Dallas Golf Blog

Golf Course Review: Cedar Crest, Dallas Texas

Cedar Crest Golf Course
1800 Southerland Ave
Dallas, Texas
Phone: (214) 670-7615

Thanks to the staff at Cedar Crest for their hospitality.

The Cedar Crest Course course was originally designed by A.W.     Tillinghast and renovated by D.A. Weibring/Golf Resources, Inc.  At the time of our review, Cedar Crest is in great condition. The fairways and greens are in remarkable condition and the rough has been well maintained. I definitely tip my hat to the staff for contributing to the condition of the course. Cedar Crest is a course that is designed for all handicaps and is friendly to the high handicapper as well. For the most part the fairways are wide enough to accommodate any shot type. There are several challenging holes on the course. There are some holes that will have blind tee shots and large sloping fairways. The views from the course are great. You are able to enjoy multiple views of downtown Dallas and experience the historic atmosphere of the course that hosted the 1927 PGA Championship. I would highly recommend Cedar Crest as a top municipal course in the DFW area.

 

 

Jared Smith

Sales Associate

Dallas Golf

Golf Course Review: Keeton Park, Dallas

Located in Dallas, Keeton Park is a local treasure. Being an older course,some holes can be overpowered by  the long, but accurate player. The par 5's are all reachable and most par 4's are only a wedge shot away or drivable for the big hitters who carry it into the right spots. Players wishing to take a less adventurous route will benefit from taking hybrids off the tee in order to hit short irons into the smaller traditional greens. The fairways and rough are amazing, especially considering the course became a lake after the torrential rains of May and June.

The greens were recently top dressed and should be rounding into shape within the next few weeks. Providing a scenic skyline view as a backdrop, Keeton Park is a must play for any local golfer. The opportunity is there to go low, but you could also run the risk of making a big number.

Ranked in Golf Digest's "Best Places to Play" Keeton Park is also home of The First Tee of Dallas and PGA First Swing providing excellent practice and teaching facilities. PGA Professional, Mickey Piersall, is a long time friend of Dallas Golf and one of Golf Digest's "Best Teachers in Texas." Before Mickey, the late Kim Brown actually was partially responsible for Dallas Golf's beginning.  Kim encouraged Don Gafner, the owner of Dallas Golf, to start his repair and retail store right near Keeton Park.  The Keeton Park family has always supported Dallas Golf, and we recommend Dallas Golfers to return the favor.

Overall I found Keeton Park to be a fun, inexpensive course to play or practice and an excellent place to learn the game. Give it a go.  Ryan in Richardson, Dallas Golf.

East Texas Golf: Garden Valley, Pine Dunes, Twin Lakes

Do you think its too hot to play golf in Dallas/Ft Worth?  Travel east on I-20 and play golf in the shade of the East Texas Piney Woods.  In the past three weeks we have made the short trip to play three great courses: Garden Valley, Pine Dunes and Twin Lakes.

We started our trip off at Pine Dunes Resort & Golf Club near Frankston, TX.  Pine Dunes owner Jodi Lutz created a wonderful Stay & Play Resort and the experience is world class.  We stayed in a condo on the 18th hole overlooking the course.  Pine Dunes is close enough to Dallas for a one day trip, but we stayed overnight to enjoy the facilities. 

At 7,117 yards from the tips, Pine Dunes will give you all you want in terms of length and difficulty.  The first hole is a relatively easy dogleg with a generous green.  You can get off to a good start there before you get into the teeth of the course.  If you want to be more conservative, the middle tee sets offer a chance to test yourself, but not feel overwhelmed if you are not a long hitter. The greens were fast and true, running at about 11 on the Stimp meter.  Every fairway was as lush as could be.  The tree lined course offers some narrow driving holes, but plenty of room on some of the holes.  It presents a good mix of shot making and we really enjoyed it.  If you're interested in taking a trip to Pine Dunes, visit their website at www.pinedunes.com       

Our next trip out east took us to Garden Valley Golf Club.  Garden Valley is about 75 miles from Downtown Dallas.  It took us just under 90 minutes to get there.  Garden Valley was in wonderful condition, as always.  The greens were not quite as fast as Pine Dunes but just as true.  The front nine is more wide open and generous, while the back nine takes a tour through the Pines and requires more accuracy.  You can get a great feel for the course at the Garden Valley website.  They have QuickTime video with flyovers of each hole.  Although we drove in and left the same day, Garden Valley does offer a set of condos and cabins if you're looking for a stay & play weekend.

Our most recent trip took us to Twin Lakes Golf Course in Canton, about 60 miles east of Downtown Dallas.  Of course, Canton is most famous for its First Monday Market, but Twin Lakes is making a name for itself among DFW golfers.  The beauty if Canton is that if you time your trip around the first weekend of the month, you can take your wife shopping while you go play guilt free golf.  Guilt free golf is hard to come by, so consider using Twin Lakes and Canton as your hall pass. 

Twin Lakes is a kick.   If you want to challenge yourself, step back on the Championship tees of Twin Lakes.  At over 7,200 yards you'll find yourself tested on more than a few of the holes.  The greens are big, undulating, and fast.  Number 1 starts off over water and 18 ends up over water. On the day of our trip the greens were rolling at least 12 maybe more.  You hardly ever find yourself with a perfectly level lie, and shot placement is at a premium.  Of the three courses, we enjoyed Twin Lakes' layout the most.  It gives you something different on every hole, and keeps you interested through the entire round.

Next time you're looking to get out of town and change up your golf routine, travel a few miles east of Dallas and catch Twin Lakes, Garden Valley and Pine Dunes.  Play one or play all three.  You won't be disappointed with any of them.  When you get there, tell 'em the boys from Dallas Golf sent ya.

 

Robert Dallas Golf

Garland