TimberCreek Golf Course - Magnolia Nine

Review of TimberCreek Golf Club's Magnolia Nine

Just off of Interstate 10 and a few miles from the eastern shore of Mobile Bay is a fabulous golf course with 27 holes that you'll really enjoy playing.  TimberCreeek Golf Club was designed by Earl Stone and the first eighteen (Dogwood and Magnolia) opened for play in 1993 with the Pine nine holes opening a few months later. 

Earl sculptured 27 fantastic holes through the rolling hills and tall forests of dogwoods, magnolias, and pines.  Surprising elevation changes, wetland preserves, and bountiful wildlife accentuate this incredible flowing terrain creating a golfing experience truly unique from other courses in the Gulf Coast Region.  Earl seemed to design the course to be demanding but fair and very fun for players of all skill levels.  

TimberCreek Golf Club's courses are enjoyable and not just because they have the ability to massage your ego and offer an opportunity for you to turn in a great score – on Dogwood, I was close to a new record low until the 9th hole and I still ended up 3 over par!  The conditions are excellent, the price is right, and the holes are great – and even though you can score well here, you still have to make shots.  All of this is part of the reason that Golf Digest awarded TimberCreek Golf Club a 4 Star Best Places To Play award. 

Each of the nines holes at TimberCreek Golf Club has its own unique personality and characteristics, for example:

• The Magnolia nine has the most elevation changes and wetland areas, with little residential development and it's the toughest thanks to the hilly terrain and tight fairways
• The Dogwood nine is the shortest at 3450 yards and it rolls through bumpy terrain and an outstanding signature hole that's a blast to try and par – – read our review of TimberCreek Golf Club's Dogwood Nine to learn more about why we loved this nine
• The Pines nine is considered the easiest of the nines and gives you two reachable par 5s and perhaps the best hole on the course, which is # 7

Wow – what a fantastic track that's fun, scenic, demanding but fair, and unique and interesting holes with lots of variety, very good conditions, and a reasonable rate – doesn't get much better than that!   In addition, you'll find lots of everything that requires your "A" game to score well – elevated tee boxes, forced carries, uphill and downhill shots, tough approaches to the green, strategically placed bunkers, tight to ample roller coaster and contoured fairways,  and challenging greens that are well guarded. 

The first four holes are fantastic and the rest are equally impressive, for example:

• #1 is a 571 yard downhill shot through a narrow tree lined fairway that abruptly ends and turns left to an oblong sloping two tiered green with a long bunker in front and one in back
• #2 has an elevated tee shot to a huge roller coaster fairway (so steep the ball may roll back down the hill) and then uphill to a well guarded green
• #4 is a 592 roller coaster ride with downhill shot from the tee and a tough uphill shot along a tight fairway with a very long bunker leading to the green
• #8 is very interesting with two dramatically elevated tee boxes and an intimidating tee shot over a large wetlands to an uphill dog leg left green, two tee boxes down in the wetlands with a shorter carry to the uphill green, and the forward tees on a platform extending out over the wetlands

The fairways at TimberCreek Golf Club's Magnolia nine are all tree lined with no homes and most are heavily contoured with some that offer tall roller coaster ups and downs.  They range from tight to ample but if you miss them and the playable rough you're ricocheting off the trees and lost. Both the fairways and rough were in very good condition. 

The greens were also in very good condition and had plenty of slope, undulation, and tiers to test your putting skills.  They range from huge to average and ran very true but a little slow, around an 8 to 9.

The bunkers ranged from some pot bunkers to some monsters that you need to avoid.  The good news is that the lips are thin and you may get lucky and bounce out or chip out near the green.  Some were near perfect with soft fine sand and others had thin gritty sand. 

Bottom line – if you are anywhere near Daphne, you need to go out of your way to play this nine. 

The Slope/Rating is based on playing the Magnolia and Pines Nines together.