Texas Outside review of Whitestone Golf Club

Whitestone Golf Club

Texas Outside Rating: 8.5

18 Holes - Golf - Public
Benbrook, TX
817-249-9996
Website
Online Specials

Date Played: March 30, 2008
Front Nine Rating: 8.5 Stars
Back Nine Rating: 9.0 Stars
Approximate Weekend Price Range: $22.00 to $45.00
Brief Description:
According to Whitestone's website, "Whitestone was created with one thought in mind - offer Texans and visitors the best possible golf experience at an unbelievably affordable price." We would agree that Whitestone has exceeded that objective. This is a fantastic course (fun, memorable, lots of variety, and challenging) at a very affordable price.

Jeff Brauer and Jay Morrish (designers of Cowboys, La Cantera, Los Colinas Sports Club, and Terravista) designed Whitestone in 2000 and the course opened with a number of accolades.

Whitestone offers the golfer a little bit of everything: some straightforward what you see is what you get holes as well as some very challenging holes, dog legs, strategically placed fairway and green bunkers, elevation changes, scenic beauty, risk reward shots, and some memorable and fun holes - all at a great price! The course layout meanders through tree lined fairways (a few holes with houses), up and down some hills, and across creeks and ravines. The back nine offers more variety and is a little more challenging than the front.

When we last played in early April, the fairways were in above average condition but still dormant and most were fairly forgiving unless you really sprayed the ball. Most of the fairways were rolling (the slope was back into the fairway which is good) with berms and mounds, trees, huge sand bunkers, and creeks.

The greens were were in very good condition, pretty fast, and a little difficult to read due to the slope and roll. Approach shots can be challenging thanks to some bunkers and turtle top greens - if you can't hold the green you're rolling back into the fairway.

In early 2008, there was a change of management which will good for Whitestone and some improvements (starting with the bunkers) are now underway. This is a course you need to add to your list to play before you head to golfer's heaven!

Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this: links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses!
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:

Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds

Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10.

Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box? That’s right, it gets a 1.

Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes

Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course. For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.

Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!

Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale. Condition is self-explanatory.

All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course. In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40. We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.