Buffalo Creek Golf Club near Dallas

Buffalo Creek Golf Club is a 7,078-yard Jay Morrish/Tom Weiskopf design with a natural feel, despite the presence of impressive homes adjacent to several of the holes.

Unlike at several other area golf courses, however, here the homes do not intrude much on the fairways or greens. The homes may sit cheek-by-jowl to each other, but aside from a few closed-in tee boxes and one or two inconvenient OBs, the residential development stays out of your way.

One of the first things players here will notice is the magnificent greens. Not only are the green complexes interesting and visually appealing, but the putting surfaces themselves are, according to some locals, the best in the entire Dallas area. I played on Thanksgiving Day, when the rest of the Bermuda grass on the course had gone dormant. Yet the greens were plush and smooth, fast and true, and an almost eerie greenish maroon color.

Another hallmark of Buffalo Creek is the superb mix of holes. Par 3s measure at the tips from 156 yards up to 227 yards, and par 4s from 347 up to the staunch, round-busting 481-yard 18th. And while one of the three par 5s is reachable in two at 523 yards, the others (572 and 611) are not.

The two stand-out holes are the 478-yard, par-4 sixth and the 611-yard 16th, which have been ranked among the toughest in the Dallas area. Both feature water down the left sides of fairways that gradually narrow and end at cross-hazards. At this point, long second (or third) shots test even the best long-iron for fairway wood players.

Buffalo Creek Golf Club - 10th hole

The 430-yard 10th at Buffalo Creek Golf Club is an easy hole that can be made very hard with a crooked drive.