Anyone who golf's in Waco, Texas, has surely played this city owned course. It is inside city limits and often host local and regional tournaments, and a golfer can always find a familiar face at this course. Cottonwood Creek is the course I decided to play this week.
Maybe the biggest pro about this course is that it is the closest to Baylor, as most of the Waco population. The driving range is almost always full of residents and students that all regularly get their practice in here. I always find this club house to be very exciting as well. At one table, theres a group of young kids dogging on each other about who played best, the other consist of 8 old men with over 1000$ on the table figuring out who won it.
The three guys that work the pro shop are always super kind and helpful, and they never try to scam the golfer on the price as well. This time they even let me and my buddy tee off early before this large group.
Getting into the course, there are many things that Cottonwood does very well. First of all, the difficulty is perfect. The course has many simple straight up, long par three's and four's, with no water and few sand traps. These holes give the golfer a break from some of the more treacherous holes on the course. Unlike these holes, there are many that have sharp turns, narrow fairways with thick tree lines, and large bunkers. The first hole that comes to mind, is hole five.
Shown above is the lay out of the course. Hole five is at the top left of this map. This hole requires a perfectly placed ball that doesn't go too far left or right, both these options leading to water. As well as placing the ball perfectly, this hole is also only a par four, meaning the golfer has to make a few aggressive shots to keep from a high score on this hole.
The course is also very nicely taken care of. The fairways and greens are always in great shape, as they water and replace the grass frequently as needed. The tee boxes are always great as well, especially on the par three's where the soft grass is crucial.
What I love most about this course is the atmosphere. It's hard to explain, but there is always more interaction with other people on this course, maybe due to tee boxes and greens being close together. The players at this course are hilarious and always have something funny or insightful to say. This along with the employees great attitudes, makes for the perfect golf atmosphere.
Getting into the cons of the course, it is very expensive, and the price only keeps going up. It's about 50-60$ for a tee time at this course, which is fair for the experience, but pushing being overpriced. It also is often under heavy renovations on some holes, sometimes ruining the integrity of the game. One time the tee box was moved up so far, that I three putted and still got a birdie.
Overall, I love this course and would rate it a 9/10. It feels like home for the Waco golfer, it's close and has deep roots in the community. The layout is perfect and the grounds are phenomenal, and this course is what Waco golf is all about.
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