After almost two months away from the game I ventured out to golf on Mother’s Day – and Happy Mother’s Day by the way! Usually, everyone is visiting mom on Mother’s Day so that makes for a less crowded day on the course. That isn’t exactly how things worked out this year with the COVID golf boom, but the pace turned out alright for a weekend round.
Many of the courses in DFW have struggled this spring, thanks to the terrible winter. I read somewhere that the ground temperature was about a month behind last year’s pace. I’m not sure how true that is, but nevertheless I was hoping to play a course that was in solid shape. Woodbridge Golf Club was one of the courses I considered because of many recent reviews indicating it was in acceptable condition.
I found a discounted afternoon tee time and decided to chance the potential thunderstorms. The thunderstorms developed to the east, but in Wylie it turned out to be a nice spring afternoon. Also on a positive note, the course conditions at Woodbridge were very good – and I only paid $30!
Even with all the rain recently, the ground was firm. So while the course looked pretty lush, it didn’t play that way. That was about the only flaw in regards to the conditioning (besides the bunkers), but the North Texas climate is so volatile that most courses don’t seem to shine here until the summer – at least from my experience. Anyway, the fairways, tees and greens had good grass coverage. The greens rolled smooth and at a medium pace. Unfortunately, the bunkers weren’t very good and the course appears to be re-doing the sand in many bunkers.
As you’ll find at many DFW courses the layout at Woodbridge is centered around a creek – Muddy Creek to be exact. When it comes to the land, Woodbridge has a similar feel to Pecan Hollow and Firewheel, both of which are nearby. The front nine here has its share of holes where the creek comes into play, but that pesky creek can catch many more shots on the back nine. Overall, I enjoyed the front nine and thought it had a nice mix of easier and tougher holes.
The front nine has plenty of solid holes, including the tough par-4 5th and the short par-4 8th. The 8th (at 317 from the tips) can be driven but the line needs to be perfect to avoid a hazard to the left. Or, if you have the distance, you can play out to the right for a pitch shot up the green or layup. There are plenty of options.
I played the blue tees which are 71.9/128/6474 and think the course should be rated harder. While someone can manage to play the front nine without an “A” game, good control of the golf ball is needed on the back nine to score. If you aren’t careful the score can add up quickly on the back with all the target golf. The front nine is more straightforward, but the back nine has more holes closer to the creek, making it trickier for the first-timer.
The back nine routing is good but there are quite a few forced carries on the approach shots (six I can count). The creek cuts close to these greens and while Woodbridge isn’t a links course, there are some cool looking burns to help route the creek around the course. I had to chip across two and one of those chips didn’t go so well!
Woodbridge is another of many good public courses in DFW. It has more modern elements (too many bunkers and heavily contoured greens) than I prefer, but the holes are routed around the creek perfectly. Plus, the brick burns add a level of uniqueness. I have no trouble recommending a round here and would like to make a return trip in hopes of playing that back nine better next time.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):