Texas Outside review of The Tribute

Date Played: March 29, 2007
Front Nine Rating: 8.5 Stars
Back Nine Rating: 8.5 Stars
Approximate Weekend Price Range: $39.00 to $125.00
Where To Get Coupons: GolfQ.com, Golf512.com

Brief Description:
If you like Scottish links courses, excellent service, near perfect conditions, tradition and history, and a good pace of play, then you will love the Tradition. From the clubhouse to the fairways to the hole flags, you'll experience an old world charm, a true Scottish feel, and some of the most memorable and historic holes of Scotland. This top rated course (rated 78th in Golf Digest's "Best in the US" and #1 Daily Fee Course in North Texas according to the Dallas Morning News in 2007) is a tribute to some of the best holes of Scottish golf from St. Andrews, Royal Troon, Carnoustie, Royal Dornach, Muirfield, and more. The course is characterized by wind swept dunes, sea washed grass, berms, and open fairways. Part of what makes playing The Tribute a memorable experience is the history and tradition, some of which is described on each hole marker - imagine yourself reliving some of that history as you tee off on Hogan's Alley at Carnoustie and hear bagpipes in the background.

As you would expect of a links course, there are not a lot of trees and it doesn't seem like there there is a lot of variety but the course is in perfect condition with great bent grass greens which are huge, in excellent condition, and tough to putt due to undulation and slope. Steep faced bunkers (and plenty of them), creeks, and natural grass hazards can cause a challenge, but if you play strategically, read the score card tips, and manage your club selection, you should score well and leave with a lasting memory. The Tribute also has an excellent Stay & Play Package - read our review of this outstanding package.

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.