Ben Hawes Golf Course is part of Ben Hawes Park which was acquired by the City of Owensboro in 1962 and opened Memorial Day in 1964. The Park was named after Honorable Mayor Benjamin W. Hawes. The City of Owensboro operated the golf course until 1980 when the park was sold to the Commonwealth of Kentucky to be operated as a state park. In 2010, the City reacquired the property.
Ben Hawes Golf Course has an eighteen hole regulation course and a nine hole par 3 course. The front nine was built on hilly terrain and its back nine was built on flat terrain. This championship course offers 6,632 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 71. You choose the 18-hole course or a par 3 nine-hole course.
The Pro Shop offers pull carts, golf carts and rental clubs plus a full line of golf apparel and the latest in clubs and balls. This is a great course for all skill levels of golfer. The ladies’ par is actually 72. The signature hole is #2, a 444-yard, par 4, requiring a long tee shot up a fairway with out-of-bounds stakes guarding the left and huge oak trees on the right, and also avoiding the ditch 200 yards off the tee box.