Big Creek is no big secret anymore.

Big Creek Golf and Country Club has been racking up state and national awards since opening nearly a decade ago in Mountain Home.

Arkansas Business/ArkansasSports360.com readers have regarded it as the state's best public course for the past two years. Golf Digest, in a reader's poll, bestowed a "five star" ranking on Big Creek in 2004, 2006 and 2008, placing it alongside such notables as Pebble Beach Golf Links and Pinehurst No. 2.

ArkansasSports360.com readers, in fact, chose Big Creek by an almost 2-to-1 margin over other state golf courses (see related story on page 13).

But what Eddie Roethlisberger, PGA head pro at the course, sees as most affirming are the folks who travel from out of state to play the course. That, Roethlisberger said, is the greatest compliment the course could receive.

Word of mouth has traveled from Arkansas to other parts of the country. Big Creek isn't exactly a well-kept secret.

"Once or twice a year, we'll get somebody that is playing one course in each state. It seems like they're always picking us when they come to Arkansas," RoethLisberger said. "For somebody to drive 250 miles out of the way--and sometimes more--to pick us, that's a great feeling."

Golfers have traveled from as far away as Alaska to check out Big Creek, which covers 200 acres of prime Ozark real estate. Big Creek plays 7,320 yards off the black tees, but the good news for most golfers is that the course has four other tee options that can cut as much as 2,000 yards off the length.

For the most part the course is very forgiving off the tee. Where golfers run into a challenge is the length of the course and a series of bunkers and other obstacles that place a premium on approach shots.

Roethlisberger sees the Ault, Clark and Associates-designed course as "best of both worlds."

Big Creek seems to be challenging enough to keep people interested, but isn't so difficult that people get frustrated enough to quit playing. It's a delicate balance that good courses must strike, and Roethlisberger thinks Big Creek achieves that.

And there's plenty of natural beauty.

Despite losing trees to a recent ice storm, the course is still scenic. It plays over four lakes and Big Creek with the man-made inclusion of zoysia fairways and Bermuda rough.

Signature holes include holes No. 4 and 10. No. 4 is a 163-yard par 3. There's a two-tiered, oddly shaped green that's sandwiched between a bunker on the left and water on the right. No. 10 is a 540-yard par 5 with a peninsula green surrounded by water.

The state's best amateur golfers will test themselves at Big Creek later this month at the ASGA Men's Match Play tournament. Play begins April 30 and continues through May 3.