Have they painted it green? I think those are Bermuda greens. I played the Tribute once and the lake has a little feel of the firth. A few replicas were pretty good. It is so cold here I can’t believe they survived Thursday. A little better now but will only get to 60. You can’t trust winter here because the day the front shows up is miserable.
I was told by our knowledgeable bartender this afternoon that the fairways and greens at OA were painted. I played Thursday morning a bit further north and, in comparison to many of my rounds in the UK, it was good golfing weather. Friday through today was outright pleasant.
Old American is 10 minutes from my house and where I could very well end up if things don't go well at my home club. I've played it many times in all types of weather and it is hard as nails. A scratch at OA can play anywhere.
The women are playing the course so short that it may look highly playable. But if we held a gca.com event there from the third set of tees, it could very well surpass the 5.5 hour Saturday afternoon fiasco at Barona Creek in the KP1.
I am told that Justin Leonard was intimately involved in the design of the course. Having a decent understanding of Tripp Davis's work, this one seems to require an extra amount of precision and discipline. I can see how Justin in his heyday could have had a competitive advantage here.
The Dallas Morning News has OA 49th in the state. I think it is better than that, but with four of the five par threes routed S,SE, SW with the lake in sight but not closely in play and a couple head-scratchers among the par 4s, I can see why it is not more highly regarded. From my standpoint, not being a reasonable walk is its biggest shortcoming, but golf in Texas is mostly a riding game.