Brookhaven Country Club - Championship Course Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.6

Golf - Private Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Farmers Branch
Website · Locate This Course

Dsc_1320 Dsc_1322 Dsc_1325

Brookhaven Country Club - Championship Course Review

Review of Brookhaven Country Club - Championship Course

Brookhaven Country Club has been a very popular country club since it opened in 1957.  With 3 18 hole courses, a top rated tennis facility, great amenities, and reasonable initiation fees and monthly dues, it's not surprising that Brookhaven was voted "Best Country Club – $10,000 or less," "Best Value Club," "Best Family Club" and "Most Improved Club" in March 2009 by the  Avid Golfer magazine.

Owned and operated by Club Corp, Brookhaven has three very different 18 hole courses:

  • the Masters which only has three tee boxes and yardages ranging from 6158 to 6879 is regarded is the most difficult test of your game
  • the Championship Course is more women and higher handicap golf friendly and slightly more forgiving
  • the Presidents course is a par 70 short course (4027 to 4790 yards) and is excellent to practice your short game or seniors, juniors and beginners

Brookhaven Country Club's Championship Course's tree lined fairways meander through the Brookhaven community providing you with a great golf experience - somewhat scenic, excellent conditions, good pace of play, small challenging greens, and some fun holes, some of which will test your game. 

Some of what makes playing Brookhaven Country Club's Championship Course enjoyable includes:

  • several very good risk reward opportunities to try and fly the trees to shorten the hole for a birdie opportunity
  • tight to forgiving fairways off the tee box and many cases where you might consider leaving the big dog in the bag unless you have an excellent under the trees worm burner shot
  • a good combination of dog legs left and right, some uphill and downhill shots, and some holes that require some strategic shot making
  • challenging approach shots to small guarded greens that will test your putting skills

When we played in February 2013, the fairways were dormant but you could tell that during the season they would be in near perfect condition (which was also verified by a member) and the same would hold true for the rough.  The fairways are all tree lined and trees are spread out enough that you can typically worm burn your way toward the green or at least back to fairway.  If you really spray the ball, you'll be in one of the other side by side airways with a tough shot requiring you to carry the trees.  The fairways range from tight to wide enough to "let-er-rip."  You'll also encounter some uphill as well as downhill shots and some sloping fairways that can take your ball into some real trouble.

The greens at Brookhaven Country Club's Championship Course are tiny and dangerous and raised and guarded - putting a premium on your approach shot and putting f you want to score well.  Most of the greens have a left and right front bunker that are easy to hit because the greens are so small.  Once you're on the green, you best study them carefully because there is plenty of slope and undulation plus some tiers and ridges - pin placement can be a killer!  When we played they were in near perfect condition, ran true and fast, and held the ball well.  A joy to putt on, once you got on the green.

The bunkers have been redone and some of the sand is fine, soft, and thick while other bunker has thin and gritty/gravely sand.  The faces are manageable, but don't expect to roll out of the bunker.  All but a couple of the bunkers are guarding the greens.

Bottom line - a very good quality course with active and friendly members and excellent amenities - all at a good value.

Dsc_1326 Dsc_1327 Dsc_1329

Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,154 70.7 117
White 5,482 67.4
Gold 6,542 72.1 123

Course Information

Course Architect:
Press Maxwell
Greens Type:
Tifdwarf Bermuda
Greens Condition
9.0
Greens Difficulty
8.8
Fairway Condition
9.0
Bunker Condition
8.5
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Easy
Beware of water on 9 holes and the 35 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.6 out of 10
Beauty:
8.3
Difficulty:
9.0
Variety:
8.0
Fun to Play:
8.5
Value:
9.0
Condition:
9.0
Front Nine Rating:
8.5
Back Nine Rating:
8.8
Dsc_1330

Very good practice facilities and amenities, well stocked pro shop, great food, and good service.

Dsc_1337

 

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.