Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2015 - 21

among rolling hills, cliffs and creeks,
making the major draw the natural
beauty.
Fazio's Canyons course-long, but
with wider fairways and wide-open
spaces-may be the most naturally
spectacular of the four. There are few
houses on the property, and on most
holes you can't see any other hole, so it
is secluded. Fazio had excellent terrain
to work with and didn't need to move
a lot of dirt to create Canyons. But that
authentic beauty isn't exclusive to Canyons-springs
and waterfalls, cliffs and
rolling hills abound on all four of Barton
Creek's courses.
We continually hear the term " wideopen
spaces " about Texas, which certainly
has its share of fl at plains with
views that go on forever. But there is
also a good mix of rolling hills dense
with hardwood trees-exactly what
you fi nd at Pine Dunes in Frankston,
owned by Minnesota native Jodi Lutz
and ranked the number one public
course in Texas by Golfweek six of the
past seven years. Just under two hours
southeast of Dallas/Fort Worth, Pine
Dunes is well worth the drive, with its
Jay and Carter Moorish-designed layout.
Fairways are framed with pine and
oak trees, and 88 bunkers and huge,
yawning waste areas add to the course's
challenge.
" Each hole is secluded, " says Pine
Dunes' head professional Jay Mitchell.
" When things are grown out, the
course can have heavy traffi c, but you
still might not see more than two or
three groups all day. "
Pine Dunes has a stay-and-play
package with its 40 fully furnished fairway
guest condos, which have microwaves
and barbecue grills.
Just north of Dallas is The Colony,
a recreational community carved into
a peninsula of expansive and pristine
Lewisville Lake. Meticulous attention
is paid to the sustainable natural setting
and the preservation of native
wildlife. For golfers, the centerpieces of
the community are two courses built
on either side of the shoreline-The
Tribute and Old American courses.
Pine Dunes
TPC San Antonio Canyons
PHOTO (RIGHT) COURTESY OF PINE DUNES
Barton Creek
The Tribute
While The Tribute is no longer managed
by The Colony, both are semiprivate,
both were designed by Justin
Leonard and partner Tripp Davis,
and both were inspired by the classic
designs of Donald Ross, A.W. Tillinghast,
Seth Raynor and Perry Maxwell.
Among the many aesthetics are a 1920s
barn reconstructed as the golf cart
barn and an imported classic steel railroad
bridge that connects holes two
and three on the Old American course.
The Old American course has an
old-timey feel-for example, all bunkers
are waste areas, where players can
ground clubs and take practice swings.
Short, wooden fl agsticks help make the
experience feel like a golfi ng time warp.
These courses are just a few of the
" stars " that make the Lone Star State a
great place for a golf vacation. MG
Dan Gleason is an award-winning
writer and a former Texas resident.
1. TPC San Antonio
210-491-5800, tpc.com/sanantonio
5 4
Dallas
2. Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa
512-329-4000, omnihotels.com/hotels/
austin-barton-creek
3. Pine Dunes
4. The Tribute
903-876-4336, pinedunes.com 972-370-5465, thetributegc.com
5. Old American
972-370-4653, theoldamericangolfclub.com erinhills.com
www.mngolf.org
Directory 2011
Fall 2015 MINNESOTAGOLFER
AGOLFER
31
19
TEXAS
Austin
San Antonio 1
2
3
PHOTO COURTESY OF BARTON CREEK
PHOTO COURTESY OF TPC SAN ANTONIO CANYONS
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TRIBUTE
http://www.tpc.com/sanantonio http://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/ http://www.pinedunes.com http://www.thetributegc.com http://www.theoldamericangolfclub.com http://www.erinhills.com http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2015

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