Blackhorse Golf Club - North Course Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.4

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Cypress
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Blackhorse Golf Club - North Course Review

Review and Rating of Blackhorse Golf Club's North Course in Cypress, Texas

Blackhorse Golf Club is home to two spectacular 18 hole courses that are consistently rated as two of the best in Houston.  Each 18 is a little different and has it’s own unique personality and characteristics: 

  • North is more traditional and has more trees, almost twice as many bunkers,  and plays longer than South from all 6 tee boxes
  • South is shorter and harder (thanks to water on 15 holes and several forced carries) with a fantastic back nine that has 6 holes that play through an expansive sand quarry that has been transformed into a colorful array of wetlands – read our review of Blackhorse Golf Club’s South Course

The North Course, as well as the South Course at Blackhorse Golf Club was designed by Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design Group and opened in 2001 and they describe North as “Carved into a lush landscape of lakes, wetlands and a meandering creek, the North Course plays between 5,065 and 7,301 yards. TifSport fairways and TifEagle greens provide optimal playing conditions, and each hole is uniquely sculpted to provide an eclectic range of environmental changes throughout your round.” 

What a joy to play – just make sure that you pick the right set of tee boxes (there are six of them with yardages ranging from 5065 to 7301 yards) because the North Course is no walk in the park – the rating ranges from 121 to 135.  On most holes you can pull out the big dog and let-er-rip but after that you’ll need some skillful shots from a wide variety of different clubs.  

Some of the holes that we really liked on Blackhorse Golf Club’s North Course included:

  • #2 is a 211 yard par three that’s all carry over a pond to a green with a large multi-fingered bunker on the left side
  • #4 is outstanding – the #1 handicap hole is a slight dog leg right 420 yard par 4 that offers a great risk reward shot to try and carry more of the lake (that runs from the tee box to the back right side of the green) to shorten the hole but you need to miss a huge cluster of bunkers waiting for your drive on the right and two more on the left plus three bunkers guarding the green
  • #7 is 413 yard sharp dog leg right par 4 that requires accurate shots all the way – a short drive and you can’t make the turn thanks to the trees, long off the tee and you’re in the trees, and the approach is tough thanks to a pond on the left, trees pinching both sides of the fairway, and a green with a left and right side bunker
  • #11 is a 545 yard par 5 with a minefield of bunkers (7 of them ranging from small pot bunkers to some steep and deep monsters)

When we played in mid-March the fairways were still transitioning from winter to summer but they were in excellent condition as was the playable rough.  Both the rough and fairways are ample but miss them and you’re wet, sandy, or lost in the trees.  The fairways are loaded with contour and a couple are like mini roller coaster rides – hands up and a “wheeeee” is in order! 

The Blackhorse Golf Club’s North course greens were near perfect – great condition, good speed (normally a 9.5 but running an 11 when we played), and just the right amount of slope and contour to make them demanding but fair.  They held the ball well, rolled true, and were fairly easy to read.  All but one of the greens are guarded by between one to three bunkers.

Speaking of bunkers there are 67 of them ranging from small pot to multi-fingered monsters and most are fairly steep and deep – practice your sand game before you head out.  The good news is that the sand is perfect – soft, thick, and fluffy!  The bunkers are well maintained and manicured.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 7,301 75.0 135
Blue 6,613 72.0 12
White 6,199 68.8 121
Gold 7,075 74.0 131
Red 5,640 72.7 132

Course Information

Course Architect:
Jacobsen/Hardy
Greens Condition
9.0
Greens Difficulty
8.5
Fairway Condition
9.0
Bunker Condition
9.5
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Easy
Scorecard
Course Map
Beware of water on 7 holes and the 67 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.4 out of 10
Beauty:
8.8
Difficulty:
8.3
Variety:
8.0
Fun to Play:
8.5
Value:
8.0
Condition:
9.0
Front Nine Rating:
9.0
Back Nine Rating:
8.5
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $59.00 to $109.00

Service is excellent – friendly, helpful, and the cart lady shows up frequently. The pro shop is very well stocked with everything you need to look good and play well – in fact, the pro shop has won several awards. The practice facilities are great and Jakes Grill is excellent – a wide variety of good food.

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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.