The Old American Golf Club at The Tribute – designed by Tripp Davis and PGA Tour/Ryder Cup star Justin Leonard – is on track to open this fall to Dallas-area golfers, according to lead developer Matthews Southwest.
The course was formerly referred to as The New Course in complement to The Tribute's existing Old Course, a Davis design featuring holes inspired by the great Scottish golf courses on the British Open rota.
"Tripp, Justin and Matthews Southwest felt that 'Old American Golf Club' captured the spirit and essence of the design and what we are attempting to convey to the golfer, thematically," said Jack Matthews, president of Matthews Southwest.
"The Old American Golf Club focuses on emulating design techniques from the great American courses that were designed with strategic interest as the foundation," Davis said. "Stylistically, we took cues from how these early American designs created strategic interest via features."
The course's natural contours, hazard styles, native grasses and green shapes conjure images of such storied masterpieces as Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links, Prairie Dunes and Crystal Downs. Davis, an accomplished amateur player and former All-American at the University of Oklahoma and Leonard, who played his college golf at the University of Texas, toured and played a handful of America's classic "Golden Age" designed golf courses prior to starting the design process for the Old American Golf Club.
"From a player's standpoint, we enjoy layouts that take advantage of the prevailing winds to produce hole variety," says Leonard. "For example, having sets of par 3s that play into and with the wind, or par 4s of varying lengths and fairway widths depending on the dominant wind characteristics. Tripp and I have incorporated this concept into the design of the Old American Golf Club."
Case in point, adds Leonard, is the course's back nine, which skirts Lake Lewisville. The 10th is a long par 4 that plays into the wind, and the 11th an even longer two-shotter designed to be a "turning point hole" in a tightly contested match.
The closing stretch is sure to become one of the better finishes in the area, capable of dramatic scoring swings. The 16th is a drivable par 4, the 17th a short par 3 and 18 a reachable par 5. Not overly long, the Old American Golf Club measures approximately 7,100 yards from the tips and will offer five sets of tees.
