Right now, the Tournament Players Course at Grand Lake Estates is like a 7-foot-2 center who has opted to forego his college career and jump right to the NBA.
"It is a great layout, it is challenging and it is a lot of fun," said Grand Lake Estates Director of Golf/General Manager Garrett Davis. "It just needs a little more time."
In other words, the Montgomery County layout, located off FM 2978 some four miles north of FM 1488, has the potential to be one of the top courses in the Greater Houston area. But, right now, the nine-hole course is a little rough around the edges.
"Our long-range plans include an 18-hole championship golf course," said the 26-year-old Davis, who graduated from Texas A&M University. "We will have a full clubhouse, a restaurant and a conference room.
"We also plan to have a full-size pool, tennis courts and probably a 12- to 14-acre practice facility that includes a driving range, chipping green and putting greens."
The TPC course - which was designed by the Gary Player Group - opened its first nine holes in March of 2003. But the entire project, for one reason or another, has been an off-and-on struggle since Day One.
"We started the subdivision (Grand Lake Estates) and the lender went bankrupt," Davis said. "When 9/11 hit, sales just stopped.
"Then, we had the front nine ready to seed, and (Tropical Storm) Allison washed all that away," he added. "We had already put quite a bit of money into it, then we had to start all over to redo it.
"But we have a new sales force here now and things are getting back to where they need to be," he added. "All the people who come through seem to love the course."
The course is owned by Mike Owens.
Davis said the Gary Player Group has designed quite a few golf courses around the world, but this was the first one in the state of Texas. The Player Group since has designed an 18-hole course in The Woodlands.
"The owner here involves himself with top-of-the-line people," Davis said. "That is why he brought Gary Player in. I think the course is ready to take off."
The golf course features bent grass greens, palm trees and an island green on No. 9.
"The greens are fantastic," Davis said. "That was the owner's idea. The palm trees on the golf course also are unique to the area.
"When we got here, this was all bare land. We didn't have to cut out any trees," Davis said. "With the wide open areas, the owner could put in whatever he wanted. That is where the palm trees came in.
"When you play out here, you forget you are in Texas," he added. "You think you are in the tropics somewhere. You also have a lot of elevation changes."
On the 506-yard seventh, golfers must decide whether to break out the driver and try and hit over a ditch, or lay up and play the hole as a three-shot par-5.
No. 5 also features two different greens.
"We are growing in the right-side green," Davis said. "We will eventually do away with the green on the left and use it as a growing green."
All the greens on the course are very small.
"That is typical of Gary Player courses," Davis said. "Our signature hole probably is the (162-yard, par-3) ninth, with the island green. But No. 6 also is a really nice hole.
"A lot of the holes out there really make you think," he said. "You just can't break out your driver and whale away at it. You have to put some thought into every shot."
Davis said there are currently around 200 property owners in the subdivision. He said the front of the subdivision features wooded lots, while the back will have upper-scale golf course lots.
"We are digging out two lakes so we can have golf course lots and waterfront lots," Davis said. "We also will have some 5-plus acre lots.
"We hope to have everything completed in five-to-six years," he added. "We still have a whole section south (of the community) that is raw land. We plan to be a big gated community."
The subdivision is located in the Montgomery school district.
"That is a big plus," Davis said. "They have exemplary schools and their tax rate is a lot lower than some of the surrounding areas. Plus, you don't have your neighbor sitting right on top of you."
The golf course, for the time being, is semi-private. Green fees are $ 50, which includes cart.
Source: The Houston Chronicle
