TimberCreek Golf Club - Dogwood Nine Review

TimberCreek Golf Club - Dogwood Nine Review

Review of TimberCreek Golf Club's Dogwood Nine

Just off of Interstate 10 and a few miles from the eastern shore of Mobile Bay is a fabulous golf course with 27 holes that you'll really enjoy playing.  TimberCreeek Golf Club was designed by Earl Stone and the first eighteen (Dogwood and Magnolia) opened for play in 1993 with the Pine nine holes opening a few months later. 

Earl sculptured 27 fantastic holes through the rolling hills and tall forests of dogwoods, magnolias, and pines.  Surprising elevation changes, wetland preserves, and bountiful wildlife accentuate this incredible flowing terrain creating a golfing experience truly unique from other courses in the Gulf Coast Region.  Earl seemed to design the course to be demanding but fair and very fun for players of all skill levels.  

TimberCreek Golf Club's courses are enjoyable and not just because they have the ability to massage your ego and offer an opportunity for you to turn in a great score - on Dogwood, I was close to a new record low until the 9th hole and I still ended up 3 over par!  The conditions are excellent, the price is right, and the holes are great - and even though you can score well here, you still have to make shots.  All of this is part of the reason that Golf Digest awarded TimberCreek Golf Club a 4 Star Best Places To Play award. 

Each of the nines holes at TimberCreek Golf Club has its own unique personality and characteristics, for example:

• The Magnolia nine has the most elevation changes and wetland areas, with little residential development and it's the toughest thanks to the hilly terrain and tight fairways - read our review of TimberCreek Golf Club's Magnolia Nine to learn more about why this was our favorite nine
• The Dogwood nine is the shortest at 3450 yards and it rolls through bumpy terrain and an outstanding signature hole that's a blast to try and par
• The Pines nine is considered the easiest of the nines and gives you two reachable par 5s and perhaps the best hole on the course, which is # 7. 
• Dogwood is an absolute blast to play, and not just because I came close to having a record round of 1 over par.  Dogwood offers lots of variety with each hole being a little different from the others and it has a little bit of everything that makes golf fun (or frustrating, depending on how you're playing).  For example:
• there are five sets of tee boxes so you should be able to pick one that fits your game and offers an opportunity for a good score
• several tee boxes are elevated and offer both uphill as well as some downhill tee shots to ample fairways where in most cases you can let the big dog go for it
• each hole is different from the previous hole and offers some challenge to keep you on your game
• from tee box to pin the conditions are well above average
• you'll need to manage some huge bunkers, rolling and contoured fairways, mounding, water, dense forest that will devour your sprayed golf balls, uphill and downhill shots, dog legs, and more
• the greens are well guarded and raised requiring a precise approach and the putting surfaces are demanding with slope, undulation, and tiers

All of the holes are outstanding, but the #2 handicap #7 takes the prize.  It's a 534 yard par 5 with a slight uphill shot off the tee, then downhill toward a pinched fairway (thanks to a retaining wall, long skinny bunker, and marsh and lake) that dog legs left to a smallish green with plenty of slope, undulation, and a tier on the back.  That's a hole that I would love to play 5 or 6 more times.

The course conditions from tee to pin at TimberCreek were excellent when we played.  The Dogwood fairways are all tree lined (with a scattering of homes set back on one side of some holes), rolling, and contoured.  Some are a tad tight but most are ample with a wide playable rough. 

The Dogwood greens were also in very good condition and ranged from about average to a tad small.  Slope, undulation, and tiers come into play and pin placement can be very challenging.  They were running a little slow, around an 8 to 9, but true.

The bunkers also range in size and shape from small pot bunkers to some real monsters.  The sand is inconsistent between bunkers - some have soft thick fine sand and others have gritty thin and firmer sand.   We understand that the bunkers are being upgraded to the better softer sand.  The lips are thin, from one to four inches tall, which means you might get lucky and roll out or you may be able to pitch your way to the pin. 

The slope and rating are based on playing the Magnolia and Dogwood Nines.