[K. Krahenbuhl]

I played Pine Dunes today in Frankston, TX and enjoyed the course so much that I thought I would post some of the highlights.  Pine Dunes opened in 2001 and was designed by Jay Morrish (www.pinedunes.com).  From the back tees the course plays from a distance of 7117 yards and has a rating/slope of 74.4/131.  This is the first Morrish course that I have seen and it would be hard to grade him with anything less than an 'A' for his work at Pine Dunes.  I was particularly impressed by the par 3's and 5's.  Here is a look at why...


Par 3's -

Hole #3 (160/130/108/88)


Coming from the reachable par 4 2nd, this short par 3 provides a bit of trickery at the tee.  It is hard to judge just what the proper distance is as the green hides below a fronting bunker.


The green itself (pictured from behind) falls of hard to the left and away.  The tee boxes seen in the distance are one of many examples at Pine Dunes where Morrish made the course playable for everyone by using the front tees not just to shorten the hole, but also to provide an easier angle for the shot at hand.

Hole #6 (254/225/188/156)


Playing very down hill, the sixth provides an exciting tee shot for anyone to hit.  While the distance can be troubling from the back tees, I found that it played at least 20 yards shorter than the number on the card.


Pictured from the right of the green it is easy to see how well the green and its surrounds fit a hole of this length.  The ground game is in full effect at Pine Dunes as it was firm and fast everywhere.  This shot provided the opportunity to land a ball short and to the right, using the movement of the ground to get the ball around the bunker and close to the hole.

Hole 12 (204/164/130/99)


Accuracy is key at the 12th where a slight miss to one side or the other can cause a need for a most difficult recovery shot.

A shot that is pulled left leaves a very delicate pitch out of the green side bunker...


and anything that is short or right finds its way to the bottom of the slope where only a glimpse of the top of the flag is available...


Hole #16 (178/154/124/105)


The final par three is well bunkered with a heavily undulating green. 


A shot off line here could easily result in a three putt bogey.


As a group, I thought the par 3s provided a wonderful variety of shots with nice distance gaps playing at 160, 258, 204 and 178.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

Par 5's -

Hole #5 (501/469/436/406)

This is not your everyday golf hole...

Two options are presented from the tee on this par 5 that typically plays into the wind.

The first option is to play safe to the right side of the trees...

from here the golfer can attempt to go at the green by clearing the trees or a layup can be hit to leave this shot remaining from 80-100 yards...


The aggressive line off the tee is over the waste bunker which is an in to the wind carry of 250 yards from the back tees. 

From here ~225 yards remain to a well guarded pin...



Hole #11 (605/575/521/450)


The lengthy 11th is guarded almost everywhere you look by sandy waste areas.

A good tee shot leaves the golfer just short of the large waste area that crosses the fairway...

From here the proper layup stays short of the guarding fairway bunkers and leaves this look for the third shot...


The other two par 5s are not in the same league as the two shown above.  The 9th (551/512/465/428) is fairly straight away and well protected by sand near the green.  I found the 18th (512/489/434/410) to be a disappointing finishing hole despite it's great green.  I was turned off by the  water hazard that lines the inside of the dogleg off the tee (its placement felt awkward)...


As I said before I was very pleased with what I found at Pine Dunes.  Although I have yet to play a few of the favorites, I would be surprised if there were many superior public facilities anywhere in Texas.

[John Kirk]

Kyle,

Thanks for the nice course report.  That looks great, and I see from the website it costs less than $100 to play.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

Kyle,

Thanks for the nice course report.  That looks great, and I see from the website it costs less than $100 to play.

It was $79 on a Saturday morning.  They also have reasonable stay and play options with lodging off of the 18th hole which can come in handy as it is a 90 minute drive from Dallas and about 3 hours from here in Houston.

[Steve Lang]

 

Kyle,

You need to see the Weiskof/Morrish at La Cantera..

Let me guess which path you took on that 2 lane par 5...

Are we still on for Waterwood soon?  perhaps next weekend??  its getting into the 80's..

s

[Jed Peters]

So funny that this was just posted.

One of my best golfing buddies just left my club to take a job out there in Tyler (I guess 20 miles away?) and joined Pine Dunes.

$150/month, unlimited play. Unbelievable deal.

And yes, the course does look nice!

[Michael Dugger]

I read some good things about this course recently and these images only confirm it.

[mike_beene]

The lady who owns land was I believe a figure skating champion.She knew David Frost and asked him to see if a golf course could be built.He thought it was really good land and referred her to Moorish.18 is an out of place hole,but the rest of the course is really nice.Feels a lot like Pinehurst 1 or 2 minus the saucers

[Trey Kemp]

Kyle,

Thanks for posting the pictures Kyle.  I played Pine Dunes for the first time about 2 months ago and loved it.  I have played a few Morrish courses (TPC at Las Colinas, La Cantera and Castle Hills) and this is by far my favorite. I agree with Mike and was not that fond of 18, but the rest of the course was great.  For all of the courses I have played in Texas it is probably my favorite public course.  Here is one of my favorite pics from the day I played.

 

[Wyatt Halliday]

Thanks for posting the pics guys. I've been telling everyone within earshot to give this place a chance.

[K. Krahenbuhl]

So funny that this was just posted.

One of my best golfing buddies just left my club to take a job out there in Tyler (I guess 20 miles away?) and joined Pine Dunes.

$150/month, unlimited play. Unbelievable deal.

And yes, the course does look nice!

Jed,

I think your friend will really enjoy Pine Dunes.  That is a fantastic bargain.  If I were you I would think about paying him a visit when he gets settled  .

[Jason Topp]

Played this course over the weekend with my son and enjoyed the experience.

I agree with the original post that the par 3's are excellent.  I loved the "great hazard" par 5 11th pictured above but thought the split fairway par 5 5th could use some tree removal down the middle of the hole.  The 18th is incredibly awkward and by the third time around it was clear that the way to play it was to lay up off the tee, lay up on the 2nd and pitch on.  I really liked the par 4's which had a nice variety of hole distances.  The greens were quite good.

The place is a bit worn on the edges and could use some tree removal.  Accommodations are spartan. Restaurants in the area close early.  However, the golf is terrific and worth seeking out if you have a group unconcerned with frivolities.

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