Texas Golf News

Dang: Headline reads 'Shrinkage in Jersey Village'

2008-03-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

Actually it is a sub-heading in the Houston Chronicle Golf section:

Northwest-area golfer has to be ready to travel

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/glf/5611726.html

Well for sure you will want to travel and get out of the local neighborhood if you are affected by shrinkage.

Chron always picking on the golfer.

C

January's Best Greens ?

2008-01-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

Anybody should be able to grow great grass in the moderate January weather we are having.

Where are the best greens in the Houston Area ?

Anybody been to River Ridge lately? Would like a report.

How about Meadowbrook Farms ?

Some golf course is going to win the coveted Best Greens in Houston award for January ! Help me find the best greens,.

- C B

Photos of the 2006 Nevada Golf Trip

2006-11-04T07:43:00.000-08:00

Big Sky Tournament 2006

2006 Big Sky Golf Tournament

Back from Nevada

2006-11-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

The golf in Mesquite NV was fabulous !

The golf outting to St George Utah was even better.

Go practice putting on your kitchen floor as a warm-up for the speed of the greens. The Ledges Golf Course - It is beautiful.

Off to Nevada for Golf

2006-10-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

There are some great golf courses in Texas.

There are many beautiful ones in Nevada and Utah.

So I am off to experience some beautiful ones.

Hello Mesquite Nevada.

Golf at

Palmer Course at the Oasis Golf

Canyons Course at the Oasis Golf

The Ledges Golf Course in St George UT

..... and then the big finish ....

Wolf Creek - Nevada's Ultimate Golf Experience

AMEN !

Wish me Luck, and yes I will be reporting on the greens and conditions at the courses !

The Big Sky Tournament 2006 is on !

Connie

I would like your input: Best Putting Greens in Houston

2006-08-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

From now until the end of the Labor Day weekend, nominate the golf course of your choice for the best greens in the greater Houston Texas Area. Add a comment below and tell me where the bet greens are.
-Connie

July 2006 - Best Greens in Houston Award

2006-08-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

Great timing paid off for the groundskeeper at MeadowBrook Farms last month.

The greens at Meadowbrook Farms (Katy Texas) are fabulous.

Early in the month they punched and sanded the putting greens. They were barely complete with the verti-cutting when the rain rolled in. And rain it did.

The wet weather for the next three weeks combined with Houston's hot weather made for excellent grass groing conditions.

That made for excellent putting greens; the best putting greens in Houston in July.

9 stars for being receptive
10 stars for speed (fast) and rolling true.

Keep up the good work, we all benefit from great greens!

If you know of some really good greens in Texas this summer, please leave a comment !

Best Greens in Houston: Award Winner for June

2006-07-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

They do a lot of the right things at River Ridge golf club (Sealy)

And the greens are a the top of the list for a golf course done right. The greens in June were receptive and rolling fast.

The River Ridge greens are like a comfortable glove.... they just seem right and compliment the golf experience instead of being a golfing hurdle.

June's Best Greens in Houston award go to Sealy's River Ridge Golf Club, on the banks of teh Brazos River.

Keep up the good work.

May's Award - Best Greens in Houston

2006-06-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

May 2006: Best Golf Greens in Houston

Pretty easy pickins this month.

The greens at Cypress Lakes are head and shoulders above the rest I have played in May.

Smooth and fast. Rolling true.

You need to be below the hole to make a putt of any length.

I flashed back to the greens at Rio Secco (Las Vegas) for a moment..... they were that fast, almost.

Congratulations to the superintendent and grounds crew at Cypress Lakes golf course. Please keep up the good work.

Best Golf Greens in Houston - April's Best Greens

2006-05-06T07:30:00.000-07:00

What a competitive area in April, there are lots of good putting greens in Houston right now.

With all of the golf I played in April I did not encounter any poor greens...

Some are better than others, but no bad greens this year. No fungus, no crud, no recovery from punching and sanding.

The award of best putting greens in Houston for April goes to

BLACKHORSE Golf, near Cypress Texas.

Fast and not furious is the best way to describe them. Very receptive to approach shots,

but rolling fast and true. So fast that a blown putt usually rolled 4 feet past the hole.

Get out and enjoy the great greens before the heat rears its ugly head.

Just a side note: I find Russel Roten and his staff at Blackhorse to be some of the most professional and well prepared in the whole state. Golfing there is always a pleasure. They are very good at expecting the unexpected, handling large groups well, and making tournaments there special and memorable.

- Connie Black

Best Greens in Houston : March 2006

2006-03-31T17:27:00.000-08:00

You are going to laugh if you haven't played there lately.

March's award for Best Greens in Houston goes to Wildcat golf course.

I found the Highland's course green sto be fast as owl STUFF and tremendously fun to putt.

They have already top dressed them (a benefit from no winter, and no trees) and the greens have recovered from the attention.

Approach shots stick and putts are challenging but true.

Wildcat - You win it !

Dallas Morning News Golf Special Section

2006-03-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

I love these guys. They ask some solid and some off-the-wall questions and then summarize and make a special section. Truly a north Texas bias to the column on the best golf course in Texas. No 1 Course in Texas

2006 Dallas Golf Section

Overall a good read,
Connie B

Best Greens in Houston for February

2006-03-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

WHO HAS THE BEST GREENS IN TOWN?
Trying times for grounds keepers in Houston so far this year. The winter grass is not doing very well, it is spring-like already. Temperatures are high but rainfall is invisible.

The February award for best greens goes to Black Horse golf club near Cypress Texas. Both the north course and south course have really fast greens that are in great shape. Seems like the north course greens were a little faster, but both putted true and looked better than averaged for this time of year.

Month of shame: What happened Cypress Lakes? Crusty and baked the day I played. So hard that nothing was staying on the green from approach shots. Looked like they were a day or two away from being dead.

Best Golf greens in Houston - January 2006

2006-03-12T10:52:00.000-08:00

A good, hard battle this month.

River Ridge golf course has the best greens in the Houston area for the month of January.

Pretty challenging month for all greens keepers, no winter weather and no rain.

It probably didn't help that the wind blew all month (at least the weekends).

Congratulations to the grounds keeper and staff at River Ridge, keep up the good work.

River Ridge has 27 holes on the banks of the Brazos River near Sealy Texas.

Best Greens in Houston 2005

2006-03-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

2005

Annual Award for the best greens in Houston:

This was an easy one - Cypress Lakes Golf Course.

Congratulations to Willie Plowman on his hard work.
He has the right attitude,

“When I ride my course in the morning,” Plowman said, “I look at it like I’ve
just paid $59, and my demands are a lot greater than the average player’s.”

Champions Bermuda greens

Cypress Lakes is adjacent to Hwy 290 in far Northwest Houston.

Best Greens in Houston - November Green Competition

2005-12-28T20:07:00.000-08:00

Pretty Easy to pick the superior putting surfaces for Houston, in November.

Awesome greens at River Ridge golf course.

They went through overseeding quickly and without incident,

transitioning to fast true rolling greens in record time.

My recent golfing partners described them as slick and quick.

I summarize the River Ridge greens as being sweet !

River Ridge is a few minutes west of Houston, on the Brazos River near Sealy Texas.

Memorable finish at Wolf Creek Golf Course.

2005-10-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

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

2005-10-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

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.

2005-10-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

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

More hazards to navigate.

2005-10-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

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

2005-10-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

Challenging par 3.

2005-10-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

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.

2005-10-29T15:32:00.000-07:00

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

Premium on hitting it straight.

2005-10-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

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

Team Work

2005-10-29T15:28:00.000-07:00

A team effort to score well.