English Turn Review

Texas Outside Rating: 9.4

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
New Orleans, LA
Website

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English Turn Review

Review and Rating of English Turn Golf Course - New Orleans

As soon as you arrive at English Turn's spectacular 43,000 square foot clubhouse  which recalls the grace and grandeur of one of Louisiana's legendary plantation homes, you know you're in for a special treat.  English Turn is an outstanding Jack Nicklaus designed course that presents a challenging round of golf to all skill levels.  Nicklaus created 18 unique holes, each of which have their own personality and set of challenges - meandering lakes come into play of every hole, giant sand and waste bunkers guard the fairways and greens, grass depressions and mounds line the sculptured fairways, and tiered and contoured small manicured greens put a premium on the approach shots and putting. 

Don't let all of that scare you - the fairways are generous, the bunkers can be avoided, and you'll stay dry if you focus on course management and staying in the fairway.  The conditions from tee to cup are near perfect, the course is very well maintained and manicured, and the scenery (big southern mansions, water, trees, fountains, and landscaping) is stunning.  Doesn't get much better than all that!

In addition, English Turn Golf Club is home to some really fun holes, some that we liked included:

  • #2 is a 539 yard par five that turns left around a long sprawling sand bunker and the lake and it offers a great risk reward shot to try and carry more of the lake and bunker to shorten the hole - you'll also need to avoid several mounds and 8 more bunkers on the way to the green
  • #11 is a 534 yard par 5 with another risk reward shot to try and carry more of the lake and monstrous bunker (with six oval grass islands) and then the fairway is pinched with that bunker on the left plus 8 more on the way to a small 22 yard oblong raised green
  • #15 is a 540 yard par 5 with a cluster of 4 bunkers and the lake on the right pinching your landing zone and the approach shot is to an island green with two bunkers, one of which horseshoes around the back and some of the sides of the green - the good news is it will stop your ball from going in the lake
  • #18 is unbelievable - the #1 handicap 471 yard par 4 has water along the left and a long bunker from 200 yards out to and around the left side of the green plus 5 more bunkers on the right side of the fairway waiting for your drive and 3 more surrounding the back side of the green

Two meandering lakes line one side of all of the fairways and across the lake are some huge beautiful homes.  The fairways are wide and forgiving and loaded with bunkers, grass mounding, and lots of contour.  Miss the fairway and you're in a rough that was thick and challenging when we played.  If you spray the ball you're wet on one side or in trees, natural areas, or OB on the other side of the fairway.  When we played the English Turn fairways were near perfect, well manicured, and landscaped with a wide variety of fauna.

The greens at English Turn are all shapes and sizes, very small (22 to 36 yards deep), and well guarded.  They were in excellent condition, soft and held the ball well, and ran true and at a great speed of 10 to 11.  Slope, contour, and tiers can cause lots of break.

The 95  bunkers are everywhere and range from 200 or more yard long skinny monsters to small pot bunkers.  The lips are manageable, the sand is soft and fluffy, and they are well manicured.

If you are in New Orleans, you need to take the time to play this outstanding course.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,449 71.5 130
White 5,955 71.0 119
Gold 7,078 74.6 140
Red 5,376 72.1 126

Course Information

Course Architect:
Jack Nicklaus
Greens Condition
9.7
Greens Difficulty
8.7
Fairway Condition
9.7
Bunker Condition
9.5
GPS:
No
Walkable:
yes
Course Map
Beware of water on 18 holes and the 95 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
9.4 out of 10
Beauty:
9.5
Difficulty:
9.2
Variety:
8.8
Fun to Play:
10.0
Value:
9.2
Condition:
9.7
Front Nine Rating:
9.5
Back Nine Rating:
9.8
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Service is very good, the pro shop is well stocked, and the club house is outstanding. The practice facilities are very good. The pace of play is excellent

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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.