Amarillo Country Club (Blues)
6542 yards – 71.6 Rating – 128 Slope – 91 Score
Day 7; April 27th, 2017
I have been told that Amarillo is one of the windiest cities in the country. I’ve also been told that “Texas hospitality” takes friendliness and service to another level. If my visit to Amarillo Country Club is any indication, you can mark both of those down as fact. The staff and management (who we had the pleasure of meeting) were as true to their reputations as the Amarillo winds; and meeting and interacting with these folks was a great way to start my round.
Once out on the course, this track held plenty of challenge (especially with the wind) and boasted a nearly immaculate playing surface. Lush, but not overly soft, fairways and cuts of rough and wonderfully groomed greens greeted us, hole after hole. Amarillo was only day 7 of the trip and Melanie and I wondered if we were perhaps a little overly impressed by the course conditions; if we wouldn’t find a similarly maintained course once a week over the following six weeks. However, the reality is that this course was simply a cut above almost every place we went with regard to its condition. The course is laid out well, and although there is road traffic all around the property, I never really felt like I was “in the city.”
Making excellent use of relatively limited space; the course does a very nice job of creating challenge. With just enough bend in most of their fairways to limit landing options and taking advantage of well placed trees; Amarillo, from the blues, is plenty of golf course for most players (plays to a 71.6). There is a greater challenge (that I did not bite off) back at the black tees; but what is nice is that the whites – by opening up some of the fairways a bit – play to a very manageable 69.4. In other words, there is a course for pretty much everyone at Amarillo Country Club.
There are not a ton of hazards on the course. However, the bunkers that are there are well placed and there is generally some bend or water on most holes to keep the challenge level up. There also isn’t much in the way of elevation change, but, the course does manage to take advantage of what contours it does have to provide some nice roll on it’s fairways and ensure that you don’t always have a perfectly flat lie.
During my round, there is no other way to say it, I got a lesson in playing in the wind. Before I left on my trip I spent a day on the range practicing nothing but knock-down shots, particularly with my 2-iron. That practice came in very handy on a day with a 2 to 2.5 club wind. What I hadn’t practiced was how to manage the slight draw on most of my approach shots which wound up being – how shall I say – “highlighted” by the wind. Not having an answer in my bag of tricks for low and accurate approach shots, my score suffered a bit. I, unfortunately, also didn’t “practice” believing the results from previous shots, and therefore repeatedly tried to club up or down 1, instead of 2 to compensate for the wind. This did not positively affect my score either.
One of the first things I look at when evaluating a course is the par 3’s. If they are all going to require the same club, or just a different brand of wedge (or whatever, i.e. be withing a club of one another) I am instantly put off. I was delighted when I looked at the Amarillo card and noticed that there was at least one club difference in all of the par threes and I wouldn’t be using the same club anywhere. With a range (again, from the blues) of 144-198 yards this mean I would be using a pitching clubs ranging from a pitching wedge to a 6 iron off the tee… good stuff! With over half of the par 4’s over 400 as well the course provides the opportunity to hit most of the clubs in your bag.
In all though, it was a great day on the course, and I developed a part of my game previously untested. Being a private club, one cannot just walk on and play; however, I certainly recommend taking the chance if it presents itself. And if, like me, you run into some difficult winds while working your way around the club… there is always that Texas sized service level to make your day!
