Champions Cypress Creek Course

paulyb · August 19, 2007

USGA Mid Am qualifier is there. . .any advice

I have never played Champions and was looking for some thoughts on the course from anyone who has.

Thanks

tagermo · August 19, 2007

Champions Cypress course is a great traditional layout golf course. The par 4's are long and the course has extremely large greens. The greens are especially challenging as they are extremely slow bermuda greens. In fact I find them the slowest greens in Houston. Hopefully for the Mid Am they will cut them and get the speed up. The course is a very fair course and the fairways are wide and tree lined stay out of the trees and the course offers good scoring opportunities. Good luck to you in your tournament.

paulyb · August 19, 2007

Thanks

illinikyle · August 19, 2007

Champions Golf Club - Cypress Creek

Front Nine - Par 36 - 3609 yards

#1: Par 4, 455 yards, Green Depth 38 yards

The course starts out as with a difficult opening par four. The hole is a right to left dogleg. A good tee shot must flirt with the bunkers on the right half of the fairway to give the best look at the green and guarantee a straight second shot. The miss must be right with the second shot as water comes to play on the right side of the green.

#2: Par 4, 450 yards, Green Depth 50 yards

Straight away par four here. A good hole to let the driver loose.

#3: Par 4, 416 yards, Green Depth 47 yards

The third is a 90 degree dogleg from the left to right and therefore requires a cut driver or three wood off the tee. A well positioned tee shot makes this a possible birdie hole.

#4: Par 3, 221 yards, Green Depth 41 yards

As you will see from the tee the only miss on this hole is to the right. Anything left of the green will follow the drop off into Cypress Creek. Ben Hogan made the mistake of trying to play a ball from the left side and in doing so hurt his knee. This was the last competitive hole that he played.

#5: Par 5, 514 yards, Green Depth 44 yards

This is the first of the par fives that are birdie holes. The best way to score at Champions is to attack the par fives. Hit driver up the right side of the fairway and you will have a go at the green with your second.

#6: Par 4, 424 yards, Green Depth 46 yards

From the tee the choice is yours whether to hit driver or three wood. The center of the fairway is the best shot here as the second shot can be blocked from the left side or the right by trees. Right is no good on the approach with a lake guarding that side of the green. A ball hit long could also catch a bad bounce and end up out of bounds over the green.

#7: Par 4, 431 yards, Green Depth 62 yards

A tough dogleg from left to right demands a strong tee shot up the left hand side, most likely with the driver. From there you must avoid the lake short left on your approach.

#8: Par 3, 186 yards, Green Depth 42 yards

This is a world class par three in my opinion. There are many great pin placements that make this hole so demanding. Anything short of the green is wet. Many shots on the front of the green will roll back into the water as well.

#9: Par 5, 512 yards, Green Depth 47 yards

Another birdie hole at this reachable par five. A tee shot must avoid the big tree on the right hand side and then an open look will be had at the green. This green is huge, but well guarded by bunkers.

illinikyle · August 19, 2007

Back Nine - Par 35 - 3572 yards

I played the back nine tonight and took some pictures for you...

#10: Par 4, 453 yards, Green Depth 44 yards

This hole is very similar to the first (and their tees are only about 25 yards apart with the halfway house between them. A good tee shot here is down the right hand side to make sure you clear the corner of the right to left dogleg. As with the first hole there is water left of the green so a missed second shot must be right.

#11: Par 4, 460 yards, Green Depth 50 yards

A long and straight par four demands a strong driver up the right hand side. Any tee shot turning left quickly is in danger of catching the fairway bunker or worse the lake that is hidden to the left of it. Like on the previous hole the left side of the green is defended by a lake and anything left of the green can feed down into it.

Water left of green:

#12: Par 3, 213 yards, Green Depth 51 yards

A tough par three that is all carry over a large lake to a huge green. A par here is usually a good score.

#13: Par 5, 530 yards, Green Depth 45 yards

The final par five, just like the previous two, is another birdie opportunity. The drive must carry Cypress Creek on the right to find the fairway. The best angle into the green on this reachable hole is from the left side of the fairway, but this also adds distance. The green is well bunkered and a shot that drifts to the right may catch a slope that feeds balls into the creek that continues down the length of the hole.

From the tee:

From the fairway:

#14: Par 4, 431 yards, Green Depth 53 yards

A demanding tee shot must be up the left side of the fairway to have the best angle into the green. The green is well guarded with three bunker and a lake on the left side.

From the tee:

From the fairway:

Water left of green:

illinikyle · August 19, 2007

#15: Par 4, 416 yards, Green Depth 43 yards

The easiest par 4 on the course and a great chance at birdie. A strong drive will leave a short iron/wedge in your hand for the approach.

From the fairway:

#16: Par 3, 181 yards, Green Depth 47 yards

The easiest par 4 is followed by the easiest par 3. This is your last chance to score before two very difficult finishing holes. A big green plays more like three smaller greens when you break it down into sections.

From the tee:

From behind the green:

#17, Par 4, 448 yards, Green Depth 49 yards

Difficult par 4 with water left off the tee and OB right. A second water hazard waits on the left side of the green to challenge the second shot. Par is a good score here.

From the tee:

From the fairway:

#18, Par 4, 440 yards, Green Depth 44 yards

The finishing hole is about what you would expect after playing the first 17, a tough par four. The only trouble off the tee is the big fairway bunker on the left. The second shot plays to a well bunkered green that like #16 seems to play in three different smaller sections depending on hole location.

From the tee:

From the fairway:

illinikyle · August 19, 2007

If you want to score at Champions you need to survive the par 4's and take advantage of the par 5's. I doubt anyone will be taking the trip to Bandon if they don't play the par 5's at least -2. I don't know who is in the field, but I'm guessing it will be quite strong and a low score will be needed to move on. There are many strong players at Champions that will likely be tough to beat playing their home course. The condition of the course will likely depend on the weather in the days leading up to the event. The greens were slow at the start of the year, but they have sped up dramatically during the summer months when the weather allows them to be cut down. They are never fast, but I wouldn't be surprised if they are running around 10.5 if it is dry. The greens are not only big, but they are pretty undulating as well. Completing the round without a three putt is a victory in itself. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes down next week.