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Westridge Golf Club, McKinney, Texas Brauer's
West Ridge GC Breaks the Mold, Opens to Rousing Reviews |
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Brauer's West Ridge GC Breaks
the Mold, Opens to Rousing Reviews GMCKINNEY, Texas (October 22, 2002) - Declaring that they are filling a niche in the mainstream public golf market, the developers of the StoneBridge Ranch housing community in this northwest Dallas suburb have officially opened West Ridge Golf Course (GC). Designed by Jeffrey D. Brauer of Arlington, West Ridge GC joins two private courses at StoneBridge which is the largest master-planned community in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, leads in sales in Metro Dallas and is third in state and 15th in United States, according to Miles Prestemon of the developer, Terrabrook. StoneBridge's population stands at 16,000 and is expected to grow to 25,000 at build-out in 2006 or 2007, Prestemon said. But West Ridge was built with outside play in mind. Prestemon said half the play comes from golfers living outside the community, and he expects that ratio to continue, with greens and cart fees of $36 on weekdays and $48 on weekends. "Jeff [Brauer] met all our expectations and more," Prestemon said. "We wanted a course that was playable, speedy and a good value for the dollar. We wanted the average golfer to play, not lose 18 balls, enjoy it and put in a good score every now and then. "Jeff achieved it right on the button." "One of our biggest advantages, especially in a market like Dallas's with a lot of play," said General Manager Dean Kruger, "is that everyone can get around the course in four hours - four-fifteen at the most. "We're also fortunate to have a unique 6-6-6 layout, which clearly gives the guests a different experience than they can get at other courses." The 6-6-6 that Kruger refers to his Brauer's sharp departure from the norm, splitting the West Ridge GC evenly between par-3s, par-4s and par-5s. Reportedly only one other course in the country has attempted this approach, but with the results West Ridge is experiencing, others may follow. The succession of pars on the front nine is: 4, 5, 3, 5, 3, 4, 3, 5, 4. On the back nine it is: 5, 4, 3, 4, 3, 5, 3, 4, 5. The unwritten rule is that an 18-hole golf course be routed with 10 par-4s, four par-3s and four par-5s, and that there never be consecutive par-3s or par-5s. But Brauer could not attribute West Ridge's speed of play to its configuration. He built about 20 percent fewer bunkers than normal, and some of those were grass rather than sand. The course gets its character from mounding and bunkering rather than trees and native areas, so there are fewer lost balls. Water is "layed out smartly," said Kruger, meaning few forced carries. And the scorecard gives golfers yardage from bunkers and other landmarks on the holes. "The response from golfers is that they enjoy this layout and that it's fun," said Kruger. "Off the tee it is fairly generous, but you have to be on top of your game to get close to the pins and navigate the putts because the greens are pretty undulated. If you hit the ball a little crooked you can still recover." "Golfers' comments have been very positive," Prestemon said. "We have received great accolades. You never get tired of playing this course. You have something new in front of you all the time. It holds your interest. "I think Jeff proved you can create a public course with the same challenges, strategy, fun and drama as a private course. From Texas to Minnesota, Brauer has built his reputation on maximizing what a site has to offer as well as what money can produce. Here, he fashioned a 7,100-yard, par-72 course out of an old pasture and cotton fields, with significant tree cover and two creeks running through it. Meanwhile, Terrabrook had charged Brauer with creating more aesthetic contrast than the 27-hole Arthur Hills-designed The Ranch Country Club, which is wall-to-wall 419 Bermudagrass, and make it easier than the Pete Dye-designed StoneBridge Country Club, whose tall fescue rough runs close to the houses. Brauer made the monotony of wall-to-wall Bermudagrass a moot point, creating sand-filled flash bunkers, painting a dynamic color contrast in the rough areas by using Buffalograss and a few wildflowers in the perimeter fringes, and employing a variety of Bermudagrasses, including the popular Tifeagle on the greens. "Our Tifeagle greens are phenomenal,"
said Prestemon. >>
Brauer to Design Third Course at StoneBridge Ranch by Bryce Molder Golf course architect Jeff Brauer intends
to break the mold with the third course at StoneBridge Ranch in McKinney,
Texas. He’s been charged with adding a public track to the two existing
private layouts, incorporating six par-3s, six par-4s and six par-5s
into the new course.
Most par-72 layouts are dominated by par-4s, typically possessing 10 four-stroke holes accompanied by four par-3s and four par-5s. “I’ve done so many courses around here, I wanted to make this one a little different. We thought a non-traditional par sequence would help,” said Brauer, who has designed such notable Dallas-area layouts as White Stone, Black Stone and TangleRidge over the past few years. Tentatively named West Ridge Golf Course, the 7,100-yard, par-72 layout will be the first daily-fee facility at StoneBridge Ranch. The existing 27-hole Ranch Course designed by Art Hills and the 18-hole Country Club designed by Pete Dye are both private. The nationally acclaimed Landscapes Unlimited Inc. of Lincoln, Nebraska is building West Ridge. Nine holes will play around the existing StoneBridge Ranch residential development. A second nine will play near another residential project being built west of Custer Road, according to Miles Prestemon, vice president and general manager of Terrabrook, owner of StoneBridge Ranch. West Ridge, which is scheduled for a fall 2001 opening, will be built on former pasture and farmland. Two creeks with significant tree cover have been worked into the design. ”It will have a nice mixture of woods and links feel to it,” Brauer said. Brauer also designed the highly successful Ridgeview Ranch project located in nearby Plano with green fees in the $30 to $40 range. “It’s probably been the most successful course in Dallas in the affordable public market,” Brauer said. “West Ridge is also priced right and will be a great golf course for the dollar. We want to replicate the Ridgeview formula with a few twists, like the six par-5s.” Added Prestemon, “Jeff has really grown in terms of the number of courses he’s done and his style. Jeff designed a great public course at Ridgeview Ranch and we wanted to emulate it. We’re trying to position this as a medium-priced public facility at $40 to $50 a round.” Along with Ridgeview Ranch, Brauer is also linked with affordable golf at Squaw Valley, Lake Park, Cross Timbers, and WhiteStone courses in the Metroplex, as well as Trails of Frisco, which will open soon. “I champion reasonably affordable public golf,” Brauer said, “and I’m proud of our hard work that allows a great course to be built reasonably.” << |
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