Firewheel Golf Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Firewheel Golf Park is a municipal golf course located in Garland, Texas and owned by the City of Garland.
The park consists of three courses: The Old Course, The Lakes Course, and The Bridges Courses, plus the Branding Iron restaurant. At over 600 acres, it is the largest golf course complex in Texas and the third largest in the United States
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[edit] History
In the spring of 1981, planners for the City of Garland visited a site in a little used area of the city that they desired to develop as a city-owned golf course. The area was covered with red, yellow, and bright pink firewheels, which gave the course its eventual name.
Two years later, in 1983, the first of the three courses (now called the Old Course) opened to the public. It was so successful that Garland decided to expand the city’s golfing experience, and after a “land-and-cash swap” with a local developer, opened the Lakes Course in 1987.
For over a decade, these two 18-hole courses satisfied the needs of Garland area golfers. But the financial success of Firewheel and the growing interest in golf eventually necessitated even further expansion. The Bridges Courses, a series of three different 9-hole courses, was opened in 2001, along with a stone clubhouse which features the Branding Iron restaurant.
[edit] The Old Course
The Old Course, designed by Richard M. Phelps, plays to a par of 71 (36-front, 35-back) ranging from 5497 yards (red tees) to 6845 yards (gold tees).
The terrain is gently rolling with creeks or steams in play on 11 of the 18 holes and ponds or lakes on 7 of the 18 holes. There are 5 par 3s, 9 par 4s, and 4 par 5s. The Old Course also features 65 strategically placed bunkers, some shallow, but some tricky and deep. The tee boxes are 419 Bermuda grass, and the greens are Champion Bermuda.
Head Professional, Matt MacMellon said this to help describe some of the beauty of The Old Course:
“The ninth hole is a tight 552-yard par-5 -- the shot from the tee is quite narrow, and unless you hit an exceptional drive, you'll probably have to lay up short of the creek running across the fairway about 140 yards short of the green. Another exceptional hole is 18, a 400-yard par-4 -- the key here is to hit a good drive, because the fairway bends 90 degrees to the left at around 215 yards out, and if you hit it a little bit too far, the trees will block your way to the green. From the tee, hit an iron or fairway wood, which will leave you about 185 yards to a small green screened by trees on both sides -- there's quite a bit of slope from back to front on that green."
Click Here to view the Old Course Scorecard
[edit] The Lakes Course
The Lakes Course, also designed by Richard M. Phelps, plays to a par of 72 (36-front, 36-back) ranging from 5502 yards (red tees) to 7134 yards (gold tees).
Firewheel Golf Park likes to boast, "If The Bridges Course has teeth, then The Lakes Course has fangs." The terrain is rolling and hilly and, as its name suggests, water comes into play on 15 of the 18 holes. Though water is not always visible, it waits just around the corner, waiting to take the errant shot. The only holes where water shouldn’t come into play is the par-4 7th, par-4 10th, and par-4 15th. There are 4 par 3s, 10 par 4s, and 4 par 5s. The Lakes Course also features 52 bunkers dispersed over the entire course, waiting to make this challenging course just a little harder. The Course is all Bermuda grass.
The Jerry Andrews Tournament Pavilion is located just off the first tee across the pond, giving spectators a breathtaking view of all the first hole tee boxes and the golfers embarking on their journey to conquer the Lakes.
Click Here to view the Lakes Course Scorecard
[edit] The Bridges Courses
The Bridges Courses, opened in 2001, features three distinctly different nine-hole courses.
The three nine-hole courses in the Bridges Course are The Champions (par 36, total of 3474 yards from the gold (back) tees or 2614 yards from the red (forward) tees), The Masters (Par 36, total of 3553 yards from the gold (back) tees or 2529 yards from the red (forward) tees), and The Traditions (par 35, total of 3202 yards form the gold (back) tees or 2529 yards from the red (forward) tees). All three of the Bridges courses are Bermuda grass.
Click Here to view the Bridges Courses Scorecard
[edit] The Branding Iron
The Branding Iron is Firewheel’s full service restaurant, located at the south end of the clubhouse. The Branding Iron's menu features everything from sandwiches for lunch to steak dinners. The Branding Iron also hosts special events, including Sunday Brunch every week (served from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm). It is open to the public, including those who have not or will not be playing on any of Firewheel's courses, and even offers meals to go.
