Club really have two golf courses? Yes — the Founders Course and the Bear Den Course, both designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr., both par 72.
When is the 2026 Simmons Bank Championship? October 26 – November 1, 2026, at Pleasant Valley Country Club, with tournament rounds played October 30 – November 1.
Is Pleasant Valley or Chenal a better fit for families? Both work well for families, but they solve for different things. Pleasant Valley offers a more established, central location close to schools and the Heights/Hillcrest corridor. Chenal offers more new construction, larger lot sizes, and a self-contained community with its own shopping, trails, and pools.
Can I actually buy a home on the golf course in these communities? Yes, in both — though availability and price vary quite a bit by neighborhood and course frontage. This is exactly the kind of search where having someone who knows both communities well saves you a lot of guesswork.
Final Thought
Little Rock doesn't just host a PGA TOUR event once a year — it's built two entire communities around the sport, and somehow still finds room for a 4,226-foot bridge named after a very specific joke. Whether Pleasant Valley's established charm or Chenal's newer, bigger footprint sounds more like home, both are worth a serious look — tournament week or not.
📅 Mark your calendar: October 26 – November 1, 2026 — Simmons Bank Championship official site
📲 Thinking about a move to either golf community? I know both neighborhoods well — the courses, the streets, and which restaurants are actually worth the wait. Visit HawkTheRealtor.net or call/text me at 501-291-1495.
🦅 Call The Hawk. I've got your front nine covered — and your next front porch, too.
