The Golf Club at Champions Circle Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.5

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Ft. Worth
Website · Locate This Course
· Stay & Play

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The Golf Club at Champions Circle Review

Formally Doral Tesoro, The Golf Club at Champions Circle is an excellent course that takes advantage of the natural terrain to make it difficult and very scenic. The course was redesigned by Jay Morrish in 2002 because the original Greg Norman design was too challenging for most golfers, yet it still remains very challenging - so bring your A game to score well here. The Golf Club at Champions Circle offers a lot of variety and none of the holes are similar which helps make this a fun course to play. The course is short and relatively easy from the White tees but very difficult from the Gold and Black tees.

When we last played The Golf Club at Champions Circle it was in near perfect condition - lush and green. The greens are large, undulating, a little slow, and in very good condition. Part of the challenge at The Golf Club at Champions Circle is that some of the greens are table top and if your ball doesn't hold on the green you'll shake your head in frustration as it rolls into trouble or makes a tough chip shot.

There aren't a lot of bunkers and we didn't have much trouble avoiding them, however, there are plenty of other hazards that will test your game and require good course management. A stream meanders through the course and it has a tendency to swallow some balls and the natural grass hazards can be challenging, plus the trees, narrow fairways, and tough approaches are some of the challenges that make this a very memorable and fun course to play.

The Golf Club at Champions Circle also has a very good Stay & Play package, so treat yourself, your better half or significant other, and your friends to a fun evening and round of golf. Read our review of the Stay & Play offering. Great course - you will want to play it again.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,437 71.0 131
White 5,799 68.4 125
Gold 6,948 73.7 143
Red 5,176 65.8 111

Course Information

Course Architect:
Redesigned by Jay Morrish
Greens Type:
Bermuda
Greens Condition
9.0
Greens Difficulty
8.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Hard walk
Scorecard
Course Map
Beware of water on 10 holes and the 33 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.5 out of 10
Beauty:
8.0
Difficulty:
8.0
Variety:
8.0
Fun to Play:
9.0
Value:
9.0
Condition:
9.0
Front Nine Rating:
9.0
Back Nine Rating:
7.5
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $39.00 to $69.00

Service was prompt and attentive and the pro shop and practice facilities are good.

 

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.