Tour 18-Flower Mound, TX
Author: Kirk Heil
Price: $90-130
Conditions: 4/5
Layout: 5/5
Fairways: soft and somewhat slow.
Greens: Overly firm and very fast (see comments below)
Bunkers: Sand alternates between holes to attempt to match the setting of the replica hole (e.g. white sand in amen corner)
Hazards: and OB: Fair as fair can be with the exception of 18th hole (explanation below)
Tees: We mixed the Tips and Blue tees and no hole was overwhelming long.
Atmosphere: 8/10
Walking rating: 2/5 (Cart recommended)
A truly unique experience of curated holes from some of the greatest courses around the US. Scoring was nearly impossible the day we played and will likely be for a while as new greens were installed in the Spring. New greens in Texas unfortunately come out like concrete and take a few years to constantly punch them and get them receptive to approach shots. Anything higher than a nine iron refused to hold the greens and if you tried running approach shots up they would stick in soft turf surrounding the greens.
Each hole has a nice big marble marker with a story why it is a significant in major championship history or architectural history. I’ll cover a few, but you really need to enjoy this for yourself.
Highlights:
First Hole: attempts to replicate a somewhat bland par 4 from Cherry Hills in Denver but the history of the hole is unmatched as you get to attempt to drive the green that Arnold Palmer drove to start his march to victory in the 1960 US Open. It seems a little farther than Arnie would have played it so move up a little to recreate the shot.
Third Hole: Traditionally one of the toughest finishing holes in championship golf, the real 18th at Doral has been lengthened since this hole was made however it is still a stout test. I left my drive only a little out to the right side of the fairway and still had a 6-iron into this 430 yard hole with a surprisingly undulating green. The palm trees along the lake are a nice touch for a course in Dallas, TX.
Ninth Hole: Outside of the Amen Corner replication, this is perhaps the 2nd best reason to make the trip to Tour-18. I’ll let you go in fresh but a couple quick notes: try to hit that back right corner that David Duval and Ricky Fowler each hit on their ways to victory. I happened to land it right where Ricky did with a Gap wedge myself and it pinged into the water over the back. Hit Tiger’s better than most putt—the contours on this green are crazy!
Twelfth Hole: Riviera Country Club is one of those special places that’s impossible to get onto unless you are watching a tour event. This is one of the better replicas on the course to reproduce the feel and a wonderful design feature. A hidden bunker placed in the middle of the green to pay homage to WW-I soldiers. Very extreme green. Don’t worry, local rules are a free drop if you are on the green and the bunker is between you and the hole.
Holes 16-18: Amen corner. This is the reason we made the trip and the other holes were just icing on the cake. They select to place these perfectly as 16, 17, and 18. For us, it was actually a huge distraction on the holes before this stretch because we were looking forward to it so much. Like most people, this is my favorite stretch in golf and favorite holes to watch on TV every day of The Masters Tournament coverage. I have been to the real Amen Corner and I would say the major differences is you feel like there is more space at the real Augusta on 12 and 13 and obviously the trees are taller. The only downside I could think of was that the runout areas on 11 and 13 are almost non-existent when you think of all the places to spray a drive at August and still make a par. You can’t spray one down the right on 11 because there is actual OB instead of just some sparse pines on the real course. They do have a leader board in the proper place on 11 with 2021 final scores up there—nice touch. I hit a decent drive and had 180 in so it played pretty long with the uphill tee shot. On 13 at Augusta, you can spray your drive out to the right and have a true risk reward out of some pine needles however here there is cart path and you may go OB as some backyards creep up fast.. Can’t replicate Phil’s shot with the current setup. I’ll let you experience the rest for yourself but easily one of my coolest golf experiences of 2021.
Tips:
Play later in the day if it rained earlier. We played at dawn and the rock hard greens, spongy soft collars made it almost impossible to hit greens
Bring your camera to see if you trick your friends that you are at the real courses. Some replicas are really really good.
Come early or stay late as restaurant is nice and full bar.
Pros:
Perhaps greatest collection of 18 holes in the country
20 minutes from downtown Dallas
Decent Rental Sets
Nice range close to clubhouse that’s included
Cons:
Greens are too firm but would not avoid the course because of it. We played in October of 2021 so they should continue to soften up with each season’s aeration schedule.
No alcohol sales before 10am on Sundays however Beer Cart Chick was a winner
Overall: Strong recommend. Worth going to Dallas for a golf trip? I would say yes., this course is cool enough to go to Dallas to just play here and add some other nice public. Stop off at the Kennedy Museum to make for a well rounded trip.
