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Turtle Hill Golf Course
Rating Snapshot
About
Former airline pilot and cattle rancher Dick Murphy turned his place eight miles north of Muenster, TX into one of the neatest 18-hole tracks in the state, and for around $30 on weekends, you can have the privilege of playing Murphy’s self-designed and self-built masterpiece.
Mr. Murphy’s design makes up for the lack of driving range by opening with several basic golf holes: the kind where you can relax, swing easy, and get into the flow of the round. Of those early holes No. 2 is the most challenging–it’s a mid-length par 4 that doglegs right and requires a blind approach into an elevated green.
The back side continues with a solid mixture of holes highlighted by the spectacular par 3 No. 11, which is considered by many to be the most beautiful par 3 in Texas. The hole plays down into an amazingly deep ravine, and requires a 2-3 club less than you would normally hit. If the tee shot isn’t perfect here–tough with the wind and drop in elevation–you’ll find yourself in the rugged Hill Country-like scrub that surrounds the green.
The bent-grass greens at Turtle Hill, surprising for a self-built ranch course, are large, roll true, and hold shots well.
You’ll wonder where the heck you’re going, and when you get there you’ll know to expect the basic amenities. But even though there’s no driving range, and the food and beverage service is limited, the Turtle Hill experience is definitely worth the trip.
Getting there : From Gainesville, take Hwy. 82 west to Muenster. Turn north on Hwy. 373 and drive 8.5 miles to the course. The entrance is on the left.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 72 | 6510 yards | 71.2 | 127 |
| White | 72 | 6078 yards | 69.4 | 121 |
| White (W) | 72 | 6078 yards | 73.9 | 127 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4821 yards | 64.9 | 154 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 71.2/127 | 390 | 310 | 480 | 193 | 382 | 352 | 500 | 145 | 395 | 3147 | 303 | 200 | 355 | 150 | 385 | 483 | 335 | 333 | 450 | 2994 | 6141 |
| White M: 69.4/121 W: 73.9/127 | 375 | 295 | 460 | 160 | 365 | 320 | 465 | 120 | 357 | 2917 | 261 | 170 | 290 | 120 | 360 | 435 | 300 | 290 | 430 | 2656 | 5573 |
| Red W: 68.9/114 | 325 | 257 | 375 | 126 | 300 | 265 | 370 | 99 | 290 | 2407 | 252 | 154 | 237 | 88 | 275 | 350 | 210 | 272 | 385 | 2223 | 4630 |
| Handicap | 9 | 5 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 1 | 17 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 6 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 7 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 18 | 4 | 15 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 6 |
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Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Long Drive
Long drive for a disappointing day on the golf course. Pro shop guy was nice enough but said he didn’t have my reservation at first. Then called me by name before I had a chance to say it. Possibly a common occurrence with the distance from connection I experienced with my mobile device.
Practice area is a small chipping green and putting green with a range that I never saw. They were offering range balls that looked like the ones found on the course lost by playing the poorly mowed weedy fairways. Tee boxes were mostly weeds and needed a hammer to put your tee into before your shot. Greens were okay but had so many ball marks that I had to repair several on my line almost every hole. Also the pins had not been changed and the cups were wore down on every hole. Some greens needed treatment for weeds while others needed sod replaced in several areas.
The scenery is beautiful and the elevation changes make it a tough track at times. All the bunkers have been allowed to grow over with grass. It’s a picturesque goat ranch in my opinion.
Play was unbelievably slow with no Marshall in sight. We could see that groups of five players were measuring putts to see who was out and holding up playing. Saw the name of what looked like the owner on a bag in one of the carts used by them while I was waiting to TeeOff. Was told there was a group of 19 that played every Sunday and they had privilege. The group immediately in front of us quit at the turn.
I have been wanting to play this golf course for years. The trip was my first and last in the same day.
Great Conditions
Overall excellent greens and fairways. Course maintenance is doing an amazing job with the greens including hand watering as needed! Always have a great time. Jerry, one of the clubhouse staffers, is extremely helpful and friendly. Enjoy meeting and talking to additional staff. This course is fun, challenging and beautiful. Definitely one of my favorites.
Turtle time!
Greens were very moist & soft and rolled true but lots of ball marks... Fairways pretty darned hard and needed some water... Elevation changes make it fun and challenging!
Absolutely fun and entertaining! Course layout and unique challenges made me look forward to each hole, as this was my first time playing here.
Going back for sure!
Great Golf Course
I have been wanting to play this course for a long time now and I finally got to play it. Though it was over an hour's drive for me,I really enjoyed this course. The bentgrass greens were great! You see a lot of those here in North Texas and being from California, I miss playing on them. The deal on Golfnow was great and made it worth the drive. I will be back!!!
Greens and more greens
Pretty good shape consider the freeze this past year. Greens were in great shape but a little thick and wet. Tee boxes could use some at that water. Good course and got a hot deal for $25, worth every penny. Had a five-some and a cart of 6 people (4 playing) which slowed our pace a lot.
Good course
Course was wet do to rain the night before. Greens putted true and coming in good after the cold weather in February. Good layout!
Fun track
Came back a for a second time. Definitely worth it, course played great, a little slow, greens have improved significantly in just a few weeks. Definitely recommend this one
Hidden gem
I’ve seen the term “hidden gem” thrown around a lot when it comes to Turtle Hill......... and dang, that is exactly what it is. Yes it’s a little rough around the edges, but the value is phenomenal. Fairways are good, tee boxes are not terrible, but greens could use a little work. But like I said, for me, golf is all in the value and this place gets 8.5/10 stars. Would be a 10, deducting 1 for greens and .5 for no cartgirl... course is BYOB!
Lump of coal in the rough
Was once worth the drive to turtle hill because of the amazing bent grass greens. This is not currently the case. Greens are hard and lumpy with large areas of dead grass or dirt on them. Impossible to putt in a straight line. I can go hit balls in the pasture behind my house for free and it wouldn’t be much different from playing turtle hill right now.
Turtle Hill
Not to bad of shape for winter time. Tee boxes could use work. Greens are in decent shape. But there is no fairway or a rough area it’s just all short tour no grass hard ground. The layout of the course is awesome and can’t wait to play in the summer.
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