Last weekend I played out at Shady Valley Country Club using an iDealGolfer voucher that I purchased. Around the same time I bought that voucher I also bought one for Canyon Creek Country Club ($49). Both of these courses are private ClubCorp courses that seem to be interested in new members. 

Canyon Creek caught my eye for two reasons. First, it is a private course and second, it is convenient to where I live. I don’t have any private connections so it is always nice to golf at a private course!

I checked in and teed off shortly after 1pm. I waited for a group to play the 2nd hole, but they were actually on the 9th tee! Once I got my directions sorted out I played quickly, in less than 3 hours. A foursome let me play through on the 11th hole but other than that I had the course to myself.

Canyon Creek is an older course located within a community. From what I can find the course was built in 1963 by Press Maxwell. For those who may not be terribly familiar with the game, Press Maxwell is the son of the famed golf course architect Perry Maxwell. So, there definitely is some neat history here.

Canyon Creek’s design is what I’d call very typical of a course in North Texas. Things are fairly flat (a bit of elevation change on the back) and the course’s defining feature is all the trees that influence shots, which I believe is reflected in the rating and slope.

I played the blue tees which are 73.1/132/6612. That doesn’t seem so bad, until you realize that the course plays as a par-70, with only two par-5’s! There are a lot of par-4’s here, although there is a nice variation in their yardage.

If you look through the pictures you probably won’t think Canyon Creek looks like a tight course to play. And, from a lost ball perspective, there was plenty of space out there to at least play your next shot. However, if you aren’t in the middle portion of the fairways then you’ll have to get lucky to have a clear approach!

The par-3 17th was my favorite hole at Canyon Creek. It is 206 yards and plays through a chute of trees. I’ve never played Prairie Dunes Country Club (designed by Perry Maxwell) but the 17th here has a similar look to one of the par-3’s at Prairie Dunes. My hybrid just cleared one of the trees in front of the tee and I got away with a par!

The conditions were solid, albeit a bit drier than I expected for a country club. The course had a “brown” look to it, but everything was functional and the ball sat up in the fairways. The greens rolled well, just slower than they looked. The bunkers appear to have been re-done and had quality sand.

If I had to pick one word to describe Canyon Creek I’d go with “strategic”. The first time around it wasn’t a very comfortable course to play. Though, I’m not sure how that opinion would change playing the course frequently. If you drive it well then the round here should fit your game!

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):