Dallas Texas Public courses

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

Hello, I've been able to get good recommendations using the forum already but am looking for some feedback on my course selection and filling in some gaps. I will be visiting my brother (Frisco, Texas) next Wednesday thru Sunday. We plan to play 2 rounds a day (Th/Fr/Sat) and one round likely early Sunday morning. My brother has lived there for only 10 months so i'm trying to get us to some courses he has yet to play since he's only played 15 different courses. Of all the courses listed below he has only played Grapevine once and the Tribute like 4-5 times since it is a great track he says and is only 10 miles from Frisco. I am trying to avoid courses with many homes as this tends to Fock with my head, I start hooking it like a mad man. I've seen Old American suggested but in all honesty I cant see myself paying $100 or more for golf ever again unless its at Bandon Dunes in the winter months after my recent experience :) I really enjoy courses flooded with sand/bunkers, just appeals to me or lots of water hazards. I usually play The Reserve South Course here in Beaverton or Heron Lakes Great Blue as an example of what i play if you've ever been to the Portland Or area. So i'm sort of looking to play courses similar to that and is why i've suggested/booked Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers clubs, it looks like there is tons of sand! But anyways , this is our Itinerary at the moment.

Thursday morning (Open to suggestions)

Thursday 2:00pm (Dallas Cowboys, twilight rate)

Friday morning (7:00am Waterchase)

Friday Twilight (Open to suggestions.. considering Texas Rangers at the moment over Texas Star) -

Saturday morning (Open to suggestions)

Saturday twilight (Tribute, twilight rate)

Sunday morning (Open to suggestions, flight out DFW 1:05pm) - gonna be tight

I dont think we will play Tierra Verde as it is ~50 miles south of his home. I'm on the fence with Texas Star although looks like a fun track. I really like the look of Coyote Ridge with all of its bunkers but the homes worry me. My brother has mentioned Grapevine is a fun course and it appears that they have cheap walking rates too (I only walk). My brother lives on the Plantation course but one look at that is all it took (HOMES), no thank you. Waterchase is one i keep going back and forth with, it looks like an amazing course yet i dont see a lot of discussions/talk about it and my brother has never heard of it... weird... And would anyone suggest playing Tribute twice? It looks like a fun wide open course.. Could do it thursday morning and saturday twilight.. ok, any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Looks like the forecast looks pretty favorable at the moment, no Tornado warnings as of yet haha.. Tornadoes are the only thing my brother talks about coming from Los Angeles.. OK Thanks again, Brandon.

[North Texas]

Frisco Lakes should definitely be considered. As well as Bridlewood in Flower Mound.

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

wow frisco lakes looks beautiful.. and looks like there's plenty of space between homes... and cost is reasonable too.. thanks!

[cjblake09]

I would play Grapevine muni over Frisco Lakes for sure.

Waterchase is great and no homes on it and stay away from Plantation. If you want to go east Pecan Hollow has some of the best greens in Dallas.

[ousuxndallas]

Watters Creek in Plano. Nice bang for your buck.

[North Texas]

Played Frisco Lakes a couple of weeks and it is well worth it. Lots of good golf holes with some character to them and just a very fun course to play. You would enjoy it. As you would Bridlewood.

But there are numerous other courses that fit that description. Have not played Grapevine but I hear nothing but good things about it. Wouldn't go wrong there either.

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

I had to look again on google maps.. Christ the Plantation does not look like my type of course.. I cant believe my brother plays here when he can get wild as hell with his driver.. yikes.. Bridlewood looks just slightly wider on the holes framed by track homes.. along with Watters creek.. Frisco lakes looks like the widest so far of the suggestions with homes along the course.. My bro has said great things about Grapevine and it looks like they have a walking rate which is what im used to seeing!! So maybe well do Tribute once and consider Frisco Lakes and Grapevine! Thanks again! And im amazed of how many options there are out there.. I thought we had a ton here in the Portland area.. man.. so many options out there

[farmer]

15 courses in 10 months? I am impressed. Weather looks to be OK, but it may be wet.

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

Ya i’m gonna have to bring my brother some rain gear. Hopefully it does rain as he needs to experience it. He committed to a 5 day trip to Bandon Dunes this December with me so he needs to get his feet wet. I play through wet weather almost weekly for too many months of the year. I’m cool with rain, just not the wild texan thunderstorms he tells me about.

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

Guys i'm on the edge with Texas rangers for a Friday twilight.. is it really worth 77$ and taxes?! We play Waterchase in the morning at $55 and would like to play something close enough to get to for a just after 1:00pm start.. Texas Star is close to Waterchase too but is $44 for a twilight... Is Texas Rangers worth $33 more than Texas Star? Sorry, I typically spend under $40 for great golf out here in the Portland area.. trying to save a few bucks where I can.. +30$ can go for some good BBQ instead! If Texas Rangers is a solid course then we'll do over Texas Star...  Again Bro hasn't played either one.. Thanks!

[North Texas]

Have not played either Texas Star or Texas Rangers so I can't speak to that. But I do like your thinking on the $30 for some good BBQ!

[burns9304]

Texas Rangers is not worth the extra money in my opinion; I'm not a fan of it at all

[newbsauce]

I've played both Star and Rangers twice, I prefer Star over Rangers slightly. This was a few months ago; can't speak to current conditions.

[Maroon_19]

Thursday morning - play Grapevine Muni. It's a great course with 3 nines. I'm playing there tomorrow. That works well with your afternoon round at Cowboys as they are next door to each other.

Friday afternoon (you are going to love Waterchase - my favorite local course - live in Arlington) - play Texas Star. I haven't played the Texas Rangers course, but I do love the layout at Texas Star. You cannot go wrong. Played there last week.

Saturday - finding a public course that works well with an afternoon at The Tribute... Coyote Ridge or Indian Creek. Haven't played either in a year or two. Coyote Ridge was ALWAYS a 5+ hour round so I'm not a fan. Frisco Lakes is up that way, but the difficulty of that course turned me off. It was like getting your teeth kicked in 18 times.

Sunday morning - Bridlewood - great course and easy to get to DFW from there.

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

done done and done.. Booked grapevine.. Booked Indian Creek (didn't enjoy reading the golfer beat down articles.. jesus).. Tomorrow booking Tribute.. can book Texas Star on Sunday for Friday.. thanks again! Sunday i guess we're gonna keep open.. shit.. he does have two daughters.. one 11 month old i've yet to meet.. golf always gets in the way of things... the real important things.. thanks again!

[North Texas]

mycale, are you sure that you don't have Frisco Lakes mixed up with the Trails of Frisco? The Trails of Frisco definitely has reputation for being extremely difficult but the Lakes has never had that reputation. Avid Golfer describes Frisco Lakes as "a popular course that will not beat you up".

[Maroon_19]

I think you are right. My bad. Trails of Frisco. Even the name brings up bad memories.

[North Texas]

I hear ya. Played Trails of Frisco about 10 years ago. Doubtful I'll ever play it again.

[cjblake09]

I played it yesterday and it is not that difficult of a course....For sure a couple holes are but it is only 6300 from the blue tees.

 

Frisco lakes is wide open!

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

you guys have got a lot of options out there... crazy. I'm glad my brother is gonna be able to play some new courses this week.. He always mentions the same courses to me weekly (Pecan Hollow, Trails, Plantation (proximity to him), Tribute, Heritage, etc). This will be his first time down in the Arlington/Euless area. Part of me wants to try and convince him to drive 2+ hours to Pine Dunes and play two rounds. That course looks badass... but it will have to wait until the next visit. There are some photos of Pine Dunes online that remind me of holes at Bandon Trails..

[Trying4Better]

If you had to pick between Tribute and Old American, I would pay the extra for Old American all day. Tribute is a bit too easy, IMO.

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

Yah i've gone back and forth on the tribute as well but we're going to play it Saturday for a twilight.. $45 sounds like a pretty good deal and now my Bro's father in law is playing.. He's gotta keep that dude happy and he enjoys the course.. I just fricken wished The Tribute GC posted some information on their website what each hole is modeled after.. That is shocking to see little to no information unless i'm completely blind and don't see it.. I did find a site online that covered a few holes. but nothing very detailed.. And my brother told me the scorecards fail to mention is as well.. All in all i'm guessing my top pick of all the courses will be Waterchase.. course looks pretty awesome.. if it's as fun as it looks I may try to convince the guys that we should play there again Saturday instead of Tribute.. we'll see.

[ttttttt1432]

Texas Rangers is my favorite course in the area. It's a fun track, with a good mix of scoring holes and tough holes, interesting green complexes without being over the top, and lots of slopes around the property to promote creativity. Worth the money over Texas Star, in my opinion. Texas Star is also a nice course and is always one of the top courses in the area. I find it to be very challenging - if your not striking the ball well, it's easy to get beat up out there (Waterchase can be the same way).

If you are looking for a budget course similar to Texas Rangers, check out Stevens Park about 20 miles east of Waterchase on I-30. It was redesigned by the same firm who did the Texas Rangers renovation. It's an awesome muni layout, very walkable, lots of interesting golf holes, square greens, and some good skyline views. It is in a neighborhood and some of the tee shots can feel tight, but it is not lined with houses, per se.

[JNewsted]

I'm totally on board with Texas Rangers and Stevens Park. Really like both.

[phil75070]

Thursday morning I would suggest Grapevine as it is next door to Cowboys, or why not play 36 at Cowboys as (at least it used to be) their replay rates are really, cheap!

[ousuxndallas]

Tribute is awesome. Huge greens.

From memory:

#1, 17, 18 from St Andrews TOC

#5 is Troon postage stamp par 3.

#11 is High In, par 3 from TOC (where Bobby Jones got frustrated and quit in 1921)

Western Gailes, Muirfield, Carnoustie also represented.

 

 

 

 

 

[PNWBBBogeyMaster8977]

Thanks ousuxndallas for the run down! Tribute was a lot of fun. I will def be playing it when I return someday. Thanks again everybody for all the tips! Man I really enjoyed Texas Star. There were some really fun holes with elevated tee boxes, my brother really enjoyed that one as well. Dallas Cowboys was memorable as I got to listen to my brother complain the entire time how much he regretted walking that course.. We payed $100 for the round but it included all you could eat at the restaurant so we had breakfast and lunch after the round, we took advantage trying most appetizers and an entree each. I ended up walking all four rounds which was a nice work out for me, needed it after all the Hutchins BBQ brisket I consumed and peach cobbler. I had to prove to my bro that walking is an option out there. He seems to think golf carts are the only option and he is trying to shed a bit of weight so I was encouraging him to start walking his rounds of golf. Didn't get to play Grapevine as there was a "Rain Delay" which was strange to me as that doesn't exist out here in Portland. Weird. So only played Dallas Cowboys that day and took our time around the course as no one was playing that day. Enjoyed several free hot dogs on the 12th hole. If you can get that $100 rate i feel it's totally worth it with all the food and beverages included, the restaurant was top quality for sure. Waterchase i was on the edge with, i played horribly so got beat up. Had a frost delay which made the bunkers brutal... Hard as a rock.. There are tons of canyons to carry too, more than Texas Star. Waterchase can be difficult. So id say my favorites were in the following order Texas Star, Tribute, Dallas Cowboys, and Waterchase. Tribute was def a fun course with tricky greens.. reminded me of all the 3 putts i experienced at Bandon.. Well, already looking forward to another trip someday.. Enjoy it.