Trails of Frisco Golf Club

Review and rating of The Trails of Frisco Golf Club

The Trails of Frisco Golf Club is part of a 750 acre master planned community and the course meanders along a creek, beside some beautiful homes, around some ponds, and through some wetlands.  This par 71 course is a tad short at 6959 yards but with wetlands, natural areas, treacherous bunkers, fast sloping greens, and water on 16 holes, it’s no walk in the park – in fact the slope is 138 from the tips.  But if pay attention to the GPS yardages and tips, don’t get overly aggressive, and play fairly safe you’ll walk into the club house with a good score and free beer from some of the bets you won!

Part of what makes playing The Trails of Frisco fun is that the designer, Jeffery Brauer, doesn’t beat you up on every hole, in fact, the course seemed to be designed to give you an opportunity for a birdie on a hole and then the next hole will be  tougher and hard to par – each of the easy holes are followed by a very challenging hole, a fun way to mix it up.  The front nine is fun and the back (par 35) is fantastic with more variety, some very interesting holes, and some holes that require target golf and course management.

On most holes you will still find something that will test your game – dog legs,  deep bunkers, trees and out of bounds, creeks and ponds, blind shots, risk reward opportunities, challenging approach shots, and forced carries.   Some examples include:

#2 a blind slightly uphill tee shot to a dog leg right green with water along the left side, OB on the right, and a hidden creek crossing the fairway that can swallow your  tee shot – accuracy and positioning off the tee is critical

#7 is a demanding 555 yard uphill dog leg right hole that gives you a risk reward shot off the tee box and requires accuracy all the way to avoid the minefield of 10 bunkers leading to a challenging two tier undulating green

#9 requires an accurate second shot to carry the creek that crosses the fairway twice and encircles most of the elevated green – no room for error on this approach shot

#12 is a scenic but dangerous 462 yard par 4 thanks to an elevated tee shot that’s looking at a carry over a lake off the tee box and a tough approach to a green protected by another lake on the right and large bunker on the left

#18 is a fantastic and memorable finishing hole with a sloping downhill fairway and  a meandering creek along the left which cuts across a large but sloping green with bunkers on both sides

When we played in the middle of December, the fairways were dormant as you can tell from the pictures but they were in very good condition, as was the rough.  During the summer the fairways are lush and plush and the course would be very scenic with the trees, lakes, white sand bunkers, wetlands and natural areas, and beautiful homes lining the fairways.  Most of the fairways are ample off the tee box and the rough is playable – but if you miss you’ll usually find the creek or be OB in the back yard of a beautiful home.   The fairways are very gently rolling, with some contour, and several berms. 

The greens were lighting fast (11 to 12) thanks to winter conditions.  The Champion Bermuda greens were average to large, some were elevated, most had plenty of slope, and some had severe slope as well as undulation.  They ran smooth and true and held the ball very well, but putting was challenging thanks to the speed and severe slope.  Check the pin position which can be a killer and when the greens are running fast, downhill putts are very demanding.  All but two greens had at least one treacherous bunker protecting it and several were also guarded by water, putting a premium on your approach shots.

The bunkers were average to huge and most are steep faced.  The bunkers on the front nine were ok, but the back nine bunkers were horrible – little to no sand, gritty, and hard clay.  Almost unplayable.  The Trails of Frisco Golf Course is in a flood plain and every time it rains, the bunker sand is washed away – management is doing it’s best to refill them with sand and keep them playable.

Bottom line – The Trails of Frisco Golf Club is an outstanding track and one you should add to your list of must plays.  It is also a fantastic bargain.