Rankin Country Club

The Rankin "Country Club" is not the stuff golf dreams are made of. If there is such a thing as a "ghost course" in the same sense as a "ghost town," Rankin Country Club fits the image perfectly. Set on the east side of town, there are no fairways and the clubhouse looks like it hasn't been used in a long, long, long time.

Pay your $5 green fee by inserting your money into a customized RCC envelope and dropping it in the lock box by the first tee. If the sprinkler and hose are in your way on the first tee, pull it out of the way if you can't muster the nerve to ignore it.

The "fairways," which wasted away in the heat many moons ago, are hard-panned West Texas sand with a rare cactus or weed sprinkled about. The good news is that you do not need your driver, and every shot will roll significantly. The real challenge is to somehow get your approach on the green, or at the very least the "frog hair" that surrounds it, to leave you with a reasonable chip shot. Otherwise die-hard golfers that are "playing it down" will face a miserable sand save opportunity from the dusty surfaces where grass no longer grows.

The par 5 No. 8 hole is enjoyable because it plays with the prevailing south summer wind, and the roll of the fairway makes it possible to get there in two. The trick is the pin placement. The green is two-tiered with an extreme slope from back to front.

We were fortunate enough to meet the Head Pro, Director of Golf, Head Greenskeeper, Tournament Coordinator, and janitor, Gary Smith, who we found driving across the "fairways" in his old truck to take care of the greens (which by the way, are in great shape).

Getting there : Located off Hwy. 67 east of Rankin.