Heath Golf and Yacht Club will make it’s debut Saturday with a grand opening nearly two decades in the making.
The opening of a new golf course has become a rare event in North Texas. The Heath property will be followed by two PGA Frisco courses in 2022.
The Heath Golf and Yacht Club course is the centerpiece of an 800-acre real estate development on the eastern shore of Lake Ray Hubbard. The land was part of former Texas Gov. Bill Clements ranch, which developer Rob Whittle purchased in 2001.
“It’s a labor of love,” said golf course architect Roy Bechtol, who has been with the golf course part of the project since the beginning. “It turned out a lot better than I was hoping, and I’ve got a high hope level.”
Bechtol said he believes the course will improve as it matures and native plants in the rough grow in. He said he designed the course with wide, forgiving fairways and put an emphasis on approach shots.
“The second shot is where you have to pay attention,” he said. “I tried to make it so that what you see is what you get. The greens are fair, but they have some roll to them.”
The course has four sets of tee boxes and measures 7,068 yards from the tips. It should challenge the better players from the tips. The course rating and slope for the par-72 course are 75.1/142. The rating and slope are an indication of difficulty. In comparison, the ratings and slope from the tips for Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton are 80.5/155 and for Dallas National are 76.2/147. Northwood Club, a par-70 course that was recently renovated, has a rating and slope of 75.3 and 141 from the tips.
The 14,000-square foot clubhouse clubhouse includes a fitness center and restaurant overlooking Lake Ray Hubbard. Boat slips, a swimming pool, seven tennis courts and a sand volleyball court are nearby. The course itself is a core golf course with only a few homes visable from the course.
“I’m smiling from ear to ear,” Whittle said by phone this week as he prepared for the opening. “It’s exhilarating.”
Part of Whittle’s enthusiasm may be influenced by his success in luring new members to write checks for the private club’s $20,000 initiation fee. He said 41 memberships had been secured after 44 tours of the property. Whittle is the president of Heath Golf and Yacht Club and developed the property with his wife, Sara, brother Mike Whittle and Randall Noe.
Briefly: Connor Adams of Dallas shot a 2-under 70 in the final round to the boys 15-18 division of the James A. Ragan Memorial at Corpus Christi CC on Monday by one shot over Trevor Mierl of Austin. Adams finished with a 5-under 139 in the Legends Junior Tour event. Austin’s Darrelyn Webster won the girls 12-18 division by seven shots, and Rhett O’Rear of Plano made up a six-shot deficit to win the 14 and under division by one shot with a 2-over 146 total.
