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Briggs Ranch intro and first hole break down

Just catching up on this thread and looking forward to the rest of them, thanks @Templet0n !

The talk about the greens is making me a little nervous, hopefully will get some beginning of season luck with the flatstick 😂
 
MWard said:
First hole looks like a nice way to start the round. Fling it around the corner in the general direction of the hole and hope for the best
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FIFY :ROFLMAO:

Oh wait, that's me right now.
 
Templet0n said:
A'ight THP lets begin the first Dormie network course breakdown for 2024.. We will start with the site that will host first the Goat Cup next month, and later in the year the The Worldwide Golf Championship and theMorgan Cup!

For info on those events see links below.

Goat Cup

Worldwide Golf Championship

Morgan Cup

First a little history about Briggs. It was designed by Tom Fazio who is one of the more well know modern era course architects with many awards, top courses and renovation work down on some well know and exclusive courses like Cypress Point and Pine Valley.

Fazio has some distinct design features that understanding may aid in a players success at one of his courses. Here are just a few..

  1. He typically has large budgets, so he likes to wow players right from the tee.
  2. He likes hazards the run parallel to the hole rather than creating forced carries.
  3. Large greens.
  4. He likes to make things look as natural as possible.
  5. Elevated tee boxes are also one of his fav feature to create dramatic hole scenes from the tee.
Enough about Tom. Now on the course.. Briggs was built in 2001, and is known to not only be one of the best courses in Texas but in the country. Build on what was actually at one time a ranch, the courses was built into the rolling hills that flow from one hole to the next in a natural and unbroken fashion that feels incredibly natural. The players will have the benefit of hitting from thick lush zoysia (a favorite of mine) fairways, and rolling putts on smooth bent grass greens.

The club house features old spanish styling and lots of outdoor activities off the course to keep guests entertained with games and fun outside of golf.


Now on to the first hole.. The 400'ish yard opener at Briggs ranch is a fairly simple hole off the tee. It is a dog leg left par 4 with good room to the left. Be mindful of the left side fairway bunkers as going in one of those will dramatically lengthen this hole. Off the tee a shot to the left of the second bunker will put you right in the corner with a straight line of sight to the green.


The green is wide and very shallow with a bunker guarding the front right side of the green. Distance control coming into the green here is going to be a premium. If the pin is in the back right, you might want to just ignore it completely and aim to the more open front left part of the green and trust the flatstick to get it done....

Strategy notes

Depending on format, and player strengths. It may be best to try and set up for the second shot into the green and have the more accurate player hitting second if alt shot. If it is Shambles, have one take the safe route to the fat part of the fairway, and see if the other can cut the corner left over the trees to try and get closer to the green. But beware, the fairway narrows past the corner, so a ball that misses and ends up in the rough may have to contend with a jumper of junky lie that will hinder distance control into the very shallow green.
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The layout may be "Fazio", but the actual design and layout was done by Scott Hoffman who is one of Tom's top 2 architects and designers. You can learn more about Scott on "Feed the Ball" podcast.
 
Raiderboost said:
Yep. And it could be the most dangerous with possible baby rattlesnakes in the fairway.
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Steve Irwin Snakes GIF by Bustle
 
I would try and hit a small fade off the bunkers and hope to end up in the middle of the fairway. I am not too long off the tee so I wouldnt worry too much about running through. However the slice would be of concern. Either way a long shot into the green.

With the shot into the green I am aiming for the left side and hoping if it lands short it has enough to run up to the green.
 
Man I want to play this course!

I'm aiming at the left bunker and sending it, hoping I don't yank it. If I hit a good one I'll carry it, if not I'm going with the "if I aim at it I won't hit it" theory :ROFLMAO:
 
These breakdowns are great.
If only I knew where my ball was going after impact
 
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