Help me pick one round in DFW

[AU94CMK]

We are planning a trip to Flower Mound over Masters weekend. We are playing ClubCorp courses on all but Saturday. For the Saturday round, we are looking at Bridlewood, Texas Star, Sky Creek Ranch, Heritage Ranch, or The Tribute at Colony. Our priorities are course conditions, layout, and then amenities. Cost isn’t a factor, with the exception that we don’t want to shell out to play Cowboys Golf Club. For a mid-Saturday morning round, which would you choose and why?

[mkuether]

I think the choice here is easily The Tribute. It is the most unique experience and checks all of your boxes. It is a great layout (located on the water) with good conditions and has a great clubhouse and practice facilities. The holes are all Scottish replicas, which may some gimmicky, but actually it works quite well. Depending on the tees that you play, it can be challenging while still giving you some birdie opportunities. It's sister property, Old American, is also a great course and located right now door (different feel from The Tribute, but both are excellent).

 

Texas Star would be my second choice of your options as it is also an excellent course that you will enjoy. Sky Creek Ranch and Bridlewood are both fine, but they do not stand out like the others in my opinion. We had a lot of rain last week, so I would avoid Heritage Ranch. It really, really doesn't drain well and they often have to close one nine after heavy rain. Even after the rain is over it takes quite a while for the course to get back to normal condition in my experience. It may or may not rain when you're here, but keep that in mind. It's also built in what is basically a retirement community, so the vibe is a little different there.

 

Anyway, I'd pick The Tribute without a second thought, and if that's not available I'd go to Texas Star.

 

Hope that's helpful,

 

Matt

[cjblake09]

I would go the opposite and play Texas Star over The Tribute.  If you can get on Old American I would play it but i think you can only play after 12 if you are not a member and not sure that fits into your schedule.

[AU94CMK]

8 minutes ago, cjblake09 said:

I would go the opposite and play Texas Star over The Tribute.  If you can get on Old American I would play it but i think you can only play after 12 if you are not a member and not sure that fits into your schedule.

Thanks - we're trying to play earlier on Saturday to get some Masters watching in, otherwise we'd definitely look at Old American. Just curious, what are the reasons you would play Texas Star over The Tribute?

[AU94CMK]

38 minutes ago, mkuether said:

I think the choice here is easily The Tribute. It is the most unique experience and checks all of your boxes. It is a great layout (located on the water) with good conditions and has a great clubhouse and practice facilities. The holes are all Scottish replicas, which may some gimmicky, but actually it works quite well. Depending on the tees that you play, it can be challenging while still giving you some birdie opportunities. It's sister property, Old American, is also a great course and located right now door (different feel from The Tribute, but both are excellent).

 

Texas Star would be my second choice of your options as it is also an excellent course that you will enjoy. Sky Creek Ranch and Bridlewood are both fine, but they do not stand out like the others in my opinion. We had a lot of rain last week, so I would avoid Heritage Ranch. It really, really doesn't drain well and they often have to close one nine after heavy rain. Even after the rain is over it takes quite a while for the course to get back to normal condition in my experience. It may or may not rain when you're here, but keep that in mind. It's also built in what is basically a retirement community, so the vibe is a little different there.

 

Anyway, I'd pick The Tribute without a second thought, and if that's not available I'd go to Texas Star.

 

Hope that's helpful,

 

Matt

Thanks, Matt! This is very helpful. Have you played The Tribute recently? I heard course conditions might be suffering, which was counter to everything I've read about The Tribute. It had been at the top of our list before I read that.

[mkuether]

9 minutes ago, AU94CMK said:

Thanks, Matt! This is very helpful. Have you played The Tribute recently? I heard course conditions might be suffering, which was counter to everything I've read about The Tribute. It had been at the top of our list before I read that.

 

I haven't played The Tribute this year, but I did play Old American on Friday (sister property as mentioned, they are right next to each other with only the practice facility separating them). Since they share the same clubhouse, I did get a look at The Tribute. The only thing that I noticed was a little odd was that they had sprayed the putting green with something so the color was a bit off, but it rolled fine and didn't have any dead spots or anything like that. The greens on Old American were in amazing shape, so I'd expect The Tribute to be similar, but perhaps someone else has more direct experience. We had a lot of rain last week so the fairways were a bit soggy on Old American so I'd guess the same would have been true for The Tribute, but not much you can do about that.

 

I've been playing The Tribute for over ten years and I've never seen it in bad condition so I'd be surprised if that's the case, but I'm sure someone on here has played this year and could give you a better idea of what to expect. Courses here are not fully green yet due to the February freeze, so you might see some yellow grass, but I would expect the greens to be in great shape.

 

As mentioned, if you're worried about Tribute then Texas Star is also a great choice, but it's not nearly as unique as The Tribute. You can't go wrong with either course though.

 

Matt

Edited March 29, 2021 by mkuether

[cjblake09]

42 minutes ago, AU94CMK said:

Thanks - we're trying to play earlier on Saturday to get some Masters watching in, otherwise we'd definitely look at Old American. Just curious, what are the reasons you would play Texas Star over The Tribute?

 

The Tribute is a  nice course and i live right by it but i just prefer Texas Star.  More hills, tree lined fairways, and more difficult.  The Tribute does have some fun holes but it is wide open as  intended with the design, no rough, and if the wind is not blowing pretty easy.  

 

I know you said cost is not a factor but Texas Star is also $50 less to play.

[Zeverson]

Texas Star easily over all those.  I would throw in Old American though.  Next door to the tribute.   Essentially a private course but allow a daily fee after a certain time of the day.   At least they used to.  It's a great course.  

[tbowles411]

Texas Star, but if you want cheaper, Grapevine is a decent track also.  I know Cowboys might seem steep, but it's a flat fee.  Food and non-alcoholic beverages are included in the fee.  Just remember to tip the girls who are patrolling with the carts and at the shack on 9.

[rugbydave]

I would consider Cowboys again.  The initial price is high but you eat and drink (non-alcoholic) for "free" after you pay the green fee.  

 

Texas Star is a great course but they struggle with players not fixing divots and the greens reflect that.    Tribute is fun but it gets redundant.  Definitely agree with tbowles on Grapevine Muni.  Its very nice except for the hole that borders Cowboys....you get a bit of buyer's remorse looking over the fence.  Keep in mind that the freeze has impeded normal grass growth and most courses are still recovering.

 

In the end, you'll like any of the courses you mentioned.

[Lefty_13]

I basically grew up on Grapevine and have played it for 15 years and I can’t remember a time the conditioning was as bad as it is now. The freeze really hurt the grass growth. Still needs some time

[AU94CMK]

9 minutes ago, Lefty_13 said:

I basically grew up on Grapevine and have played it for 15 years and I can’t remember a time the conditioning was as bad as it is now. The freeze really hurt the grass growth. Still needs some time

I really hate to hear that. I live in The Woodlands, and the course conditions here have bounced back pretty nicely since the freeze. 

[oneunderbogey]

I'd go with the tribute (don't know anything about current conditions) also for the club corp courses make sure stonebridge ranch dye is on your list, one of my favorites.  

[AU94CMK]

Thanks - Dye is one of our faves too, and we will be playing it again. Last year, birdied 1 and 3 to start, so I had a great day. Don’t remember the rest of my round - didn’t care! 😀

[ddherman]

Tribute is in great condition.  Played this weekend.  The freeze definitely hindered grass growth and lots of dormant fairways still.  Greens still are very quick and receptive but also have numerous dormant patches that have been painted to ease the look aesthetically.  I don’t think you can go wrong with Texas Star, Tribute, or Cowboys.  I know Tribute tee times book up quick so if you want to get on there booking now would be best option for most availability of times.

[tucson5190]

Texas Star is way underrated and that's where I would play.  Nice layout and good conditioning whenever I've played it.  A real gem.

[AU94CMK]

6 minutes ago, ddherman said:

Tribute is in great condition.  Played this weekend.  The freeze definitely hindered grass growth and lots of dormant fairways still.  Greens still are very quick and receptive but also have numerous dormant patches that have been painted to ease the look aesthetically.  I don’t think you can go wrong with Texas Star, Tribute, or Cowboys.  I know Tribute tee times book up quick so if you want to get on there booking now would be best option for most availability of times.

Thanks for the report on conditions! I tried to get tee times on the Tribute this past weekend, but they were all booked until mid-afternoon on Saturday. We are planning to play Texas Star as of now, but I'm going to check back on the Tribute later in the week to see if anything opens up.

[AU94CMK]

1 minute ago, tucson5190 said:

Texas Star is way underrated and that's where I would play.  Nice layout and good conditioning whenever I've played it.  A real gem.

Thanks - that's are plan as of this morning!

[ddherman]

3 hours ago, AU94CMK said:

Thanks for the report on conditions! I tried to get tee times on the Tribute this past weekend, but they were all booked until mid-afternoon on Saturday. We are planning to play Texas Star as of now, but I'm going to check back on the Tribute later in the week to see if anything opens up.

I’ve always had way better luck calling them then trying to book online.  

[AU94CMK]

1 hour ago, ddherman said:

I’ve always had way better luck calling them then trying to book online.  

Thanks - that's what I did Saturday morning. Was pretty surprised that they had filled up that quickly.

[cjblake09]

Members get to book 7 days out and public only 5 is probably the reason. 

[J_rl]

On 3/29/2021 at 7:07 PM, AU94CMK said:

I really hate to hear that. I live in The Woodlands, and the course conditions here have bounced back pretty nicely since the freeze. 

Where do you play in the Woodlands? We’ve recently sold our house in College Station and are considering clubs in the Montgomery/Woodlands area. 

[AU94CMK]

On 4/5/2021 at 7:15 PM, J_rl said:

Where do you play in the Woodlands? We’ve recently sold our house in College Station and are considering clubs in the Montgomery/Woodlands area. 

I'm a member at The Golf Trails of the Woodlands, which includes access to 3 courses (Oaks & Panther Trail at the Woodlands Resort, and Lake Windcrest). It's run by ClubCorp. Clubcorp also has The Woodlands Country Club, which adds 3 more courses including the 3 I belong to, but the initiation fee is much higher. Can't justify that while I'm putting kids through college, and I can get on as a guest with friends who are members. All of those courses are within 15 minutes. Surprisingly, there's not a lot of good public or semi-private courses near The Woodlands. Woodforest was a great course about 15 minutes a way, but it has now gone private. Augusta Pines is a great layout, but they really struggle with course conditions. Probably the  best public access courses nearby are High Meadow Ranch, Cypresswood, and Windrose, but they are all about 30 minutes away. As you are looking, I know that Clubcorp is looking to change up membership & access at The Golf Trails and Woodlands Country Club, so make sure you understand what changes may be coming.