TimberCreek Golf Course - Magnolia Nine Review
Golf - Public Course · 9 Holes · Par 36
Daphne, AL
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TimberCreek Golf Course - Magnolia Nine Review
Review of TimberCreek Golf Club's Magnolia 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
- 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 - - read our review of TimberCreek Golf Club's Dogwood Nine to learn more about why we loved this nine
- 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
Wow - what a fantastic track that's fun, scenic, demanding but fair, and unique and interesting holes with lots of variety, very good conditions, and a reasonable rate - doesn't get much better than that! In addition, you'll find lots of everything that requires your "A" game to score well - elevated tee boxes, forced carries, uphill and downhill shots, tough approaches to the green, strategically placed bunkers, tight to ample roller coaster and contoured fairways, and challenging greens that are well guarded.
The first four holes are fantastic and the rest are equally impressive, for example:
- #1 is a 571 yard downhill shot through a narrow tree lined fairway that abruptly ends and turns left to an oblong sloping two tiered green with a long bunker in front and one in back
- #2 has an elevated tee shot to a huge roller coaster fairway (so steep the ball may roll back down the hill) and then uphill to a well guarded green
- #4 is a 592 roller coaster ride with downhill shot from the tee and a tough uphill shot along a tight fairway with a very long bunker leading to the green
- #8 is very interesting with two dramatically elevated tee boxes and an intimidating tee shot over a large wetlands to an uphill dog leg left green, two tee boxes down in the wetlands with a shorter carry to the uphill green, and the forward tees on a platform extending out over the wetlands
The fairways at TimberCreek Golf Club's Magnolia nine are all tree lined with no homes and most are heavily contoured with some that offer tall roller coaster ups and downs. They range from tight to ample but if you miss them and the playable rough you're ricocheting off the trees and lost. Both the fairways and rough were in very good condition.
The greens were also in very good condition and had plenty of slope, undulation, and tiers to test your putting skills. They range from huge to average and ran very true but a little slow, around an 8 to 9.
The bunkers ranged from some pot bunkers to some monsters that you need to avoid. The good news is that the lips are thin and you may get lucky and bounce out or chip out near the green. Some were near perfect with soft fine sand and others had thin gritty sand.
Bottom line - if you are anywhere near Daphne, you need to go out of your way to play this nine.
The Slope/Rating is based on playing the Magnolia and Pines Nines together.
Course Slope & Ratings
| Tee Box | Yardage | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 3,612 | 73.6 | 125 |
| Blue | 3,074 | 68.2 | 116 |
| White | 2,945 | 67.3 | 112 |
| Gold | 3,306 | 70.4 | 122 |
| Red | 2,482 | 68.4 | 113 |
Course Information
- Course Architect:
- Earl Stone
- Greens Type:
- TIF Dwarf
- Greens Condition
- 9.3
- Greens Difficulty
- 9.0
- Fairway Condition
- 9.3
- Bunker Condition
- 8.0
- GPS:
- No
- Walkable:
- Hilly
- Course Map
- Beware of water on 0 holes and the 21 sand traps.
Texas Outside Rating
- Overall Rating:
- 9.4 out of 10
- Beauty:
- 9.3
- Difficulty:
- 9.0
- Variety:
- 10.0
- Fun to Play:
- 10.0
- Value:
- 9.5
- Condition:
- 9.3
- Front Nine Rating:
- 9.4
- Back Nine Rating:
FEES & AMENITIES
Approximate Weekend
Rates: $39.00 to $59.00
Service is ok, the clubhouse is packed with some good gear and good bargains, the practice facilities are good, and the grill has a wide range of tasty food.
Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard RatingThe 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!
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.
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