Hank Swank’s Golf Course

Summary: Hank Swank’s Golf Course is a nine hole par-3 golf course that sheds all golf norms and caters to those who are seeking a fun relaxed family environment. The youngest golfer to the most seasoned veteran will find some hidden challenges and if not, then there is always an opportunity here to work on your short game.

Address: 6101 E Olive Avenue, Fresno, CA 93727 

Major Cross Streets: Olive Avenue and Fowler Avenue

Phone: 559-252-7077

Ranking System: There are three basic factors I will be ranking Golf Courses on: Affordability, Challenge, and Fun. For me, these are the existential encounters I want to experience when engaging with this type of golfing environment. The criteria is based on a five point scale represented by a golf club for each point. One golf club is the lowest rating while five golf clubs are the highest. It’s pretty simple; let’s keep it that way;)

Breakdown: While writing this review, I have the distinct pleasure of watching the final round of the 2020 Master’s. In one day, I witnessed the great Tiger Woods register a ten on the par-3 12th hole while Dustin Johnson meticulously attacked the golf course as though possessed by those ancestral greats who walked the hallowed grounds of Augusta. It all culminated with Johnson shattering records by notching a seventy-two hole 20-under par masterpiece. It makes me wonder if he could have performed a similar feat with hordes of people standing on either side of the tee box and another contingency waiting at every green. My meanderings really have no bearing or meaning because golf fanatics were granted a brief respite from the darkest hours of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hank Swank’s and Augusta National are polar opposites, the ying and yang, a balance to our day dreaming of endless possibilities; they unconsciously embody the irony that is golf. Augusta encapsulates the vision we all have of what golf should be while Hank’s embraces the gritty reality most golfers are forced to accept. With that said, I’ve had the pleasure of golfing many courses over the past several decades, and Hank Swank’s can be summarized in one word: quirky.

I decided to arrive early with an intention of avoiding any Saturday crowds. This proved a good decision because I walked into the mobile home turned clubhouse, paid my $14.00 fee to play 9 holes, and I was on the the first tee within a couple of minutes.

I was surprised that it cost so much even if it was a Saturday morning. I recalled paying $5.00 and $12.00 on previous occasions which led me to conclude that they are constantly running specials. Anyway, the first tee box sign stated the hole was 130 yards, but from my perspective it looked to be more like 100 yards. This should have been my first clue that this would be another interesting day golfing at Hank’s. The flag poles don’t have reflectors for determining yardage, and for some reason I decided not to activate the Golfshot app on my cell phone that has a built in GPS system. I subsequently hit a low line drive from the muddy tee box with my pitching wedge and watched the ball roll through the dew laden fairway onto the green. I wasn’t warmed up which made hitting the green all the more sweeter. I easily two putted and was on my way to the second hole feeling a little anxious.

Golf challenges me to slow down. It’s like writing in that if you rush the process nothing good is produced. You feel the murkiness of a mind not at peace, a soul momentarily disengaged, and the past and future colliding with false expectations. I hearkened back to a story I heard about monks who use golf for meditation purposes. I haven’t checked to see if the story is true, but it helped to focus my mind towards enjoying the here and now rather than think about issues that were out of my control. The second and third hole wrap you around the driving range and are not much to talk about. They are bordered on the left by a dilapidated chain link fence separating several unkempt fields containing a mish-mash of old golf equipment relics, miscellaneous junk, lost golf balls, piles of stacked wood, and numerous lighting pylons. On the right is the driving range which makes a miss to the right a nightmare because you have to go on an Easter egg hunt if you want to find your ball. This right/left scenario occurred to me on the second hole. I hit my first ball into the fields on the left, my second ball I hit right amongst the thousands of range balls, and my third shot sailed past the green into Hole #3 tee box. I ended up taking a triple bogey and decided to leave that hole in my rear view.

Around the fifth hole, I started to feel as though the storm inside my head was subsiding and calm waters flowed through my consciousness. I was able to look around at my surroundings with a grateful heart, and I felt the flow of my existence engulf me in its pure tranquility. The dew on the grass began dissipating and sunlight filtered through the pines bordering each side of the fairway providing a rich warmth to permeate throughout my body. If you grant golf permission, then this is where it transcends reality and provides moments of respite from the onslaught of our self-imposed chaotic lifestyles.

The sixth and seventh holes were where I felt as though I had warmed up and my swing was grooved into a natural rhythm and flow. Early morning wet grass coupled with mid to low 50s temps were replaced by untouched blue skies and warmer conditions. Unfortunately, once I left the fifth hole and moved into the sixth/seventh hole, you start to reenter the Fresno concrete jungle environment. Traffic noise trickles like a leaky faucet from the 180 freeway and Fowler Avenue onto the golf course while power lines thread their way overhead from one pole to the next threatening the peace and tranquility built up from the protection of the mature trees, orchards, and vacant farm lots on holes one through five. I had activated my Golfshot app on Hole #3 and figured out that the difference between the posted yardage and actual yardage was between forty and fifty yards less. These circumstances relegated me to using my 9-iron, pitching wedge, and 56 degree clubs because there were no holes on the entire course measuring over 120 yards.

I call the eight hole “infamous” because it is unique, fun, mesmerizing, challenging, and the shortest hole you will probably come against in your golfing adventures. Let’s spend one minute to focus on this gem. After the seventh, you spin around and start to realize your day at Hank Swank’s is almost done. But you are in for a treat because the eighth hole normally registers at 85 yards, but on this day it was a 58 yard chip shot onto the green! I had caught up to a threesome who were still teeing off on the ninth hole and there was no-one behind me, so I decided to fire off a couple extra shots in hopes of gaining my first hole-in-one. Multiple tee shots later, I was elated to see four white concentric objects lying neatly around the yellow flag pole. None went in but they were all nestled safely on the green waiting to be nudged in to their home away from home.

I finished my hour and a half nine hole round with a par on the ninth hole. If you want a final hole that sums up all the nuances of this course, then this is the hole for you because Fowler Avenue is on the left, the driving range on the right, and a beautiful view of the mobile home (errrr I mean clubhouse) beyond the green. Don’t get me wrong, the pine trees on either side of the fairway along with the palm trees in the background provide needed relief from much of the outside world, but they can’t hide everything.

Final Thoughts: What makes Hank Swank’s a place that people keep returning too with their family, individually, or with friends? The answer may be subjective or I would venture the educated guess that playability, a non-judgmental environment, and escape from the realities of Fresno imbue the golf course with a sustainable uniqueness that can’t be replicated. I have yet to see any other golf course cater to all persons regardless of skill level, economic status, race, gender, age, or clothing attire. This is what Fresno represents at its very core and Hank Swank’s will always answer the deep longing we all have to be part of an environment that accepts us for who we are while having fun in the process.

Par: 27

Final Score: 35 (+8) — The second hole got me…