Magnolia Creek - Scotland Golf Course

Review of Magnolia Creek – Scotland Golf Course

Magnolia Creek in League City is home to three 9 hole courses (Scotland, England, and Ireland) that were designed by Thomas E Clark and are about as authentic as you can get to St. Andrews, North Berwick, and Royal County Down.  Each of the three nines – England, Scotland, and Ireland – are truly unique to Texas and they capture the best of the British Isles.  Even the flag poles are wooden like you'll find across the pond.  The Magnolia Creek Courses are characterized by dramatic mounding, deep entrenched bunkers, spacious rolling contoured fairways, native grasses, challenging green complexes, and at times, strong winds.  Read our review of the England Course at Magnolia Creek. 

If you like a links style course, you're going to love the Scotland Course at t Magnolia Creek.  It's fun, demanding but fair, unique, and a blast to play thanks to dramatic mounding, interesting holes, challenging greens, rolling fairways, and lots of bunkers.  Each of the holes is a little different from the others and you'll encounter something that will force you to focus if you want to score well, for example:

• #2 is the shortest par 4 on this nine at 324 yards from the tips and it gives the long hitters an opportunity to go for the green – the fairway is wide and forgiving but the 6 bunkers around the green are real trouble
• #4 requires an accurate tee shot to avoid the mounds and 4 bunkers that pinch the landing zone plus you need a precise approach shot to miss the three bunkers guarding the light bulb shaped 2 tiered sloping green
• #5 is a roller coaster fairway through some dramatic mounding plus a rough and mound that split the fairway about 100 yards out
• on #6 I hit the only tree on the entire course
• you'll want to play the 617 yard #7 again – the fairway is split at 200 yards out and the left side is longer but safer and the right side is shorter but you'll need to carry a very steep wood faced bunker to a skinny semi-horseshoe green with 4 bunkers and 2 big mounds

When we played in November 2012 the fairways were in very good shape.  The Scotland fairways range from ample to tight and from flat to heavily contoured roller coasters.  Plus you'll need to avoid the dramatic and challenging mounds lining all of the holes and all the fairway bunkers on 4 of the 9 holes.  The roughs are wide and somewhat thick, but playable.  You'll also need to manage the wind which at times can be a howling.

The greens on the Scotland course were also in very good condition with an ample fringe.  The ran fast and true and held the ball well.  They range in size from average to huge and they are demanding thanks to significant slope, tiers, and undulation.  Pin placement can be a killer.  A lot of the greens are raised and bump and run shots work well if you can hold the green.

The bunkers are excellent and most are oval pot type bunkers with some nasty faces.  The sand is soft, thick, and fluffy.  A joy to hit from.

Bottom line – Magnolia Creek is home to three excellent links style courses which are the best and most authentic we've found in Texas – a must play if you like links courses.

The slope and rating is based on playing the Scotland and England golf courses.