Fields Ranch East (Omni PGA Resort Frisco)
February 2024 – As this is my first post of 2024 – and before I get into the review of the brand-spanking new Gil Hanse Fields Ranch East course in Frisco, TX – there are a few topics to unwrap.
In my Somerset Hills review in August I made some bold pre-season NFL predictions. I’ll repeat these here:
- The Bengals will beat the Saints in the Super Bowl. As much as I want the Eagles to get back, they have a brutal schedule and are starting a lot of newbies on D. I think this is the step back year before stepping forward in 2024 and winning it all. The Saints have an easy schedule in a cakewalk of a division and should get homefield advantage throughout. They’ll eke through a soft NFC and get exposed in the Supe.
- Dallas will win the NFC East. I hate saying this more than saying anything but I think Dak will rebound this year. Of course they will choke in the playoffs again.
- Aaron Rodgers is cooked. And the Jets will be a hot mess this year.
- The Giants will regress as well. Don’t know, just not feeling it about Danny Dimes – The G-Men will come to REALLY regret that contract.
- The Cardinals will get the first pick in the draft and Jonathon Gannon will become the Rich Kotite of 21st century coaches and be one and done.
Wow I missed the Super Bowl pick by a wide margin: Burrows played hurt then not at all and the Bungles didn’t even make the playoffs nor did the Saints where I wildly overestimated Derek Carr’s impact on a decent Saints roster. Though to my credit the NFC South was softer than Biden’s border enforcement policy and the Eagles did not win the division and did indeed take a step back (though I could never have predicted such an epic collapse after starting the season 10-1).
I was spot on with Dallas winning the NFC East and choking in the playoffs. I was spot on with the Jets being a hot mess and Rodgers being cooked – though by cooked I didn’t mean rupturing his Achilles on his first series as a Jet. I was spot on with the Giants regressing and my doubts about Danny Dimes (and the G-Men are already regretting the massive contract they handed him). And finally I was mostly right about Arizona (they finished with the 4th pick not 1st but close enough) and Gannon was not canned (my bet is he doesn’t make it to year three though).
OK to 2024. My early dance card for golf courses in 2024 includes a few courses that opened in 2023 or are opening in 2024 even. Field’s Ranch. Apogee in West Palm (another Gil Hanse creation). Pinehurst #10 (Doak’s addition to the Pinehurst family). And Black Desert Resort in Utah (Weiskopf’s final design). All of these promise to be high flyers in the golf magazine rankings and this boom of new courses opening – especially in Texas and Florida – reflects the post-COVID surge of interest in golfing especially in southern Red States where oppressed middle class taxpayers like me are flocking. Not yet for me but looking to Florida now to escape the crap happening in PA.
Fields Ranch is my first 18 holes played in 2024. This is a little late of a start though I did just have hernia surgery in January. Doc said at least 6 to 8 weeks but played a quick nine on my home course in five weeks and here after seven and since none of my innards fell out I guess I’m fully recovered. I played rented clubs here and struck the ball pretty well – though the putter was a featherweight putter and I three putt pretty much every hole on the front. I am scheduled for a Club Champion fitting in a week from this post so hoping that fitted clubs and a new putter gives me a little more consistency. I may be finally retiring my Lovett wedge!
So was in Plano for a meeting and as it’s next door to Frisco and I had read about the new PGA complex here – with the PGA Championship coming to Fields Ranch East in 2027 – I figured I would stay and play. February (even late February) is very iffy in the DFW megaplex around which to schedule golf but the golf gods smiled and delivered a beautiful, sunny, 70-degree day. Played with my buddy Christian and his buddy Allen – Maridoe members and we played together at Dallas National.
As noted, the entire resort here is new, new, new. That means construction all around. The pros of playing a brand new course with planned residential communities abutting them is you get to play before the houses spoil the view. However the cons are you have omnipresent construction. Then, while I loved the fact we played before the weather got hot here, the trees were naked, the rough was dormant, and the fairways and greens were spotty. I rank this in my top 200 more based on the potential than on the February 2024 deliverable.
To the experience. I stayed at the Omni on property. As it’s brand new, it’s clean, modern and nice. Very good service throughout and the rooms were nice. They have a few restaurants on property but the main restaurant – a steakhouse called Trick Rider – was closed for a private party and the Apron was a little more than a typical hotel buffet offering. It wasn’t a buffet but had the vibe – though new. Food was meh. Wine offering was meh. It was national margarita day when I went so will say the prickly pear margarita (with Patron though) was really good.
Room rates also were not bad – about $350 all in. However, I can’t say the same about the golf rates. Ouch. I don’t think we got the choice but they had us play with single bag caddies. Caddie fees were included in the round and between greens fees, caddie fees, and my club rentals I was over the half century mark – over six including a generous tip for Zach my caddie who was great and had to listen to my craptacular music all round. Even if we skimped on caddies (again not sure I had the choice but really did like having a dedicated caddie) and I was tighter on the sheckles with the tip and brought my own clubs, this is too much even if the course was mature and there was no construction all around and we were in peak season. So my recommendation if you’re thinking about a trip down here is to wait. Maybe until after the PGA Championship in ’27. It will likely even cost you more but I think the experience will better match the price tag – $500+ for me is usually reserved for the crème de la crème and this crème wasn’t even full crème yet.
So the photo at the top of this post is of the first hole, a 537-yard par five to get you started. Note we played the III tees which measure over 6,600 yards. A nit pick from this bogey/distance-limited older golfer is a course that doesn’t offer a 6,100-6,300 tee option. For me 6,600 is blue tees territory and 5,800 from the IV’s is Ladies (er uh forward) tees territory – which was the next step down. So we played the III’s and the 73.0/142 rating/slope is all you need to know about why this is too much golf for the average bogey golfer. As noted above I played rental clubs but struck the ball really well from tee to green despite the difficulty. Unfortunately my putting calamities meant a 95 was the best I could muster. On one the goal is to work the ball up the left side of the hole and avoid the bunkers at the 400 yard mark where your second shot wants to land. I navigated it well laying up with my second shot but didn’t think a 200-yard third would work so laid up again, hit a great wedge to just beyond the pin and (you’ll hear this a lot) missed the par putt badly and bogeyed as Allen birdied and took the first skin so I didn’t even attempt my third putt.
Here’s two – 388 yards. Par four. Wind at our back and nestled a good drive in the landing area before the left bunker. You bigger hitters best aim right of that as it is driveable. Green is uphill and I left my approach on the apron. Likely par you say? Maybe a bogey? Nope six for me please.
Three is another par five. It’s 522 from the III’s. So not short but it is the 17th handicap. A drive up the right keeps you away from the bunkers but makes the hole play longer. I hit it left but avoided the bunkers and shortened the hole. Then a great three wood and hit what I thought was the perfect 8 onto the green. Alas the green is above you again and my eight caught the bunker in front of the green – right on the lip. I got it out but the face was so steep that I barely made the fringe. Allen sunk a long par putt so again picked up my bogey putt that was probably a 50/50 proposition on making if I attempted.
No picture of four. There’s a halfway house (quarter way?) a little cart ride up from the fourth tee box so instead of snapping a photo I grabbed a follow-up screwy. Par three 156 yards. I pulled my 6 iron a little but got it on the left-side of the green. But another three-putt and a four for me.
Five and six head back toward the clubhouse, into the wind and are tough, tough golf holes. Five is the #7 handicap. 416 yards. Tight landing area. This was my first bad drive of the day, a hard pull left into the trees. But the dormant rough had the ball propped up and had a window then a little wedge to the green and once again a three putt but at least I stroked and pushed the hole.
Number one handicap sixth. That’s the Omni in the distance. 435 yards into the prevailing wind. It took me three again to get on here but I remembered a little lesson that (name dropper alert) Gary Player told me on what to do when struggling with the putter and that is to put your hands forward like Palmer used to do. Finally the putter started working for me and my bogey putt was in close gimme territory and finally got me some skins.
I’m pretty sure this is 7 – a short and driveable par four for the big hitters. We all drove well here but not one of us were able to get a short approach onto the green and all of us bogeyed.
Par three 142-yard Redan. I was in the sand right but nice out and two putt bogey. Another carry.
Nine is another tough golf hole (#3 handicap) and plays dead into the prevailing wind. Three on and just missed my short bogey putt to force another carry. There’s a snack shack to load up on drinks at the turn and head to ten where the wind is again at your back.
Here’s ten from my drive. I didn’t get it great but avoided the bunkers that are in play to the left. Good approach but just short. Chip up and lip out par putt for a bogey and a stroke to win the quad carry.
The approach on 11. Do not go right as it is a mess of bunker and hazardy type of crap and certain death. Not an overly long hole and hit a good drive and decent 4-wood and was right but just shy of going into death. On in three but a putter let down yielded a six. But Christian and Allen pushed.
Twelve’s tough – the #4 handicap. It’s 416 yards and while the prevailing wind at your back should take the bunker to the left out of play hence the proper line, I just cleared it right. Left my hybrid just shy but nice chip and just missed the par for a bogey net par and another quad pick up.
From my approach on 12.
Thirteen is probably the signature hole on the course and is a long 200-yard par three. I yanked it and again on the second shot and was in the linen but watched the boys push it with bogeys.
Fourteen is a long par five which the stretches to 600 yards from the PGA tees – the course is almost 8,000 yards from those tees and should be interesting during tourney play. Anyway, great drive should line up over the last tree as the fairway will move the ball right and into a creek if you’re too far right. I was fairway, fairway, great lay up short of a nasty little creek (see below) and a 52-degree wedge to within gimme range for my first par to again clean up the carries.
The dirty little creek on 14 of whence I spoke.
Fifteen is a short little par four that is uphill and with bunkers right that both my playing partners found. I hit it just left of those. Tried to chip from the fringe where I pulled my wedge to but left a long downhill putt which I just missed and watched Allen par from the bunker.
Sixteen should be a short par five from the III’s but instead is a monster 464-yard par four into the prevailing wind. Was thrilled with a bogey here which won the hole with my stroke.
I missed the short 17th which is the easiest hole on the course and I parred it and here is 18. Tough hole that you had to thread it between the hazard left and trees right. Then leave your approach in a tight little landing area…
Which is here. All good to here but you see the sod wall protecting the green and my 8 iron third shot (which was into a now very gusty wind) just caught the top of the wall and went tumbling back into the hazard. Not a great finish but a golf hole that will play very well for the tourneys. All in all, definitely see Fields Ranch rocketing up the state rankings as it grows out but based on the freight to play it, you might want to hold off planning a trip here with the boys.
Golf Scrapbook 