My partner and I had some business in Lubbock today. After our meetings we decided to drive by the new course at TT and see if we could get a look. It was a little late in the day, 4:30 pm, and we didn't know if anyone would be around, although I had a suspicion that the supt. might still be on site. As luck would have it, Eric Johnson, the Golf Course Supt. was in the shop and he, very generously, gave us a quick tour of the new course. All I can say is wow!
Now, I have a very good idea of what the property looked like before they started, and thus I know just about everything was "manufactured", but boy, oh boy does it not show it. That is some of the most incredible dirt work I've ever seen. For those of you familiar with West Texas and the I-40, try and remember what the caprock looks like as your driving across the state line from NM towards Amarillo. Jagged, abrupt escarpments and rock faces eroded by water and wind over eons of time. Take that vision and compare it to what Doak and Co. have created at TT and see if you see the similarities like I did.
We obviously didn't play as the course will not open for many months and we didn't even have time to tour the entire project, but I believe they have created a great golf course. The bunkering is, described in one word, stunning! Deep, sheer faces, huge, small, hidden, staring you in the face, I have a tough time describing the rugged beauty of the bunkers.
Many times as we drove a hole Eric would say "the tees are here" and I would look and say "where"? The tee complexes blend in seamlessly with the landscape, and without them cut down to tee height, it was difficult to recognize where they were. I could go on and on, but I want to see the course again before I get too specific. But, I will say this. I don't know Tom Doak, and I’m certainly not some kind of groupie, but to have the vision and the talent to create what he and his partners did there is a rare gift. I am truly awestruck by what they've done there. And, quite honestly, I had a feeling in my gut that it would not live up to the hype, but boy was I wrong.