Texas Outside review of Crown Colony Country Club

Crown Colony Country Club

Texas Outside Rating: 9.1

18 Holes - Golf - Semi Private
Lufkin, TX
936 637-8800
Website
Stay & Play

Date Played: November 10, 2007
Front Nine Rating: 9.5 Stars
Back Nine Rating: 8.5 Stars
Approximate Weekend Price Range: $135.00 to $135.00
Brief Description:
Crown Colony opened in 1978 and has consistently been rated as one of the top courses in Texas by a number of different sources, including Golf Week's ranking Crown Colony in the top 75 nationwide. We believe the course is well deserving of all the accolades - it is very scenic, in near perfect condition, challenging but fair, and memorable. This is the only course we've ever played where all of the par 3 are challenging, fun, beautiful, and some of the best in the state. The amenities are outstanding and the service is first class.

The front nine is really fun to play with it's gently rolling hills, mounds and berms, and fairways and greens that are in excellent position. Huge beautiful homes line some of the fairways on one side and trees or water cover the other side of the fairway. No two holes are the same and you'll encounter a lot of dog legs on this nine. You'll also find some cascading water falls, lakes, and huge bunkers.

The back nine seems a little easier and not quite as scenic. Most of the fairways are lined with trees and a variety of homes on both sides of the fairway. The fairways are flat to gently rolling with doglegs on #10, #11 and #14 that require you to work the ball If you focus, this nine should result in a good score and a very enjoyable round.

Crown Colony is short at 6692 from the tips and on most holes you can leave the driver in the bag. Trees and water and some fairway bunkers can cause a problem, but course management, club selection, and a fairly straight shot should position you ok for the approach. The approach is what makes this course tough and accuracy to the green is critical. Crown Colony's greens aren't your typical cookie cutter round greens - they are small, various shapes (a couple are oblong) and sizes, and plateau or turtle top. Not only are they small but they are well protected with bunkers, water, or a slope to the trees. You really need to stuff your approach shots and the ball needs to bite the green, or you're in a trap, water, or down the hill. Once you're on the green, they are gently sloping, true, and somewhat fast. Make sure you spend some time at the range practicing your short game and trap shots if you want to score well.

Crown Colony has an excellent and economical Stay and Play package that includes golf, overnight accommodations in a well appointed Villa next to the club house. Plus you are entitled to full use of all of the country club's amenities (bar, full service restaurant, excellent locker rooms, pool, range, racquetball and tennis courts. To learn more about this fantastic package, read our review. What are you waiting for, pick up the phone and book a tee time and Villa on this must play course. You will want to play this course over and over again.

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.