Texas Outside review of Rayburn Country Resort

Rayburn Country Resort - Gold Course

Texas Outside Rating: 7.8

27 Holes - Golf - Resort
Jasper, TX
800 882-1442
Website
Stay & Play

Date Played: November 10, 2007
Front Nine Rating: 7.8 Stars
Back Nine Rating: 7.8 Stars
Approximate Weekend Price Range: $30.00 to $45.00
Brief Description:
The Gold Course is one of three nine hole courses at Rayburn Country Resort. Of the three courses, the Gold Course is in between the other two courses in terms of difficulty, variety, and fun - but it is a very enjoyable 9 holes. The terrain is heavily treed and rolling, which means you will encounter a number of up and down shots. You really get the sense of playing golf in the country when you play this course - peace and quiet, scenic beauty, woodsy smells (pine trees, burning wood, and even a skunk!), and lots of birds chipping, oops, chirping.

Speaking of birds, playing from the tips on this course will make it very tough to get a number of birdies. The fairways are about average width and not that difficult to hit, unless you have a big hook or slice which puts you in the trees or OB in someones yard. Some of the fairways are sloping and you'll encounter some blind shots - so study the shot before you hit the ball and you should do ok. The fairways and greens were in very good condition when we played.

The greens are small, turtle top (if you miss them and you are likely to roll back into the fairway, bunker, or woods), and well protected which is going to impact your ability to score well. When we played, the greens were in transition between summer and winter, but were still in pretty good shape. They are difficult to read due to their slope (little to no undulation) and you can expect a few bogeys due to putting. As mentioned, a lot of the greens are turtle top, which means you need to select a club that will allow you hold the green if you're lucky enough to hit it.

The below rating and slope are based on playing the Blue and Gold course together. The numbers would be higher if you played Gold and the harder Green course. This is an excellent nine holes of golf. Rayburn Country also has a very economical Stay & Play package - click here to read our review of when we stayed at Rayburn Country. Read the reviews of the other courses to get a fell what its like to play 18 - better yet, take advantage of their Stay & Play package and play all three nines.

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.