Texas Star is a Keith Foster design located in Euless, Texas and ranked as one of the top public courses in the state . The course sits a fantastic piece of property, reminiscent to that of the hill country. The course itself places a premium on placement off the tee and setting up shots for angles instead of distance into the green. The 6,936 yard par 71 offers a variety of holes that are playable to the weekend player as well as challenging to the scratch player, making it all the better. For the quality of architecture, players get a steal of a deal. With weekday rates under $60 and weekend rates under $80, it is very affordable and well worth it.
Hole 1: 425 yards Par4
The first hole does a great job getting players out on the course. The hole is straight away but grassy hummocks bottleneck a couple parts of the fairway about 245 yards out and 290 yards from the tee. The slope left of the fairway acts as a funnel back down to the fairway allowing players to get off the tee and in a position to go for the green. The shot into the green pretty straightforward. The green is slightly pushed up the back half runs away from the player making a player really consider their club choice. Ideally, a cut into this green is going to be the safest play and takes the green side bunker out of play. The green has really nice internal contouring, with a couple subtleties that make it a much more interesting hole.
Hole 3: 147 yards Par 3
Hole 3 is arguably the best par three on the course. The hole shares similar characteristics to that of the "Short" template. The hole tests a players distance control with a short to mid iron and missing the green generally results in a fairly tough second shot. The front bunker is a common miss, players on the tee box typically don't feel the wind amongst the trees and come up a few yards shy of the green. The same bunker also pinches into the green, placing more of an importance on positioning (creating a Lion's Mouth effect). A ridge running through the middle of the green bifurcates the putting surface and slopes away from the center on both sides. The green itself is pretty simple and players feel as though they can make some putts on it.
Hole 6: 389 yards Par 4
Nicknamed "Lock and Load", players generally think driver off the tee, however, this can be very misleading. The slight dogleg right has a bunker on the left side of the fairway. It's 245 yards to this bunker and 260 yards to carry. So off the tee players have a few option; first is to cut the corner a little bit and go over bunker leaving a wedge in; players can also go right of the bunker and leave themselves with around 120 yards; or players can lay up in front of the bunker and leave themselves with around 140 yards. The option players choose off the tee hinges on the shot they want into the green, the more aggressive play will give players better visibility to the hole, better angle into the green, and a much shorter club. The conservative play will give players little visibility to the hole, a tougher angle with the green running away, and a longer club. This is exactly the kind of hole that makes a scratch play kick themselves for choosing the wrong line off the tee, but is fun for the average player. The bunkers in front of the green are built up and the slope feeds slightly into the left half of the green. The green itself is lightly contoured but the interior sloping is pretty interesting and comes into play more than players realize around the green.
Hole 9: 422 yards Par 4
The ninth hole starts off with a tree directly in line with the fairway. While "Golden Age" architects and modern architects usually discredit the use of trees in this fashion, this hole gains a unique advantage from its presence. The hole becomes much more visually intimidating for players and bisects the fairway into two visible parts. Players generally focus on the right side of the fairway and avoid flirting with the creek left. However, you can quickly run out of room and be faced with an incredibly difficult shot into the green. Ideally, you want to favor the left side of the heavily contoured fairway that is cut off by the cree that snakes around the hole. The green is perched up with the creek right and a bunker left. Coming into this green with a cut generally helps but missing just right of the green can result with the ball ending up in the creek. The green slopes front to back and leans toward the creek giving it a sort of Redan shape but without the forgiveness left (like a reverse redan typically has).
Hole 11: 337 yards Par 4
The eleventh is a short par four with two fairways. The right fairway is a good 30 feet above the left fairway and two bunkers with rough are placed between them. Ideally, players want to play down the right fairway giving them the best angle. But the angle from the tee box can trick players into questioning the width of the fairway. Players going left will have a much easier tee shot, but leave themselves well below the green and in my opinion (from experience) the worst possible angle. Players can also take it down the middle and leave it up to the ground to determine their position which is typically better than going left. The green is one of the best on the course. The left half runs away from the player and is only a few yards deep. The right half is tilted toward the players and much more forgiving. When attacking the left flag it is necessary to play for the longer shot. The bunker guarding the left side creates a near impossible up and down.
Hole 12: 457 yards Par 4
The number one handicap hole certainly does not disappoint. The cross bunkers on the inside of the dogleg lets players bite off as much as they can chew in hopes of shaving off a few yards. The first bunker is roughly 240 to carry and the third is roughly 270 to carry. A tee shot placed on the right side of the fairway sets up the best angle into the green, which requires the ball to use the ground to get close. A slope about 40 yards in front of the green feeds into the green and makes it very difficult for a ball landing on the green to stay on. Contours on the green, determine the best place to miss. Typically a miss to the right leaves players with an uphill shot and a good chance at saving par. This hole is unlike any other on the course. Players have to play the ground instead of the air. This type of golf is unfortunately not played in Texas yet is very fitting for the terrain and turf conditions of the state.
Hole 13: 431 yards Par 4
The thirteenth hole is no doubt a marquee hole on the course. The dogleg left is guarded by a bunker inside the dogleg and a bunker through the fairway. Most players are more concerned with carrying the first bunker, but its only about 240 yards to go over and plays much shorter than that. The bunker that comes into play the most is the one thought the fairway. It is not a bunker you want to be in (tough shot into the green with a terrible angle) and is best avoided with a hard draw following the line of the fairway. The approach shot gives players a spectacular view, hitting into a green that is some 50 feet below. Judging the distance is very difficult and players get no relief with the green contours on the approach. The left portion of the green is only about 10 yards deep while the right side is guarded by a bunker in front and the green running away from the player. There isn't much to be gained in terms of angles on this hole. A premium is placed on a long tee shot that not only shortens the approach but also reduces the amount of elevation change.
Hole 18: 535 yards Par 5
The final hole presents players with an abundance of options and playability. Off the tee, aggressive/longer players have to deal with a bunker and creek that bottleneck the fairway about 270 yards off the tee, as well as a grassy hollow. Going past this can leave a player about 220 yards from the green while laying up is much more forgiving but force players to layup. The lay up shot comes with its fair share of options also. A bunker in the middle of the fairway sits about 150 yards from the green. The ideal play is to be on the left side of the bunker but brings the creek into play. Going right leaves the player with a tough angle into the green but will probably leave players with a shorter club into the green. The green is well contoured and runs away from players in the back. This is definitely a green where players will feel like they can make some putts and makes for a fun finish.
