Natural features and unique landforms shape the personality of a golf course and it’s the architect’s responsibility to make sure the golfer interacts with them in a variety of ways. At Craig Ranch, Rowlett Creek, with its bright limestone walls and bottom, slices through the property in grand style. It was an excellent opportunity for Tom Weiskopf to design a bold, interesting golf course, but alas he took the safe route, and only on a few holes do we see the site’s true potential.
Weiskopf choose muscle over strategy at Craig Ranch as Rowlett Creek serves mainly as a backdrop. Only on the excellent par five ninth does one have to decide how aggressive to be on the second shot with its diagonal carry. The third is also noteworthy as the strong player has the option to carry the creek on a direct line to the green. Such is the life of a PGA Tour course. When challenging the best players and holding high level events, the architect must account for the prodigious length they hit it today and find the routing that best gets every yard out of the property. At Craig Ranch, this means eschewing the creek, and backing the tees and greens up to hit that number. That’s too bad because the beauty of the creek is what caught my attention when I arrived and what I remember the most after leaving. The course is still a great but it could’ve been next level.
(The 378 yard par four third features one of the more daunting shots, especially if you missed the fairway. It plays much shorter if you play directly at the green, and the fairway does extend towards the tee box on this line. It’s a decided advantage for the long hitter. Note all the short grass for one to save their par.)
(The 180 yard par three fourth is basically all carry since the neck on the front right barely qualifies as an opening. An extra club is a good choice.)
(The 183 yard par three seventh is similar to the fourth but this time plenty of room to bounce the ball in. Note the distance between the creek and green on both par threes. The pros play this hole at 232 yard.)
You want to take advantage of the short holes and the par fives because the par threes are long and 8,10,11,13 and 16 are stout par fours. If you can limit the bogeys, then you’ll have a good chance to snag a few strokes on the last two holes, a short par three and an easy par five. Fourteen is the driveable Weiskopf hole. It’s the most exciting hole during the tournament. Obviously you can’t hit it in the water, but also beware bailing out too far right. The angle over the bunkers can easily turn into a disaster.
(The 485 yard par five ninth has a diagonal landing area for the second shot after the creek. The more aggressive line requires a longer carry. For shorter players, the left half is reachable but it might be more prudent to layup short of the hazard. Note the bare ground above the limestone. The club undertook brush removal to get a cleaner look however it’s causing erosion issues. It’ll be interesting to see how they address the situation.)
It’s always fun to play where the pros play. To think 261 (-23)(twelve plays as a par four for them) won the tournament the past two years is amazing. For us mere mortals, you’ll be hard pressed to match your handicap. It’s a great experience if you get a chance to play it. The course is in excellent shape and the stone ranch-esque clubhouse is pure Texas. I give it a 7 (great)(worth driving 3-4 hours to play).
(My host is an excellent female player and very passionate about the ladies game. She made several valid points relating to tee boxes, pointing out that men have options while women are stuck with what they get. I completely agree with her. The forward tees are 5,145. They’re a tad too short for her and definitely too long for most women. I believe 5,700 is the qualifying yardage for female events (which can be achieved through a mix of other tees), but most women should be at 4,000-4,500 yards. Considering that women are the biggest group growing the game, architects and GMs should start focusing on their abilities.)
(The 264 yard fourteenth hole (330 for the pros) is a driveable par four.)
2021 Lee Kyoung-hoon 263 (-25)
2022 Lee Kyoung-hoon 262 (-26)
2023 Jason Day 261 (-23)
2024 Taylor Pendrith 261 (-23)
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