There are a few courses in East Texas that have interested me, including Pinnacle Golf Club. I’m sure some would argue that Pinnacle is more “Dallas” than “East Texas”, but for now I’ve lumped it in with the East Texas courses that I’d like to play!

It took about 1.5 hours to get to the course, which was totally worth it for the super deal I found to play here ($17). I think the normal rate is $40 to $50 and that would have been a bargain too.

The course is located in a waterfront community which borders Cedar Creek Reservoir. The view of the lake from outside the proshop is great and the homes all looked beautiful. However, you don’t get many lake views while golfing, except for the par-3 10th – which is probably the course’s best hole.

The 10th is 175 yards from the tips and plays across a finger of the lake. The green is set into a small hillside with some trees surrounding it, so it looks pretty good. I have to say that this is the first time I have ever waited for a jet ski to pass before hitting a shot! To make the hole even more fun you end up taking a long cart ride over an impressive bridge and then loop back to the green to putt.

I wouldn’t let just one lake hole keep you away from Pinnacle though. The rest of the course presents very well, as the course is tree-lined and has a classic look to it. There is also plenty of nice landscaping – and this time of year all the crape myrtles are blooming!

As soon as you step on the 1st tee you’ll notice just how tight Pinnacle looks. And it stays fairly tight throughout the round! The course is only 6,608 yards from the blue tees but it has some teeth with a rating of 73.0 and slope of 132.

The front nine has more trees in play so you’ll need to pair the distance and line perfectly off the tees, especially on the dogleg holes. The back nine is slightly more open and has a couple hazards in play.

Even if you are in the fairway you may not always have a clear shot into the greens. You’ll want to hit whatever club in your bag goes straight. The undergrowth is cleared out so if you don’t have a straight shot (like me) then try to make a smart recovery!

Besides the 10th, my other favorite hole was the par-3 14th. The 14th is also 175 yards but what made it memorable for me was a half-pipe-looking strip of fairway with mounds on each side. That fairway cut went for probably 50 yards and the green was framed nicely by a tree.

Conditions were very nice at Pinnacle. The fairways and greens were beautiful. The only average part of the maintenance were the areas off the fairways where the grass doesn’t get a lot of sunlight.

I’d call the greens a medium-fast pace and with many greens sloping from back to front I never figured out the speed. I was always short on the uphill putts and long on the downhill ones. I think there is some zoysia around the greens and tees which I wasn’t expecting.

Pinnacle isn’t without some quirk (the 5th and 16th have harsh angles) and while I wouldn’t want a steady diet of the narrow fairways, I thought the course was borderline “gem” status. It is one of those courses that would go for double the regular green fees in a major city and that probably makes it worth the drive from Dallas!

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