Memorable finish at Wolf Creek Golf Course.

You need two good swings to make birdie on 18. I know, it was my only birdie of the day. SWEET ! 

Wolf Creek #14 - My favorite golf hole

I love this golf hole. Beautiful and all of the trouble is right out in front of you - for you to avoid and bask in the success. 

Concentrate on the beauty, not the hazards.

Look out into the green stuff and give it a rip. What water ? 

More hazards to navigate.

When the traps, rough and water are easy to navigate they rocks and boulders into the mix to avoid. 

Al leads us off the tee box

 

Challenging par 3.

OK, doesn' everyone have a go-to shot from 209 and there is water on 3 1/2 sides of the hole. The bail-out area is the cart path for those weak in the knees on the tee box. 

Al gets awarded for his straight shots.

Al still had plenty in the tank when it came to hitting them straight at Wolf Creek. 

Premium on hitting it straight.

Several of the holes in the middle of the round place a premium on hitting a nice straight shot. 

Team Work

A team effort to score well. 

Beautiful Scenery

Every tee box takes your breath away with the beauty of the challenge ahead. 

A handful of blind shots make you work extra hard for that good score. 

Golf ball in the desert - Gone

 

Uphill too!

There are a few uphill holes on the course to negate all of the downhills that let gravity work for you. 

Blue Spots

Green spot to green spot takes on new meaning when you have to miss the blue spots - the strategically placed lakes and creeks on the course at Wolf Creek. 

Wolf Creek - Sweet and Sour

Just like Ying / Yang and Sweet and Sour. The lush green fairways are the beauty side of the beauty and the beast at Wolf Creek. 

Wolf Creek #1: The challenge and the beauty begins

Wolf Creek is stronger than garlic. Hole number one sets the tone. 

Finally a little down hill action

 

Bob takes in the beauty of Falcon Ridge

 

Water right and Gone-Gone Left

 

A real challenge - You need to keep it straight !

 

Pure Heaven in a Par-3: Danger, Challenge and Reward

 

Falcon Ridge in Mesquite Nevada - A Solid B Grade, Only a year old.

 

Great Golf in Nevada - And Utah too

Big Sky Tournament - 2005

An Annual Lab Experiment in golf happens every year about this time.

Go out to Mesquite Nevada, start with 1/3 of a day gambling in the casinos, 1/3 of a day of good fellowship and manly activities. The last ingredient is a full dose of difficult golf courses.

Stir it all together and cook in moderate heat (yes, the Nevada heat peaked several weeks ago and is on the decline). For variety, throw in a golf course or two in St George Utah.

This golf concoction needs a name, we will use Big Sky Tournament as a label to protect the innocent, and the guilty too.

The raisins and nuts used in this year's recipe are:
• Coral Canyon Golf Course - St George Utah
• Falcon Ridge Golf - newly opened in Mesquite Nevada
• Wolf Creek - infamous golf course in Mesquite NV

Keep the lab goggles on and the fire extinguisher handy; here are some photos of the world's most fun golf experiment.

Hold down the SHIFT KEY while clicking on a photo to see a bigger version of the photo

Coral Canyon A beautiful golf course - set in the middle of the desert.

Yes, great desert golf. Be ready for some forced carrys to get to the fairway, but nothing heroic required.

Day One - Coral Canyon Golf Course

Design by Keith Foster, same designer of THE QUARRY in San Antonio Tx (highly recommended).

Coral Canyon has a great putting green and driving range. You need to spend some time on both before your round; the course is demanding.

The bentgrass greens are fast and fair.

After you hit it over the gunch -

You need to hit it straight! Straight pays a premium at Coral Canyon; keeping you out of the ravines and dry washes. If you were down in the trouble it was very difficult because of the sage, cactus and desert bushes. Sometimes you had no backswing and at other times you would find your ball being unplayable, under plants with lots of sharp thorns. The par-3 holes were very playable and enjoyable. You need to play the par-5s well, there are a total of five of them. The first two holes are par-5, and holes 16 and 18 finish the par-5 lineup.

There are also five par-3 holes.

No let up on the par-3s; there are five of them. The rough was thick and sticky the day we played; making it quite a challenge when you missed the green. Here Tim and Jim navigate a hump in a Keith Foster designed green near the end of the round.

Review the website at http://www.coralcanyongolf.com/

Optomistic Golfers

Johnny and the Czar anxious for the competition to begin.

Basking in the great weather

Dave, Bob and Fenton relax before the first round. 

Tidying up the sticks

Brook polishes the stainless at the end of Round 1. 

Best Greens in Houston: September

Unbelievable: the condition of the greens at Southwyck Golf course near Pearland.

 

Other than being a shade on the grainy side;  the greens at Southwyck are award winners currently.

Relatively fast but very true if you read and adjust for the grain.

 

Beautiful greens for this time of year.

 

Second place in the greens catagory for September:

Tour 18 golf course, near Humble.

Fun and carpet like;  tended too like a backyard garden.