Texas Outside review of Canongate At The Woodlands

Canongate At The Woodlands - Oaks Course

Texas Outside Rating: 8.5

18 Holes - Golf - Resort
The Woodlands
281 367-1100
Website
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Date Played: December 02, 2008
Front Nine Rating: 8.5 Stars
Back Nine Rating: 8.5 Stars
Approximate Weekend Price Range: $35.00 to $85.00
Brief Description:
The Oaks At the Woodlands, currently owned by Canongate, was designed by Joe Lee, redesigned in 1982 by Carlton Gipson, and in the early 90's Jay Morrish redesigned the course once again into the great course that it is today. The Oaks Course is located at the Woodland Resort and Conference Center and is a part of the Houston Canongate family of courses which includes Magnolia Creek, Lake Windcrest, and Panther Trail which is also located at the Woodlands Resort. The Oaks Course is currently a private course but is available for play during certain hours by guests staying at the Woodlands Resort. And you need to go out of your way to find a member or to stay at the resort so you can play this fantastic course.

The Oaks Course is a very traditional 18 holes of golf - no trick shots, challenging but fair, and a relatively straight layout. The Course was named after the towering oaks that line most of the fairways and greens. The fairways are generous and you can usually see what you're up against from each of the four sets of tee boxes. The Oaks Course meanders through the trees and along some huge beautiful homes hidden under the trees - don't worry, they are set far enough back that you're not going to cause them any damage, unless you really spray the ball. The fairways were in excellent condition when we played and most have at least one fairway bunker waiting to catch a stray ball. The rough is cut perfectly and it wasn't that difficult to recover from a non fairway shot.

What makes The Oaks Course challenging are the huge fairway bunkers, lakes and ponds, and the two to four large bunkers that protect each green. The large, rolling, and undulating greens which average 4,500 square feet of surface area make one putts for birdies or eagles pretty difficult. The greens were in perfect condition when we played, about average speed, a tad difficult to read, and many are elevated and surrounded by berms or mounds and traps - approach shots are critical to score well. The bunkers are very large and the white sand is soft, thick, and fun (I didn't say easy!) to hit out of.

Bottom line, The Oaks At The Woodlands is a very fun, relaxing, and enjoyable round of golf where you have the opportunity to score well. Plus the service is excellent and the Pro Shop offers clinics, instruction, and player development programs. The Woodlands Resort is a fantastic place to host a meeting (with a golf tournament) or stay for a fun golf weekend. If you're interested in a golf membership, the Canogate concept is to provide private club privileges for a modest entry fee and low monthly dues - check it out at their website.

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.