Jack Rabbit at Champions Golf Club

Every golfer in Texas surely wants to experience Champions Golf Club at some point, and I had the chance to prior to the U.S. Women's Open, the latest huge golf tournament held at this club founded by legends Jackie Burke Jr. and Jimmy Demeret.

The aura of the club is as cool as it gets: very old school, memorabilia everywhere, and the men's locker room is cavernous with a huge bar area and bartenders in suits.

On Cypress Creek, you have to be an excellent ball striker due to the length, narrow fairways, thick rough, and huge, sloping greens. It's the greens that really give this course its character. The par 3s are a particular strength of the course with four very scenic ones. The brick linings of water hazards are a neat feature I can't say I've seen anywhere.

Compared to a lot of the 21st century Texas private courses I've played recently, I don't think this 1950s layout within the community is as memorable for the average joe (partially because Houston is just dead-flat and I'm used to more scenic golf in Central Texas. and also because the par 4s are pretty redundant, just long and tough. Golf Magazine ranks it ahead of Austin Country Club and I just don't see how that's possible. ACC has more hole variety and risk-reward elements, not to mention a far more interesting and scenic parcel of land, and, of course, the Harvey Penick influence.

The place oozes tradition. Hard core golf club. Tons of members are REALLY good. The Cypress Course is real playable from men's tees, and challenging from tips. Huge greens. You have to know where flag is. The 7th green for example is almost 70 yards deep. A few memorable holes -- 4 is a long par 3 over Cypress Creek. 8 is a great medium length par 3. 11 is a tough, long par 4, water left of green is a ball hog, green slopes towards it, beware. 14 has a tough tee shot, and you need to play left off tee for right flag and vice versa. Locker room one of the best in all of golf. If you're lucky Jackie Burke will come by and give you some Texas wisdom.