Official golf course review 2004

Plum Creek (the big course) ($20 incl. cart on Golf512.com)

Great shape. Fariways and tees are well grown in, but the rough is almost non-existant. Missing the fairway is not a penalty, unless your ball is in the weeds.

Greens were aerated about 2 weeks ago, but all but about 3 show no signs of it. Those three don't seem to be affected by what's left of aeration holes in them.

Shot my career best, so maybe I have an inflated view of this course
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Brother and I played Bergstrom Cedars today, and as usual the course was in very average (bad) shape. We wanted to play Kizer or Clay, but the UIL tourneys are going on. Had fun and it was cheap, so I can't complain much.
 
Played Bluebonnet yesterday. Greens roll great, fairways are in also. I just hate the layout of the course. Start with a Par 5 and end the front 9 with a par 5. The distances are shorter than the yardage shows also. I hit a 9 iron 160 in the air up hill. I can only hit a 9 iron around 150 max. Beware of the yardage. I shot a 79. Sucks.
 
Jimmy Clay (5/16/04)
Wow! I have never seen Clay in this type of shape before. The greens were immaculate and the fairways were very playable. (The bunkers left something to be desired, but you should avoid bunkers anyway!)

I guess they had the course primed for the UIL State Tournament this past week. I seem to recall they aerate (sp?) the greens this time of the year, so take advantage while you can.
 
If anyone has any interest in joining a club, Great Hills has some really good deals right now. I'm a member and I really like the course. PM me if you are interested in the details.
 
The $20 Plum Creek deal (from golf512) is the best value in Central Texas right now. I can't believe I just played out there for $20.

As mentioned earlier...fairways are in great condition. Most of the tees are in great condition with the exception of maybe two. The greens on the front nine are rolling better than the back, but the back greens are coming in nicely.

go play it
 
Jimmy Clay (again) - 5/19/04
Still in very good shape. Teed off after 5:00 and it was only $9.50 to walk. Got in 18 and actually shot a 78 - big improvement from Sunday.
 
Traffic a 78 is good at Clay. That's like shooting a 75 at Riverside.
-Golf512 just added Lost Creek from the last time I checked. I love Lost Creek. The greens roll and break well. It brings a new challenge the Muni's don't offer.
 
Played Bergstrom on Saturday morning. As expected, the fairways have more weeds than grass, but the greens are in very good shape.
 
I played Plum Creek yesterday. The course overall was in good shape. The greens were fairly smooth and the rough was fair. Most of the water hazards were dry or filled with shallow murkish water.

The heat was crazy. It was like 110 on the heat index.

I blew up a few holes but then managed to play even par over the last 5 to limp in with a 90 (I felt like if I would have played decently on the first 13 I could have shot a fairly low for me (75-80) round).
 
The heat must have done in the winter grasses on the greens at plum creek. They were a bit thin in spots and lightening quick.
I love fast greens. Shot an 84. Maybe I should play there all the time
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Shadow Glen - 5/29/04
Teed off at 7:00 a.m. and five hours later I was done with my round.
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I'm probably done with this course too. The greens and fairways were in decent shape but not so nice as to overcome the ridiculously slow pace of play. We did get a deal on golfQ.com ($40) so the price was good (included range balls, cart, greens fee). Oh yeah, I shot a lousy score, so that didn't help.

Falconhead - 5/30/04
Birdie, birdie, par, par, birdie..triple, par, bogey, bogey. Well, I'd have taken even through six to start with, but when you're (-3) through five holes you expect better than a 38 on the front nine.

The course was in absolutely great shape. That's one of the reasons I made so many birdie putts. I highly recommend this course. The first two times I played it I was indifferent, but the current conditioning is superior to any other course I've played this year. The greens had a distinct collar, which made it easier to chip from the fringe as you could really get good contact on the ball. The bunkers were all raked and had plenty of sand in them, so I didn't have to worry about skulling any sand shots I had. And the fairways were firm but with plenty of grass on them, so you were rewarded with a good lie if you put your tee shot in play.

My only complaint is that the #18 hole runs right next to the driving range, so there were range balls all along the right side of the hole. They should put up a net or have somebody shag balls to improve this.

For anybody who hasn't yet tried this course, you should do so. It's definitely more expensive (I think Sunday when I teed off it was $89) but I'm sure there are deals or late tee times where you can get a lower price.
 
I played Terra Vista on Sunday afternoon ($35 on golfq). I thought it was a very nice course and in great shape. It was hellishly hot, but the Mango towels made up for that. If you haven't played here you should. I'd go again just for the Mango towels. Did I mention the Mango towels yet?
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mishatx,
Hopefully you won't have the same pace of play problem I had at Shadow Glen. In case you haven't played there before, let me try and give you some advice on a few tricky holes:

(note - this advice is based on playing from the blue tees)
#4 - difficult driving hole because you can't see the fairway well from the tee box. There is not much room down the right side so best play is down the left. There is more room there than you'd think from the tee box.
#5 - depending on the wind, a driver can go through the end of the fairway on the left hand side. (Mine did downwind.) So, a 3 wood might be a good play.
#7 - This is a par five and there isn't much room to land your second shot. So, assuming you're in the fairway off the tee box, you should drive your cart up the hill to see where your second shot s/b played before you hit the shot.
#13 - Another par five with a difficult layup shot. There are moguls in the fairway starting at about 130 yards out or so. So, if you're laying up keep in mind you might get a strange bounce or lie. This is another hole where it might behoove you to drive your cart up before hitting your second shot.

Good luck.
_____________

TexasSun,
Those mango towels are nice, aren't they? When I played Falconhead last year they had scented towels as well. They weren't mango though. Maybe grapefruit? Anyway, it was a nice touch.
 
played Riverside on Monday and for a beginning golfer like me, it was paradise. I won't embarass myself by posting my score, but it was the lowest I'd ever shot and the first time I left a course with a better score than someone else in our group. I'm playing Steiner Ranch tomorrow with some friends....can't wait to cruise in those Burnt Orange carts.
 
Bergstrom greens are soft, but slow as molasses. Tees are in good shape. There are no fairways. That's really the case. I couldn't even tell where they were supposed to be.

Can't argue with the pace of play, though -- I played 12 holes in a hour -- walking.
 
five hours to play at Shadow glen today...and it was a tourney where everyone in front of us was better than a 15 handicap. We only had to wait on the group in front a few times, and the group behind was never waiting for us. It just takes that long to play that course. They should stop advertising that they are the "home of the four and a half hour round" (which is about half an hour too long anyway, but I digress).

The course is nice, and was in pretty good shape. If you want details about the water hazards or the sand traps, I could probably give them to you .. I think I was in every single ******* one.
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One thing to note is that the collars around the greens are a little fluffier than other courses I've played lately. This meant that my general method of dropping a pitch and run on the fringe and letting it bounce on the green failed and the ball would just stop in the fringe. I probably lost 8-10 shots from this alone today.

And does everyone score high out there or what? My group was two 19 handicaps, an 18, and a 17, and we shot 98, 103, 105, and 113.
 
I've yet to figure out my handicap, but its high...no doubt about that. If anyone ever gets a chance to play at the UT golf club, do it. It was the longest round of golf in my life, but the course was incredible and the views didn't hurt either.
 
UT Golf Club - 6/5/04
Agreed w/ RaizerAlum, play this course if you have the chance. The conditioning is great, the facilities are superb and the staff was fantastic. The course itself is fair but challenging. And, it is an incredible tribute to UT. Each tee box has a different placard celebrating a 'Horn golf great, the golf carts are burnt orange, the tee markers all have UT logos, etc, etc, etc. (I played w/ an Aggie friend who was duly impressed. Of course, he joked that he expected there to be tea stations on the course. ha ha)

Crystal Falls (front nine) - 6/6/04
Walked the front nine yesterday afternoon. Not exactly the friendliest walking course around, but I enjoy getting out to Leander every now and again. The greens were slower than I remember, but that's my only complaint. For the money, I think this is a decent example of Hill Country golf.

mishatx - well, it sounds like long rounds are the norm there (as per my previous post). I agree, that course isn't for the mid to high handicapper. My brother (plays to about a five handicap) shot an 80 with a bogey on the last, but everybody else I've played w/ out there has shot in the 90's (or worse).
 
Lions - 6/13/04
Don't play this course anytime soon. The greens are non-existent and are primarily dirt. It's not even a problem with aeration. Apparently the bermuda grass didn't come in (I guess after the transition from winter rye). Anyway, the course is un-puttable and un-chippable. What a shame!
 
I'll second the lions assesment- avoid at all costs. I was striking the ball brilliantly on the back nine, hitting every fairway and only missing 2 gir's and never came close to making a birdy. I had about 6 birdy puts from within 15 feet and never even came within a foot of making one. . I maybe made 2 puts longer than 2 feet, and those were from about 4 feet.
 
Yes there was an article in the Statesman a few weeks ago about the loss of the greens at Lions. Many groups have cancelled tourneys scheduled there, and there is a possiblilty the Firecracker may need to be moved to Kizer.

But hey, they're giving you like a $3 discount on the green fee.
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I played Lions on Saturday - oh my god the pain!
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I grew up on Lions. I played Jr High golf there at O'Henry and High School golf there at Austin High. I've played at least 500 rounds there, maybe 1000, and the greens have never been in that bad of shape.

Tragic...

In kind of related news, last night when I got home (I live on the #9 hole at Lago Vista) I walked over to the #8 green to practice chipping. When I got up to the green I found that someone had taken a wedge or Iron and taken huge chunks out of the green. I'm talking 20, 6 inch deep gashes. Let's just say I was sickened. I only wish I could have caught the ******...
 
Lago,
Do you live to the right of 9? It's been years since I played there, but I seem to remember it's a dogleg right, way downhill, and the proper aiming point to cut some of the corner is at a house on the right that sits at the dogleg. That place must get drilled all the time.
 
That house is across the fairway. I live right on the tee box to the left side, so you have to have REALLY bad hook to put it in my yard.

That house does get drilled alot. I've hit it at least 20 times
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.

They do have a big net protecting the house/pool.

Someone also built a new house in the dogleg of number 2 (Par 5) that I've hit quite a bit already. Why you would want a house in the line of fire I'll never know
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>>Are the greens still hard as concrete at Lago? Shinnecock's greens reminded me of the last time I played out at Lago (mid-May).

Last night I landed a Sand Wedge from about 100 yards on the front of the green of #7. It ended up 10 yards off the back edge. I hit my SW super high and usually get about 2-3 feet or less of roll. They did sand the greens yesterday and im hoping the rain softens things up.

On Sunday I played Highland Lakes. On #14 (one of the hardest holes in Austin, IMO). I had a 25 foot putt uphill putt to the back of the green. I hit it with what I thought was perfect speed. It stopped about 2 inches to the left of the hole, then rolled back 50 feet off the green. Let's just say I took a double-par on that one, after being on in regulation...
 
Hancock 6/22:

Those poor children. Why do they subject the Jr Golf Academy to this?

The fairways are fine in some places, but shaggy in others. The greens are outright inconsistent. They range from squishy and shaggy, to firm and short, to lacking grass what so ever. One hole will be slow, then the next will be quite quick. Sometimes, two putts on the same hole will have diffterent speeds. The worst was #9. I felt like I was playing the US open. My drive was just to the right of the green, so I decided to chip it onto the hill on the right side of the green, and let it roll toward the hole. It rolled off the green. The hill had almost no grass on it all. I chipped about 10 balls to that green and none of them stayed on -- including one that briefly stopped at the top of the hill.
 
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