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Sky Creek Ranch Golf Club
Rating Snapshot
About
One of the better public access courses in the state, Sky Creek Ranch boasts an immaculate Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design that is kept in immaculate condition by former Barton Creek Resort superintendent Steven Best. The clubhouse is perched atop the highest point in Tarrant County, and from this vantage point you’ll have a great view of the fine 419 Bermuda fairways and the bent-grass greens that are framed by a forest of oak trees and carved by the frustrating Big Bear Creek.
The key to Sky Creek is playing from the correct set of tees. Water comes into play on 16 of 18 holes, and most of the greens are elevated and surrounded by trouble that will make your score skyrocket. From the tips, high handicappers will struggle with their inconsistency, since there is virtually no room for error at any point on this course. Rounds from the more forward tees are amazingly different, with hackers being able to hit 4 irons off the tee and mid-short irons in–a huge advantage on this course.
Jones, Jr.’s design features five par 5s that offer some intriguing risk-reward opportunities. Three of them have water fronting the green, forcing hacks to think about going for home in two. No. 5 might be the best of the bunch: a snaking 534-yard hole that requires a precise fade around the dogleg right, followed by a perfect layup to be in position for the regulation approach. The creek circles around the elevated green, and trees loom left of the fairway for layups that stray too far left. This hole requires some strategy.
Sky Creek also offers five par 3s–some very difficult, and others nice respites from the other challenging holes. No. 14 is probably the scariest hole on the course, a 212-yard par 3 that is lined by trees on the left and a huge lake along the right and beside the green. This hole, which has ruined many a round, does have a small bail-out area left, but otherwise you’ll need a perfect shot to keep the score reasonable.
A bit pricey for some North Texas golfers, Sky Creek is worth it for the die-hards. In addition to the layout and condition, the practice facility is phenomenal–it features a driving range that plays downhill into an open valley with numerous target flags, as well as a large putting green that gives you a great feel for the round ahead. Chipping and pitching areas are available too.
Getting there : From Ft. Worth, take I-35W north to Exit 64. Turn right on Golden Triangle Rd. and drive 7 miles. Turn right on Bear Creek Pkwy. and drive to the Hidden Lakes subdivision (west side of road). Turn right on Promontory Dr. to the course.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional | 72 | 6953 yards | 73.4 | 136 |
| Championship | 72 | 6367 yards | 70.8 | 127 |
| Club | 72 | 5940 yards | 69.4 | 120 |
| Club (W) | 72 | 5940 yards | 76.0 | 140 |
| Forward (W) | 72 | 5390 yards | 72.8 | 132 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional M: 74.8/138 | 416 | 442 | 409 | 168 | 551 | 374 | 566 | 171 | 430 | 3527 | 401 | 196 | 526 | 430 | 211 | 537 | 442 | 228 | 531 | 3502 | 7029 |
| Championship M: 72.6/133 | 384 | 420 | 364 | 148 | 496 | 349 | 515 | 134 | 390 | 3200 | 383 | 171 | 505 | 381 | 191 | 482 | 394 | 183 | 477 | 3167 | 6367 |
| Club M: 70.7/128 W: 76.5/144 | 362 | 398 | 340 | 136 | 470 | 317 | 489 | 116 | 370 | 2998 | 335 | 160 | 483 | 344 | 174 | 463 | 371 | 162 | 450 | 2942 | 5940 |
| Forward M: 68.6/117 W: 73.4/135 | 321 | 373 | 321 | 120 | 449 | 260 | 474 | 88 | 342 | 2748 | 295 | 113 | 437 | 318 | 130 | 442 | 348 | 139 | 420 | 2642 | 5390 |
| Handicap | 9 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 18 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 9 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 13 | 5 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 8 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
RestaurantAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Course was in really good condition.
Fairways were pristine and the greens were very good. There is always a lot of divot marks on the greens here. Traps look to have recently been filled with fresh sand.
Terrific layout, 1st 4 holes make for a challenging start.
Somewhat overrated
This course is highly regarding in rankings of public DFW golf. I was excited to come check out the course but left disappointed. Conditions were acceptable, fairways and greens were very firm and somewhat burned out but that is not unusual at end of hot summer months. I found the course to be overly penal. The fairways were often sloped towards water lining one side or the other. I hit multiple tee shots safely to one side of fairway and they would trickle all the way to the water-lined side due to aggressive sloping. The greens are uniformly elevated, firm, and small. It was challenging to hold even close chips into the surface. My least favorite design component was that driver was not an option on too many par 4 holes. One or two short par 4s is ok and expected, but more often than not I found myself leaving driver in the bag only to be rewarded with a long iron to a small green as a second shot. Even when driver was an option, there were several blind tee shots with no visual clues about the proper line to take. Perhaps the course is more fun with experience or for member play, but for me at least there are plenty other public tracks in DFW I would prefer to play instead.
Excellent course, challenging, but slow pace
New to the area and trying a lot of courses to find a favorite. Sky Creek is a great value, with great layout and very challenging for bogey + golfer. Some narrow fairways on the front nine and all the par 3's are tough. Only real negative is pace of play. It's a tougher than normal course, so expect the pace to be impacted. Our round was well over 4 hours.
Good, not Great
Greens were just average, somewhat bumpy, maybe aerated a couple of weeks ago. Tee boxes, bunkers and fairways are good, but due to lack of water, the course is starting to brown in some areas. $125 seems a bit high, but I guess prices are escalating everywhere. Overall, great layout and very tough.
The course was great. The main issues were the service. We couldn’t use the range to warm up as it is considered private and to use it requires the purchase of a $35 day pass. During the round we consistently stay within 4 minutes of the recommended pace of play but we’re told twice by the marshal to hit play faster. If the course chooses to book tee times too close together that should not be the fault of the customers. We will not recommend this course to anyone and we will not be returning.
Beautiful course! Well kept!
I would absolutely recommend this course! Fairway and greens are in amazing shape. Mix of challenging holes and wide fairways.
Always a fun but challenging course!
We do enjoy the challenge of this course and it is well maintained. The staff are always super accommodating. If we lived closer this would definitely be our “home” course!
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