Grapevine Golf Course - Pecan Course Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.8

Golf - Public Course · 9 Holes · Par 36
Grapevine
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Grapevine Golf Course - Pecan Course Review

Grapevine Golf Course has 27 holes of some very good golf.  The Dallas Morning News rated it #19 of the "Top 25 Best Daily Fee Courses" and Avid Golfer rated it in the "Top 50 Public Courses" as well as a "Best Value Under $50."   On the weekends all three nines are in play and the pro shop determines with two nines you'll play during your round.  During the week, one of the nines is out of play for maintenance. 

Byron Nelson and Joe Finger designed the original 18 (Mockingbird and Pecan) which opened in 1979.   D. A. Weibring was hired for a major expansion and modernization renovation project for the original 18 and to add an additional 9 holes which opened as Bluebonnet in the fall of 1999. 

Each nine has its own unique personality and characteristics but common to all three are excellent conditions, white soft sand bunkers, memorable and fun holes,  reasonable rates, and low flying aircraft on their approach to DFW.   Each nine has 4 sets of tee boxes and regardless of which nines you play, the course is a little short at 6983 yards.   Mockingbird is the flattest, Bluebonnet has surprising elevation changes, and Pecan is the hardest and demands accuracy off the tee box and on a number of the approach shots.

As mentioned, Pecan is the most demanding of the three nines - it's the longest at 3571 from the tips, has water that can come in play on 6 of nine holes, and requires accuracy both off the tee box and on a number of approach shots.  For example:

  • #3 is a 426 yard par 4 that horseshoes around a small lake - spray it left and you're wet, long right will find a bunker, and right is lost in the trees
  • #4, appropriately named that "damn hole along the base of the dam" is a long  578 yard par five with a perfectly straight very narrow fairway lined with trees on the left, bottle brush and the dam's thick grass on the right and a slightly uphill oblong three tier green guarded by berms and swales - not a hole you'll soon forget
  • #5, a 405 yard dog leg left, demands the right club from an elevated tee box to a narrow landing zone thanks to trees and a strategically placed bunker
  • #9 gives you a good risk reward shot by challenging you to try and bit off a bigger chuck of carry over the lake to shorten this 569 yard dog leg left par 5

Not only do you need to pick the right clubs for accuracy off the tee box, but a number of the approach shots are equally demanding.   Water, bunkers, berms, and swales guard a number of the greens. 

And speaking of the greens, they seem a lot more challenging on this nine.  It seems like there is more slope and undulation and some have multiple tiers.  When we played the greens were in excellent condition, held well, rolled true, and were fast - running between 10 to 12 on the Stimpmeter. 

The fairways were also in very good condition and they threw a little bit of everything at you - risk reward shots, dog legs, uphill and downhill shots, and strategically placed bunkers.  Club selection, course management, and accuracy are key to scoring well on this nine. 

The bunkers where in good condition, about average size and depth, and filled with soft white sand.  The good news is there are only 19 of them! 

This was our favorite nine of the three Grapevine Golf Course nines - scenic, demanding, and some memorable holes.  Remember, the tougher they are, the more we love them and the higher the rating!  

Read our review of Grapevine's Bluebonnet and  Mockingbird nines.

he slope and rating are based on playing the combo of the Pecan and Mockingbird nines.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 3,342 72.0 129
White 3,117 69.9 121
Gold 3,571 74.2 132
Red 2,679 71.2 121

Course Information

Course Architect:
Redesigned by D.A. Weibring
Greens Type:
TIF Eagle
Greens Condition
8.5
Greens Difficulty
9.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Yes
Scorecard
Beware of water on 6 holes and the 19 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.8 out of 10
Beauty:
8.5
Difficulty:
9.0
Variety:
8.5
Fun to Play:
9.5
Value:
9.0
Condition:
8.5
Front Nine Rating:
8.8
Back Nine Rating:
8.8
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $36.00 to $50.00

The pro shop has the basics, the grill has a good menu, service is okay, and the practice facilities are more than adequate.

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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.