2018 turned into a pretty good golf year for me. I took my first trip to Ireland, played in six different states, and got a chance to see a wide variety of courses. I got to play some all-time greats like Crystal Downs and Royal County Down (stay tuned, I’ve got a head to head Downs VS. Down match up coming up soon!), some local favorites like Olympia Fields and Ravisloe, and some quirky or off-the-radar courses. Let’s talk about one of those – Stewart Peninsula Golf Course in The Colony, Texas.
Ever Hear of Stewart Peninsula?
Unless you’re a local, I bet not! Here are a few quick details… It’s a 1998 Tripp Davis design located in North Texas – about 30 miles north of Dallas. It sits on Lake Lewisville, one of Texas’s most beautiful man-made reservoirs lakes. Really, it’s very pretty. There’s fishing, beaches, and folks on their boats hanging out and enjoying the day. As for the course, the designers claim they drew inspiration from both Scottish links land as well as the Monterey Peninsula. I don’t know if I see that exactly, but it’s very “Texan”. You know “Texan” when you see it.
So What’s So Interesting About It?
Here’s the unique bit: it’s a NINE-hole course that incorporates multiple sets of tees with TWO sets of greens per whole, making this a full EIGHTEEN-hole golf course. How cool is that!? It’ll play a smidge over 5,000 yards and tops out at about 36 bucks, so you’ll never see the PGA move the Byron Nelson here. I typically play about 4-5 rounds in Texas each year, and this one was such a last minute addition I didn’t even bring my big camera. The pics here will be a bit iffy by our standards, but I’ll walk you through a couple of the notable holes.
The Course
Stewart Peninsula has a really neat lighthouse-style club house. The staff was really cool about describing the uniqueness of the course and you’re quickly finding yourself on the first tee. They set you up playing your front nine on the Red tees, then the back on the Gold tees. Each hole will have a multiple sets of tee boxes. For instance, hole number one will pay both 315 and 340 yards depending on front or back.
Hole One (above)
Start with an easy one. Grab your driver. Rip it. You’re going over a semi-blind hill and you’ll get your first glimpse of these interesting green complexes. Don’t cheat on me now! Remember if you’re aiming for the Red or the Yellow flag. For example, on the first approach shot, I stuck it… to the wrong flag and promptly three putted from about 60 feet.
Hole Two
A mid-size par three. See here that one hole location is left fairly wide open (and plays to the longer tees), and the other is guarded by bunkers (short tees). Clever!
Hole Four
The longest par four of the day, ranging from 410 to 432 yards. You’ll see here that it’s a left-to-right moving fairway. Cut as much of the corner as you can, then play into a very segmented green over a little creek. The green resembles an infinity symbol almost, and if you short side yourself, remember not to chip off the putting surfaces – just move your ball!
Hole Five
Now you’ll get to go up against a longer par three. We’re now starting to wind through a residential subdivision (welcome to Texas I guess…), and again, we’ve got two distinctive green sites. The right side has a nice backstop to collect and funnel your long iron shot.
Hole Seven
Another mid-length par four, you tee off to a tight-ish fairway into what I think is the best green out here. It’s deep and wide and has the biggest tiered green on the course.
Hi Mr. Turtle!
(serious note – he’d bite your freaking hand off if he could)
Hole Nine
Here’s your gettable par five. It has a subtle left-to-right movement, so you can take advantage of a little Cape hole action and cut some corner off. At 479 and 490 yards, it’ll let most folks hit long irons in for second shots, leaving a little flipper wedge into the most distinctly separated green out there.
Final Thoughts
My take on Stewart Peninsula is that it was ahead of its time. It would have been easy enough to build a nine holer and leave it at that, but Davis gave the golfers a ton of interesting shots to hit and a course that’ll be hard to get bored of. We’re seeing a revival of the nine holer or “alternate experience golf course” these days, especially with the surge of popularity of places like Golf-Twitter’s current love, Sweetens Cove (Tennessee), the mysterious Mike Keiser getaway of The Dunes Club (SW Michigan), and the soon-to-be-built Tom Doak short course at Sand Valley (smack dab in the middle of Wisconsin). Does Stewart Peninsula really match up to these? Honestly, not really, but the course is original, quirky, fun, and a real bang for the buck. Check it out!
