[Simon Holt]

I thought I would post while these ideas are fresh in my mind before the envitable work build up awaiting me back home.

So far my time in Houston has been a lot of fun.  Texans seem to warm to the Scottish accent pretty quicklly and I cant speak highly enough of the accommodating nature of everyone I have met so far.  Even got a Rockets game in and heading to the rodeo tonight!

Lakeside

I played last Thursday.  I believe the members are all chipping in some cash to renovate the bunkering which is probably the only thing I thought was lacking on this course.  The course eases you into the round which I always like, then the stretch 2 thru 6 is probably my favourite on the course with demanding tee shots and nice variation from hole to hole.  The fairways seem to have held up pretty well over the winter and I liked how the holes demanded various shapes of shot off the tee so you actually had to think about position in the fairway for your approach.

The range needs a little attention if I am being picky but on the whole I loved the friendly atmosphere at the club.  Anyone have any other information on this club?

Carlton Woods to follow.

[Simon Holt]

Carlton Woods

I played 36 here on Friday.  Fazio in the AM, Nicklaus PM.

Fazio- Firstly the condition of the course was fabulous.  I have only played a few courses in as good a condition as this one and given the time of year I was blown away by the fairways and greens.  In typical TF style there is plenty of room off the tee and the transtions work well.  The green complexes are really fun with large undulating greens being a stark contrast to the ones I would experience in the afternoon.  The course has a lot of undulation as it is up in the Woodlands opposed to the flatter land more typical of the Houston area.

The caddy told me the grass was zacoya (sp??) which gave the fairways a really tight appearance but the ball actually sat up pretty nicely.  The greens ran really well for the time of year too.  I believe they get silly fast in the summer- even now I tried to keep the ball below the hole at all costs.

The last few holes I found out of keeping with the rest.  The bunkering was a bit excessive and almost felt as if the waste area feel of 15, 16 and 17 were on a completely different course.

Nicklaus- After the morning round at the Fazio I was told I would be beaten up at the Nicklaus.  I actually played ok but the fairways were indeed much narrower and the greens much smaller in size.  To be honest I wasnt a huge fan- although I did enjoy it, courses with that much water on tend to frustrate me.

The one thing I would say about both courses is that walking just isn't an option.  Cart golf is alien to me at the best of times but we literally had to take 300 yard drives along paths, across roads and though housing subdivisions every few holes.  Not for me I'm afraid.  Again the club was palacial and the staff more than accommodating.  I had a very enjoyable day.

[Simon Holt]

TPC San Antonio

I kindly got invited out to SA so drove the 4 hours over to find a Greg Norman course already dubbed TPC Impossible by the staff.  I played with a very talented young golfer who shot 66 the day before on the gentler course.  We pegged it up with his dad and braced ourself for the 5 hours of golf to come.

First things first- dont even bother unless you are a very good golfer.  The place was littered with golfers trying to battle their way around the venue for this years Texas Open.  The first 4 holes alone will have the pros scratching their heads.

I believe Garcia was brought in alongside Greg as a consultant.  I guess they had an arguement that day or they were both in a bad mood because the front nine is certainly veering towards too hard for most golfers.  The rest of the course, and indeed the majority of the back nine is good fun with varied holes and some drivable par 4s thrown in.

I would love to hear any opinions on this course as I have a few strong ones of my own.

[Simon Holt]

Computer is playing up but more detailed Shadow Hawk review to follow.  Lochinvar Thursday then Champions on the weekend.

[Mike Nuzzo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoysia

TPC Impossible - that is funny.

Does it feel like the same game as home?

P.S. Don't tell Melvyn you took a cart....

[Simon Holt]

Thats the stuff!  I knew I should have written it down at the time.

No it is not like home at all.  I walked at Shadow Hawk yesterday and I am sure I played better because of it.  I feel like I have time to take it all in when I walk and kind of get ready for the next shot in the way I am used to.  Played in 3 hours too compared to an average of way oever 4 in the carts.  Seriously- you could not play either of those Carlton Woods courses without one.

A few days left then back to North Berwick to get my links game back before the first Medal of the year a week Saturday......

[Jason McNamara]

So far my time in Houston has been a lot of fun.  Texans seem to warm to the Scottish accent pretty quickly and I cant speak highly enough of the accommodating nature of everyone I have met so far. 

We get a lot of you folks here for the oil biz.  And Stuart Holden as well, though he just left for the English Premier League.

Lakeside had some fairly major work done 5-7 years ago, iirc.  I think the course was closed for some time.  There are an awful lot of members there, though many are older non-playing social members.  Still, I think they have weekend tee time lotteries, or at least did before the economy blew up.  Original design was Ralph Plummer, who did lots of work in Dallas, though I have no idea at all how much of the current course is his.

Look fwd to the rest of the Shadow Hawk thoughts.  A walk there in yesterday's weather would have been fantastic.  Did you have a caddy?

[Sam Morrow]

Simon,

 Glad you are enjoying Texas, you said the range at Lakeside needs a little attention. Sadly they redid that range several years ago and it's much better than before. As for TPC San Antonio it doesn't surprise me that it's that hard, Norman did a course in Ft. Worth called The Creeks at Beechwood, it's right by the NASCAR track and the course was so hard when it opened that they closed it and redid the entire thing, it's now called Doral Tesoro.

[Greg Clark]

The Creeks at Beechwood was not only too hard, but Norman laid it out so poorly, that several holes flooded and sustained significant damage almost as soon as it opened.  Moorish was brought in to salvage the effort.  The course name has changed again to the Golf Club at Champions Circle.

[Tim Nugent]

Look up GCAers Casey Wade and Sam Morrow at High Meadow Ranch north of Tomball in Magnolia.

[Steve Lang]

  Simon,

I've been a walking scorer at the AJGA HP Invitational at the CW Fazio for a couple of years now.. yes there are several " major treks" on the front nine, but the back nine is really pretty good green to tee..  why would the bunkering on 15-17 even affect you, did you forget the stuff on the opening holes?   I concur that the Nicklaus course is almost dull by comparison to the "big and beefy" Fazio..

tell us about the rodeo

[Sam Morrow]

Look up GCAers Casey Wade and Sam Morrow at High Meadow Ranch north of Tomball in Magnolia.

Tim this week is the 10 year anniversary, we need to get you down to see the old girl.

[Steve Lang]

   TN , if not for this week, how about on April 3?  Show us the way..

[Simon Holt]

Steve- Rodeo was great, no one told me about the women!!

Shadow Hawk

I really enjoyed this course.  I liked the feel of the club as soon as I walked in and the fact that I knew I would be walking instantly endeared the place to me.  Cavernous mens locker room and I was very well taken care of by the staff.

The member I played with has become a good friend of mine and has always raved about 'The Hawk' to me on his visits to Scotland.  To be honest I walked away with a smile on my face but also, as expected, there was a little home town bias going on.

I'm not sure what it is about Rees Jones layouts but I always feel I am playing on a course that doesnt really impress me when I am playing a certian hole but looking back I think 'hey, that hole really caught me out'  He tends to sneak up on you which is the type of design I really like.

Again the fairways were light years behind Carlton Woods in terms of condition but I was told they kind of have a no overseeding policy.  I found this hard to believe as the fairways had much more grass than the rough but I am willing to take their word for it.


The par 5 first and short par 4 second ease you in nicely.  Position is at a premium off the tee and can also be said of the greens.  There are large sections so pin positions are sensible- unlike the aforementioned TPC Impossible.

You are then hit with a killer 4 and very strong 3.  The 3rd reminded me of Bethpage Black for some reason- Demanding on length (488) and good bunkering and mounding around the green.  I enjoyed the whole front 9 and was pleased to finish on a solid par 5 that allows a good opporuntiy of a hard way 4.  I would say the 6th was my favourite hole on the front.  371 LtoR dogleg par 4, water behind the green - position off the tee and distance control into another tiered green a pre-requisite for success.

The back nine starts with another good 4 with a lake on the left.  A tiered green awaits and any good work on the front 9 was undone by me tugging a 4 iron into said lake on my apporaoch.  The up and down I faced highlighted the difference of the golf I am used to.  I had to fly a 58' to the back plateau knowing that if I hit the slope it would spin back.  Back home that is a bump and run all day long.  Its fun for me in the reverse of what you guys experience in Scotland I suppose.

I really enjoyed the back 9 and was happy to finish on a dogleg par 5 to a narrow green.  You can easily go for it in 2 but you better man up as the green is narrow front to back so anything long is in a bunker, anything short in the juice.

Overall a really good course. On reflection my favourite so far.  Lakeside again tomorrow so will try and get some more info of architectural relevance to share.

[Jason McNamara]

Simon -

Am pleased to hear you had such a nice round.  Is your SH contact a (former) Scot?  There's a couple there.

Notes about the course:

1.  They definitely do not overseed the greens, and I don't believe they have been doing the fairways either.  A couple of the very first years they did overseed, but it turned out that the traffic didn't require it.  So you actually saw the course at its (relative) scruffiest, with the bermuda not yet completely recovered.  Btw, the current greenskeeper (Tom Werner) used to be at Colonial, and has gotten rave reviews from the members.

2.  Did you manage to hit the speed slot on #3?  Hitting a draw just inside that fw bunker on the right will give you a really nice bounce forward.

3.  You didn't quite have it Monday, but that second shot on #6 is designed to be into the prevailing (SE) wind.  So if the water behind makes you chicken out, you can have a very long putt on a fairly tricky green.  Some TX pros (Crenshaw, Kite, Brooks, Leonard) were out for an event and one of them 4-putted that green.

4.  Number 10 is a mean hole.  Mean.

5.  I hope you had a front flag on #11, the medium-long par 3.  It would have been playing with the wind kinda quartering from back right, and you definitely could have landed it short to bounce it on.

6.  I haven't been out there since the hurricane.  There were two really important trees on the course - in the corner of the dogleg on 16, and then the one on 18.  Don't know how bad they got beat up in the storm.

[Sam Morrow]

The Creeks at Beechwood was not only too hard, but Norman laid it out so poorly, that several holes flooded and sustained significant damage almost as soon as it opened.  Moorish was brought in to salvage the effort.  The course name has changed again to the Golf Club at Champions Circle.

Wow, 3 names in I guess about 10 years!

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