Sugar Tree Golf Club Review

Texas Outside Rating: 9.3

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Dennis
Website · Locate This Course
Online Specials · Stay & Play

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Sugar Tree Golf Club Review

Review of Sugar Tree Golf Course in Lipan Texas

Not only is Sugar Tree a Golf Digest 4 Star "Best Places To Play" course but it's also in Texas Outside's "Best Texas Golf Courses" because of its conditions, challenge, scenic beauty, variety, and value - they don't come much better than Sugar Tree. Every hole is unique and presents it's own set of challenges which include doglegs, blind shots, rolling hills, very narrow approaches, elevation changes, creeks, challenging green complexes, bunkers, ponds, and natural hazards - which make this a very fun course to play but you need to keep your patience and bring your A game to score well!

Sugar Tree is tight and tree lined and a shot makers course that requires some excellent course management skills.  With a slope of 125 to 137, Sugar Tree ranks with the best of them in terms of difficulty - but don't let that discourage you from playing this fantastic course - move up a tee box and make the course a little easier and more relaxing to play.

Talk about course management and club selection - this course demands it if you want to score well and you may have to play it twice before you can conquer this great golf course. In addition to variety and challenge, Sugar Tree is also one of the most scenic courses we have played - trees line all the fairways and you'll find waterfalls, small lakes, the Brazos River, rolling hills, rock formations, a wooden covered bridge, an old water wheel, and elevation changes with views of the surrounding country.

In fact, the 12th hole, a 110 to 210-yard par 3, is from our perspective one of the prettiest holes in Texas and it made our list of the Most Scenic Holes in Texas. From an elevated tee box, you look down at a small lake with cascading waterfalls, trees, a pond, stone terrace, bunkers, and a water wheel. Don't let the view cause you to lose focus, because if you miss the small green, you're in trouble.

Both nines are great with lots of variety but our favorite was the back nine.  The front is a par 37 with 3 par 5s, 2 par 3s, and 4 par 4s. The back nine is a par 35 (2 par 3s, 1 par 5, and 6 par 4s) and every hole is fun and different from the others.  here are lots of fun and challenging holes, but a couple of our favorites include:

  • #1 one sets the stage for your round - a carry over the creek to a tight creek and tree-lined fairway that dog legs left to a green guarded by the creek the crosses in front of the green plus a left side bunker
  • #14 the #2 handicap which is a 524 yard par 5 that plays along the banks of the Brazos River and requires accuracy off the tee box to carry the creek and nail the tight fairway and a very precise approach shot to an uphill well protected small green (you'll want to play this one again)
  • #7 is a challenging 182-yard par 3 with a downhill shot from an elevated tee box and a carry over a pond that fronts the green with two bunkers in back
  • #10 which is a huge uphill tee shot followed by a blind shot thru a valley and then down to the green

Most of the greens are big and rolling but a few may require three putts thanks to the severe slope, roller coaster contour, and ridges or valleys. The greens were in very good condition when we played and they ran at a great speed of 9 or so.  Plus they run true (if you can read the breaks) and are soft and hold the ball well. Most are well guarded by some combination of bunkers, creeks, or ponds.

We've played Sugar Tree a number of times and this time the fairways were in very good condition.  There were a few fairways with some bare dirt spots but that's to be expected after a hot summer with several days over 100! The grass is short and firm.  The fairways range from tight to tighter and all are tree lined - we lost a lot of balls but still had a blast.  The first cut was playable and in pretty good condition.

The sand in bunkers was soft and fairly deep and the lips were short - you might get lucky and roll out.  The bunkers needed some TLC around the edges.

Not only is this a fun, challenging, and pretty course, the value is outstanding for a course of this quality. The only challenge is that Sugar Tree is not on the way to anywhere - it is 20 miles south of Weatherford. It's not easy to get to but you will really enjoy it once you're there.  The good news is that they now have an excellent Stay & Play package in a 5 bedroom very nice house.  And you with your Stay & Play you can play the 5 hole par 3 course which has an island green. 

Add Sugar Tree to your list of must play Texas Courses. 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,372 71.9 135
White 5,988 70.4 131
Gold 6,810 74.0 137
Red 5,305 71.9 125

Course Information

Greens Type:
Champion Bermuda
Greens Condition
9.0
Greens Difficulty
9.0
Fairway Condition
8.0
Bunker Condition
7.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Tough - no pull carts
Scorecard
Course Map
Beware of water on 13 holes and the 38 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
9.3 out of 10
Beauty:
9.5
Difficulty:
9.2
Variety:
10.0
Fun to Play:
9.5
Value:
10.0
Condition:
8.2
Front Nine Rating:
9.0
Back Nine Rating:
9.4
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $32.00 to $49.00

Service is good and country friendly, practice facilites are ok, the grill has some good grub, and the pro shop is well stocked.

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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.