Central/East at Hideaway Lake Club

Hide-A-Way Lake is a charming community centered around three outstanding bass fishing lakes and an impressive 27-hole golf course. Three 9-hole courses are played in 18-hole combinations, all of which feature tiny, elevated greens, various irrigation lakes, numerous dogleg holes, and fairways lined by the ever-present East Texas pine trees. The course is not long, but is extremely difficult if you fail to adapt your game to the course.

The Central nine is the longest and opens with a 561-yard monster. You’ll need three solid shots to reach the green here, as the tee shot doglegs long and left, followed by two approaches up a steep hill. A huge oak tree blocks the green from about 40 yards out. This is an enjoyable nine with many challenging dogleg holes, as well as the typical elevated greens.

The newer East course, like the Central, starts off with a pain-in-the-butt par 5. The tee shot needs to stay left to avoid the out-of-bounds and tall pines on the right. The second shot is key because you must lay up in front of the creek, and ensure you’ve got the perfect angle to the elevated green. The approach is intimidating–anywhere from a 5 iron to wedge over the creek into a multi-tiered green bordered by a lake on the right. Bogey is good here.

Note that the East greens aren’t as strikingly elevated as the other two nines.

Getting there : Take the 849 Exit off of I-20 and the community and course are on the north side of the road. You can see the driving range from the highway.