Grand Oaks Golf Club

Grand Oaks, formally Grand Prairie Country Club, was designed by Don January in 1972 and recently became semi-private. The terrain is flat, the fairways are lined with century old oak trees, and the layout is pretty straight forward. The fairways are generally straight and what you see is what you get. In most cases you can pull out the driver and let her rip – the fairways range from wide and forgiving to a tad tight.

Two meandering creeks and 11 ponds give you plenty of opportunity to feed the fish and turtles and if you don't look at the score card, they can present some hidden surprises. There are only 6 bunkers on 4 holes, all of which are green-side and the trees can be avoided unless you really spray the ball. There are 5 tee boxes with yardages ranging from 5038 to 6953 on this par 71 course. The front nine has 3 par 3s and 3 par fives which favors short hitters. Bottom line, if you pick the right set of tee boxes (the card lists the recommended handicap for each tee box which helps), this is a course where you can score well and have a very relaxing and enjoyable round at a reasonable rate – how often do you find all of that?

The greens were large, fairly flat, about average speed, in great condition, true, and easy to read – birdy putts are very possible. A few greens at Grand Oak Golf Club are elevated and you may encounter some run-offs. The fairways were in a about average condition and due to a lot of recent rain, there were a few rough spots.

Number 18 is a fun hole – a 406 yard dog leg left with a creek you need to carry off the box, a semi-hidden pond that infringes on the right side about 120 yards out, and an approach to a small circular turtle top green protected by two bunkers. Number 6 is another good hole which requires a carry over the creek to a fairway that narrows on the way to the small round green.

Bottom, we liked Grand Oaks and had a relaxing, enjoyable, and near record round.