FIELDS RANCH

Fields Ranch East & West at PGA Frisco

New Public Championship Courses

By Art Stricklin, Contributing Writer

Texas has golf courses, lots and lots of golf courses, 800-plus in fact. Lots of great courses, private enclaves, plus toprated resorts in Austin-San Antonio, but great public golf, especially in the North?

Not so much. That’s what makes the soon to open two public championship courses in Frisco, 40 minutes north of downtown Dallas, such a golfing game changer.

Located at the new, modern PGA of America headquarters on 660 acres of former North Texas farm land, hence the official name Fields Ranch at PGA Frisco, East and West Course.

Owned and operated by Omni Hotels, which will have a massive 550room resort here, the PGA will oversee golf operations on City of Frisco land.

Every spare inch of this new Texas golfing utopia will be open to the public, from the largest putting green in the US of A (the Dance Floor), to the 10-hole Short Course (The Swing),

PGA Frisco East Course, #10 -12

PGA Frisco East Course, #18

to the resort and two courses, the East designed by Gil Hanse and the West, a Beau Welling Design.

Heck, even the Northern Texas PGA will have an awesome synthetic putting and chipping complex here open to the public when not in use for NTPGA activities.

With nearly a dozen eating, drinking and shopping establishments overseen by a huge electronic TV screen, plus a three mile walk/bike/pet trail, you’ve got a golfing paradise no matter if you’re a thoroughly hooked hacker, a casual golfer or just somebody who wants in on the non-stop action.

PGA Frisco Golf Complex is for you, Joe or Judy Q. Public.

“We were always going to make everything public here, because that fits into the PGA of America’s mission of attracting golfers and non-golfers to the sport,” said PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh.

The East Course, which will host 26 major golf championships starting with the PGA Seniors Championship in May, two future PGA Championships and likely a Ryder Cup., includes a drivable par 4 on both the front (No. 7) and back nine (15).

There is a nearly a 300-yard par 3, (No. 13 from the championship tees) along with the largest green on the course followed by the smallest, just to confuse golfers’ already confused minds. Then a bunkerless par 4 16th hole which seems simple, but is anything but!

Rendering of Hotel Entrance

PGA Frisco East Course, #5

Then for the closing act, there is a dangerous 17th hole par 3 at 141 yards, the shortest on the course, plus a par 5 18th hole with a large stream and a hard dogleg right, plus a 10-foot earthen wall you’ll to hit over to reach the final green after crossing Panther Creek for the final time.

“I think you could have some fireworks there,” Hanse said in a bit of an understatement in a fireside interview with co-designer Welling at the Omni Frisco Resort.

The West Course by Welling ,who did Bluejack National with Tiger Woods outside Houston, did the more player friendly course with lots of wide open North Texas prairie spaces, elevated views and some truly funky greens.

It’s a course to be ridden for sure, but one to take in the scenery with risk and reward challenge. Welling said the two courses are not identical sisters but in the same family.

“It’s more like cousins, I’d say. I wanted to be able to bring my mother

PGA Frisco East Course, #13

out here who may not be as good as I am, but still have a good time.”

The public, which will get its first chance to play here in the spring of 2023, will make up more than 80% of the rounds on the Hanse East course. Hanse designed the course to be player friendly, but certainly not pain free if you don’t hit the correct shot from the correct tee.

Hanse said one of the things he learned from designing the Olympic Golf Course in Brazil. which turned into a public facility after the Olympics left, is using a long set of ‘ribbon tees’, which is a continual path of grass, 100 yards long on some of the holes.

The course can easily play more than 7,800 yards from the back ribbon, but PGA officials said the length will rarely, if ever, be used on a daily basis. Playing the correct set of tees will be critical to resort player enjoyment for the triple figure rates which will be charged to Omni Hotel guests and general public play.

The opening hole on the East Course is a par 5 with a dogleg right, which features some thick rough and the first appearance of native Panther Creek.

A less than optimal shot could mean the first lost ball early despite the best effort of the caddies, which will allow for walking by guests.

In fact, when Woods opened his private Bluejack National course three hours southeast of here, he said he hoped most players could play his course with a single ball.

If an amateur plays PGA Frisco East with single ball, they might be drug tested or sent straight up to the PGA Tour,

Holes 10-12, all par 4, play in full view of the Huge Omni Resort, making them prime spots for tournament watching, but players of all skill levels will have their full attention captured when they get to the par 3 13th hole.

Panther Creek cuts across the fairway and curls up the left side, and it will be one of the most attractive features on the back side. The par 4 15th is another uphill drivable par 4 which is surrounded by bunkers to embrace the risk-reward factor. It’s public drama open to all in the new home of professional and amateur golf in Texas and all of America.

PGA Frisco West Course, #5

The Oasis San Miguel Guesthouse helps make sublime Central Mexico area a golf destination

By Steve Habel, Contributing Writer

You have likely heard about the lovely central Mexico town of San Miguel de Allende, which is renowned as a haven for foreign retirees, American expats, artists, writers and tourists. If Susan ONeal has anything to say about it, the area will also grab attention as a really-out-of-the-way place to visit, relax, and play golf.

ONeal is the owner and operator of The Oasis San Miguel Guesthouse, a lovely and intimate bed and breakfast on the southwest edge of town that’s a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city’s interior.

At The Oasis, which features five ensuite rooms, a gleaming, blue-tiled pool in the shadow of swaying palms, and lush landscaping, ONeal has created a guesthouse of understated elegance in the Moroccan style that is perfect for just about everything.

Sounds like just the place to unwind after a round of golf – or after any of the other great activities in the region.

“People feel very much at home in San Miguel and especially at The Oasis,” ONeal said. “Visitors fall in love with the setting –our city is very safe and welcoming. Once you come here, you just don’t want to leave. I know I didn’t.”

The Oasis is blocks away from Malanquin Golf Club and a 15-minute drive across town from Las Ventanas Golf Club. It’s been said that a destination needs at least two 18-hole courses to be considered for a golf trip, so San Miguel de Allende more than fits the bill.

Two courses, two great choices

Malanquin GC was designed by Steven Newgent, who routed his course between valleys and across and over heavily wooded natural hills, with narrow fairways and several artificial lakes.Game Room

The round at Malanquin GC is highlighted by spectacular views of the Allende Dam and the mountains of the Sierra de Guanajuato.

The 18-hole course plays at 7,289 yards from its back set of tees and to a par of 72 and has Bent grass putting surfaces.

The front nine starts the round in a relatively benign fashion via wide fairways divided by trees and some gentle hills. Things get a lot tougher on the back, as the fairways narrow and there’s more water and sand to avoid.

O’Neal has set up a stay-and-play package for her guests at The Oasis. Golfers get 20 percent off of the cost of their rounds at Malanquin GC and groups that book all five of her suites at the same time get a “pay-for-four, get-the-fifth-free” discount.

The newer Las Ventanas Golf Club is a Nick Faldo/Schmidt-Curley-designed course and is considered the best track in the area. It was Faldo’s first design in Latin America and is challenging from tee to green thanks to its many elevation changes.

The course plays to a par of 70 and has tee boxes and fairways turfed with Kentucky Bluegrass and Bent grass greens. The fairways are generous and fairly easy to hit but its putting surfaces are the real test.

You might want to stay

Set in a verdant valley at the nexus of four arroyo and at an elevation of 6,500 feet that produces a near-year-round temperate climate, San Miguel de Allende has a metro population of about 150,000 people and offers a low cost of living in the central Mexico state of Guanajuato about 180 miles north of Mexico City.

Known as “the Best Small City in the World” and the “City of Fallen Women” because of its hilly, cobblestone streets in the central district, San Miquel de Allende is still charming enough that many Mexicans visit for special holidays. There are more than a few visitors who buy a house within a few days of their first arrival, with its remoteness definitely part of its lasting charm.

Flights from Houston and Dallas to San Miquel de Allende land in airports in Queretaro (about 50 miles to the south) or Leon, which is just a half hour away and offers shuttles to the city.

Meditation Patio at the Oasis