Colonial Country Club
I played Colonial in 2006 and actually my photos survived the computer crash I had in ’07 but got corrupted so I had to copy these from the scrapbook that’s why they are lower res and smaller. That said, Colonial is the must play course in the DFW metroplex. The annual tourney helps push it up over Dallas National and for me I like the Fort Worth vibe much better than Dallas. Oh, all that and I hate the Cowboys, too, so Fort Worth is better by name.
The Colonial Invitational is now the Charles Schwab Challenge. Before that I think it was the Crowne Plaza Invitational then Bank of America Colonial, regardless, whatever it has been called, Colonial CC has been a staple on the tour since they hosted the first US Open held south of the Mason-Dixon line in 1941. In 2020 it was the first tournament back, post pandemic, but held with no fans. It’s very memorable and checks all the boxes for a top 25 or so club. From my memory, the first five holes are the hardest five holes on the course so you’re not eased into the round at all (three through five are known as the horrible horseshoe). The first tee features a neat wall of fame then is a long par 5 that bends right and (like all the holes when I played here) is tree-lined. Second to Sahalee in the Seattle area, this has the most narrow corridors of trees to hit through – though I guess there was a subsequent tree trimming and thinning effort. The ninth is one of my favorites. It’s not long – just 350 from the men’s tees but the pond in front makes it a scary approach. Eighteen of course is another of those iconic finishers you’ve watched on TV for years.
In the Fort Worth area, I recommend the Reata rooftop for dinner. If you’re staying on the Dallas side, there are some great steakhouses. My favorite is Al Biernat’s, then Y.O. Ranch and Dakota. Plano is a pretty good suburban town north of DFW and there’s a Jasper’s there that’s really good, too.
So is DFW a good buddies’ golf trip destination? Personally I’m not sure. If you’re doing the “city” golf trip thing there are better golf destinations in Florida and way cooler cities like Chicago, Seattle and Austin that have better public/resort golfing options. If you got the connections, Philly, New York and LA are great. All my trips to DFW have been work related so I never did a golf-only trip but from my experience I’d go a little further south and hit Austin.
Golf Scrapbook 