 Twin Creeks Country Club
Texas Outside Rating: 8.7
18 Holes - Golf - Private
Cedar Park
512 331-5900
Website
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Date Played: January 17, 2010
Front Nine Rating: 8.5 Stars
Back Nine Rating: 9.0 Stars
Initiation Fees: $10,001 to $25,000
Monthly Dues: $201 to $400
Brief Description:
Twin Creeks is a par 72 7033 yard Fred Couples signature course that meanders through 195 acres of very pretty and picturesque west Austin hill country. Twin creeks have etched valleys out of the natural limestone and are part of what make this outstanding 18 holes challenging. The front nine is the easiest nine as it plays from the bottom of the valley up to the top and along a ridge and then back down into the valley - offering some majestic views and dramatic elevation changes. The first few holes start off fairly traditional helping make this nine much easier than the back nine. Holes five through nine define this nine and make it unique and enjoyable to play. For example, number 5 is a 593 yard par 5 with a wide open landing zone from a dramatic elevated tee box (a great Kodak moment) but then it gets tough - as the fairway narrows as it crosses a creek leading to a very well protected green, making course management and club selection critical to score well on this challenging hole. And 7 and 9 are also beauts - #7 is an uphill blind shot that then heads downhill through a steep and narrow fairway to the green and #9 (a 208 yard par 3) requires a very accurate shot off a huge elevated tee box to carry the natural area and nail a small green and landing zone. You'll want to play these last 4 holes again. The back nine plays along the valley bottom and is defined by the creeks that run alongside and cut across 7 of 9 fairways, sometimes twice on the same hole. Club selection and course management are keys to scoring well on this challenging nine and you'll most likely you'll use the vast majority of your clubs when you play Twin Creeks. Number 15 is a good example of where you need your A game to score well - a 627 yard par five requiring a good shot off the tee box to avoid the bunkers and rough and position you to miss the two trees in the middle of the fairway obstructing your next shot which also needs to be accurate to carry the creek or land short of it for a chip to a very well protected green.Twin Creek is very challenging, scenic, and lots of fun to play. The creeks, dog legs, blind shots, strategically placed huge fairway bunkers, fast sloping greens, thick rough, and rolling contoured fairways are some of what make this nine challenging. With five sets of tee boxes, you should be able to pick the right yardage to fit your game. The fairways were dormant when we played but looked like they would normally be in excellent condition. The natural rough was cut thin but still difficult to impossible to play out of - in the summer they are not cut low and if you miss the fairway and rough you're gone. The Tif Eagle greens were in perfect condition, fast (normally run a 10 to 12 on the stint meter), true but hard to read due to subtle breaks, very well protected, and included plenty of slope and some undulation. The bunkers need to be avoided - soft thick white sand but deep and steep faced and they are strategically placed in the fairway or blocking or protecting the green. The fairways are lined with century old oak and pecan trees, follow or cross ravines lined with limestone outcropping, and have a few homes lining a couple holes on the front nine.Twin Creeks Country Clubs is a great layout that is fun and challenging and a pleasure to play. One of the membership options has rights to play some of the other sister courses like River Place and Onion Creek in Austin and Dominion in San Antonio.
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Other Good Information:
Designer/Architect: Les Schmidt
Beware of water on 12 holes
and the 55 sand traps.
Service is very attentive and friendly, the club house and amenities are good, and the practice facility is all you need to warm up for a round.
Condition of the greens is 9.5 and the green difficulty is 9.0 out of 10.
Type of Greens: Tif Eagle
Walkable: Very Hard
GPS: No
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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.
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