You now by now what happens around here ... it's not yet the middle of March - anything can happen.
DFW & Surrounding Area Chat Thread
Just as you say that, we start seeing morning temps for our 7:00am tee time drop into the low 40s again!
We are playing up in Gunter tomorrow....already anticipating a frost delay...
But looking forward to the end of the bare Bermuda lies...
The Bridges! We really enjoyed that course the two years we belonged to it!We are playing up in Gunter tomorrow....already anticipating a frost delay...
But looking forward to the end of the bare Bermuda lies...
It's a really fun course to play. It's a haul from Flower Mound, so I only play it once or twice a year.
And cuss out 18 most of the time. I think I finally learned just to go hybrid-hybrid-iron instead of running a round, lol!
JetSpeed
Well-known member
We have a rule at my house: no buying plants at the nursery until April.
Whoa! Every day. But i get it. For a track you love, it's worth the hike. I'm getting a bit that way myself. With courses so expensive and crowded, I'll drive a lot further for a good experience. Played a lot of Tangle Ridge the last year just because I love the layout, the conditions are usually good and the pace of play is fantastic.
Looking forward to it! Tomorrow is one of the rare days this time of year that's supposed to be calm. You know how much we look forward to those days....though it almost feels a bit odd to not factor in wind to you club selection, lol!
We used to belong to Westridge here in McKinney. One of the guys I now play with started playing there when it first opened, so he played there for 18 tears before they more than doubled the cost of memberships. We can blame COVID for that! The Bridges was the one course we could find that was at least close to our original deal at Westridge in terms of annual membership cost, but after two years they raised their membership fees, too. That, coupled with the drive, got us looking elsewhere.
So we joined the McKinney municipal course, Oak Hollow. It is not the greatest course as far as condition goes, but as far as cost goes, it is the best deal around! They shut down for four months last summer to replace all the greens and tee boxes, so that is a big improvement, but other than those, conditions aren't all that great. However, we got in at $1600/yr, for 7 day access, including cart and range balls. That is going up to $2100 when our year-long membership expires come June.
Who do you recommend for club fitting in the Dallas area? I live in The Colony. I have had inconsistent fittings from Club Champion Plano, So, they are out. What about Second Swing in the Colony? Sellinger's Power Golf in Addison? I have asked my club pro if there are any demo days planned.
I'd highly recommend Tim Brantley at The Golf Station. The driver fitting I had with him was, by far. Here is link to what I posted afterward.
https://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/index.php?threads/2023-driver-fitting.8949205/
I got fit in their Hurst location. They are/are about to open up a Grapevine location.
I still love the driver. I did end up switching shafts after getting an unexpected bonus and splurging on the one we fit in the session. The driving stats on my Garmin are phenomenal compared the distance/distribution I had before.
I got my handicap down to my lowest point and shot my personal best last summer. My handicap went back up over the winter- but it always does playing in wet/thin/muddy winter conditions.
I sent a buddy to Tim and he got a driver, irons and wedges. It also told me how much getting fit means. Our swing speeds are about the same. He ended up with a G430 with a lower loft. And the shaft he got fit into was heavier and had a stiffer tip. But our balls launch in the same window and go about the same distance. We tried hitting each other's driver and after 3 swings couldn't give it back fast enough.
I've also heard great things about Mike at Sellinger's in Roanoke. I get my grip and loft/lie work done there, but haven't had a fitting myself. I heard about Mike after I got referred to Tim.
I'm sure their Addison place is great as well.
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I've never been fit by him, but I've heard good things about Bo Hodnett at Golf Tech in Plano.
@chasDog I think had someone good at 2nd Swing in the colony? Chuck?
chasDog
It's all Good!
Jeb Stuart Fit me at 2nd Swing. Very happy and will be taking a lesson from him soon.
JetSpeed
Well-known member
Can’t go wrong with Jake at Stripe Show.
JetSpeed
Well-known member
I hear ya. I’m a current Westridge member. We wound up here a couple of years ago after our previous annual membership course deteriorated (Twin Creeks). I think when you go year to year at these places it’s a continual challenge to find a spot that‘s in good shape but hasn’t jacked up the rate too much. (And isn’t impossible to get a tee time at).
I'm considering getting a monthly Arcis membership at Bear Creek. It looks like weekday tee times are wide open for one or both courses after 4:00. You can play for a $25 cart fee.
Weekend golf has gotten so expensive and slow, that playing twilight there may be a better option. It's close enough that I could get on by 4:45 or 5:00. Zipping through 9-12 holes two or three days a week for $75 may be better than paying $100 for a 5+ hour round on the weekend.
Plus I need to get my game to sharpen my game for the WWGC next month. At this point, playing more holes is going to do more for me than the range.
Weekend golf has gotten so expensive and slow, that playing twilight there may be a better option. It's close enough that I could get on by 4:45 or 5:00. Zipping through 9-12 holes two or three days a week for $75 may be better than paying $100 for a 5+ hour round on the weekend.
Plus I need to get my game to sharpen my game for the WWGC next month. At this point, playing more holes is going to do more for me than the range.
If you live near Texas Star or in the mid-cities. I think if you want a cart, you must pay for it.
Texas Star Range Pass Member: $60/Month
- Unlimited use of Driving Range and Practice Facilities.
- $25 Golf Mon-Thur after 3:30 p.m.
- 10 day advance tee times and charging privileges.
- Use of the Treaty Room for family or business events
- USGA approved handicap services are available at a discount.
- Member invited to social and dining events at Texas Star.
- 25% discount on Conference Centre room rentals, Sunday-Friday.
- 15% discount on Golf and Golf Shop merchandise. (in-stock, soft goods only)
That's a great option as well. Texas Star is one of my three favorite courses in DFW. And the 10 day tee times would be worth it to - as I'm the tee time guy for my group and it's a hard place to book.
I actually live near you (I believe) in Flower Mound. I WFH 4 days a week. Bear Creek is sneaky close - less than 25 min if you go down the airport access road. The commute to Texas Star just depends on how fast 121 backs up...but worst case only 35 min or so.
I wonder how the weekday course traffic is there. The one thing that intrigued me about BC after tracking it a few weeks is it's usually wide open on weekday evenings - even when the weather is nice. I'd fear going out as a single and just running into the herd 4 holes deep at Texas Star.
Bear Creek gets a lot of weekend play. My son took lessons over there and it was always jam packed around noon. Don't know about the late afternoons. And the airplanes going right over you is great fun if noisy.
Texas Star on the weekends at twilight does slow down. Been there, done that, but great fun when it's moving.
I would think the twilight at least on Tue-Thur would be good but you can check the pro shop. Ask them when it's typically not too busy. Sometimes, their tee time chart goes down and you must call them to see what's happening.
Good call about asking. I'll still either play league at my home course or somewhere in the metroplex with my regular group on the weekend. This is primarily to get Monday-Thursday twilight golf in.
I also love the short game area at Texas Star. It's probably one of my favorite all the public courses.
The golf boom has had me changing my practice habits. I'll happily drive for a short game practice area that's not crowded and has a lot of space. I don't hit a ton of range balls. But I have found myself going to the range at the course by my office because they have phenomenal turf and it's still in good shape by 5pm.
A lot of the places with practice memberships are on mats a lot or the turf is torn up by early afternoon.
I hit the range at Bridlewood frequently when in town. Have the PLP Range Membership
I don't know about Bridelwood, but they make a fortune off the PLP program at Westridge! I think it is well over 1000 PLP members at $79/month and whenever I drive by there the range is packed!
I wouldn't be surprised if the numbers were the same. I remember when PLP was introduced at Bridlewood. There was even talk that they may 'cap' the number. I think that quickly when out the window when the money came in, lol.
It was nice at first. The tee sheets were often empty late in the afternoon. The clinics had maybe 8-10 people working with Zach (who has blossomed into an amazing instructor).
But it wasn't long before the range was getting so much traffic that it was torn up by noon. Even when I played there a lot, I'd go over to a phenomenal little green grass range in Lewisville. The guy who owned it got kick out of me having a PLP membership and going there to practice. He ended up selling the land and retiring.
The best part of PLP is the discounted afternoon times IMO.
I certainly can't afford a membership at Westridge anymore. For a 4-day membership that excludes Fridays, they now want, as an annual fee, what we used to pay, basically, for an all weekday, all-inclusive membership. On top of that, they now get $18/round on top of that whether you walk or ride. That more than doubles the cost for a 4-day deal based on how much we played, and a full weekday membership now costs almost triple what we used to pay.
I tend to go early or late. On Sundays, it is better because no kids at clinics. Sometimes, I just go to the two short game areas, and put some balls down on the larger short game area and hit some balls off the hill. I've been going there since 2008 so I've seen the management changes. The current mgmt is better.