Dallas, Texas is a golfer’s paradise. with its many beautiful golf courses and clubs catering to the needs of golfers of all skill levels. However, with the advent of advanced technology, simulator golf clubs have become a popular alternative for golfers looking for a realistic and comfortable golfing experience. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the top indoor Dallas Golf Clubs – simulator golf facilities that are equipped with state-of-the-art pieces of equipment, including the newcomer – Scratch Golf Club.
City Golf Club
Located in the Harwood district, City Golf Club is one of the first Dallas golf clubs which used simulators. With the help of the Trackman golf simulator, you can choose from 25 different virtual golf courses to play and practice. City Golf Club has a few membership options but also allows the public to book bay times and golf lessons. The club works 24/7, but for the basic plan, you can access the club during business hours.
Topgolf
Topgolf is a popular simulator golf club that offers a unique and fun golfing experience. The club features a variety of simulator bays that allow golfers to play on multiple popular courses, including Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass, and St. Andrews. Topgolf also offers different games and activities that can be enjoyed by golfers of all skill levels.
GolfTec Dallas
This golfing establishment is known for golf lessons, but it also offers a wide range of amenities for golfers. The club features a modern simulator room that allows golfers to play on some of the world’s most famous golf courses from the comfort of their club. Additionally, GolfTec has 3 different locations north of the city center in Dallas.
The Golf Suite
The Golf suite is another indoor golf club, located in the Dallas/Addison area. It offers a PGA instructor and 24/7 membership access. GC hawk x Foresights simulator gives you the ability to choose from the hundreds of available courses. Additionally, you get 1 free individual guest pass. You can book a tee time with another member of the Golf Suite and use the space at the same time. Up to 4 people during a tee time.
8 Under Golf
This fine establishment is located in Irving, about 12 miles away from downtown Dallas. This, admittedly, can become a problem, especially on a busy day. But, if you are still interested, Eight Under, backed by Mike Bury, offers the same TrackMan technology, five simulator bays and private lessons. For competitive players it has leagues where you can play against your friends or join tournaments.
Scratch Golf Club
Scratch Golf Club is located in downtown Dallas. It comes with the convenience of online booking, a price tag of just a few hundred dollars and the added benefit of 3 different types of member accounts, which start from 149$ per month and come with 1-hour free session just to make sure everything is according to your liking.
Scratch Golf Club uses TrackMan 4 Golf Simulator, with over 40 data points available instantly after every swing to analyze data and refine your skills. Dual radar technology guarantees accuracy within 1 foot of error. 72-degree views and 164 unique golf courses make this process even more enjoyable and challenging. Bay booking can be done online, after which you can bring any number of guests, 24/7. You can bring your food and drinks, which can turn any golf session into a party. Scratch Golf Club also offers a locker, which you can rent for a small fee and leave any equipment for the next time.
Figure 1 There is not much better than playing golf – and these courses surely prove that
There are many different factors that make a golf course memorable. A good round is an obvious one – but as well as your performance, outstanding scenery is hard to beat as well. A picturesque setting can offset even the worst day’s golf.
There are some courses, like Augusta or St. Andrews, that are on most players’ bucket lists. But for many, the only time these destinations are part of our weekend is when we are placing our golf bets. We think you should dream big though – and these five stunning courses are well worth considering for that once-in-a-lifetime golfing trip.
Cape Kidnappers, New Zealand
Even if you have never been to New Zealand, you will probably be familiar with this golf course from a million Instagram photos. Located in Hawkes Bay, on the eastern coast of the North Island, Cape Kidnappers only opened in 2004 but feels like it has been there forever.
The course is designed around the rolling fingers of the land and cliffs overlooking the ocean. At 140 meters above sea level, players can walk right up to the edge of the land, although the course plays remarkably well in these conditions. If you have an off day you may lose a few balls to the Pacific – but the views will definitely make up for that.
Thracian Cliffs, Bulgaria
The great Gary Player said that there is no other golf course like this on the planet – and he should know, he helped design it. Bulgaria might not be the first place thought of for a golfing holiday, but the Thracian Cliffs backdrop has left more than a few golfers speechless since opening in 2011.
The coastal cliffs look over the Black Sea and the course can seem a little daunting for newcomers. But there are some very good options for all levels of golfer and the experience is really the selling point here, rather than being able to post the best round’s score of your life.
Pebble Beach, California
If you want guaranteed sunshine for your golf then you cannot do much better than the Pebble Beach links course in California. The USGA obviously thinks so, staging the U.S. Open here six times in the last 50 years. The tropical climate is an obvious selling point – but the course itself has to be seen to be believed.
Running along a craggy, rugged coastline, golfers can enjoy the views out on Carmel Bay, looking over the Pacific Ocean as they play their round. Thanks to its long history, there are a few very famous holes to play and the exhilarating views will more than make up for some missed shots.
Figure 2 Dramatic coastlines feature at many of the most picturesque golf courses
Four Seasons Resort, Hawaii
If even the California weather doesn’t quite make the grade for you, how about the tropical paradise of Hawaii? The views are simply incredible from this golf course set high above Hulopoe Bay on Lanai’s southern coast. With the Pacific Ocean as a water hazard, you can’t really go wrong.
Incredible natural vegetation and a marine preserve bordering the course make for a stunning location. It is actually built on lava outcroppings and you will have to make sure that your tee shots are accurate, otherwise you will be spending a lot of money on replacement balls! Playing golf in such an area of outstanding beauty will surely make that worthwhile though.
Royal County Down, Ireland
You will have to endure slightly different conditions than the last few courses to play here. But there is no doubt that this stunning course located on the east coast of Northern Ireland is one to play before you hang up your clubs. The Murlough Nature Reserve is its home and it is one of the oldest courses in Ireland.
With the mountains as a backdrop, the course uses its natural dunes as part of a challenging – yet exhilarating – round of golf. This traditional links course boasts a variety of holes that twist and change direction to constantly keep you guessing. But anyone who plays here will agree that it is one of the very best courses in the world.
Rocco Mediate secured his first tournament victory on PGA Tour Champions in three years in winning the Sanford International 2019 at the Minnehaha Country Club in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on September 22nd.
The 56 year-old from Greensburg, Pennsylvania wasn’t among the leading candidates in the betting going into the tournament, with odds of around 40/1 being generally available. Rocco Mediate’s reward in terms of prize money was $270,000 of the $1,800,000 purse.
It was the 13th professional win of Mediate’s career, including four on the PGA Champions Tour, but his first since winning the Senior PGA Championship in 2016.
“It was just one of those days everything kind of went really good,” Mediate said. “When I was bad, I got it up and down. When I was good, I made putts. You have to do this crazy stuff.”
“Putted my you-know-what off today, but I hit a lot of good shots, too. I hit a lot of greens, kept my head together and here we are the last couple holes.”
Going into the tournament, Bernhard Langer was the 8/1 bookmakers favourite with 888Sport, with Scott McCarron and Jerry Kelly both available at 9/1 on the betting lines. Retief Goosen (the South African rookie on the PGA Tour Champions this season) and Woody Austin were next up at 12/1, followed by David Toms at 14/1 and Brandt Jobe at 16/1. Needless to say that bookmakers do have betting offers for new customers, who are welcome to take advantage of such odds and other competitive probabilities in future bets.
As with most of the tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and Champions Tour), the Sanford International was played over three rounds (54 holes). The course at the Minnehaha Country Club (established on the outskirts of Sioux Falls in 1905) is a Par 70 with a total course yardage of 6,729.
Mediate shot a final round 64 for a total 9-under 201 to win by two shots from Ken Duke, Colin Montgomerie and Bob Estes. Mediate birdied the last two holes to edge out Duke. Mediate was already in the clubhouse when Duke, who was tied for the lead going to the last, took four shots to reach the final green to make double bogey and close his round with a 69.
Jay Haas and Steve Flesch each finished 6-under in a tie for fifth. Scott McCarron tied for seventh after shooting a final round 67 and still leads the way for the Charles Schwab Cup. There are only two tournaments remaining before the Schwab Cup play-offs (which consist of a series of three tournaments).
As indicated by the result of the Sanford International, there’s always plenty of value to be had betting on PGA Tour Champions, so in such a competitive market it’s certainly worth checking out the wealth of betting offers for new and existing customers available over the remaining tournaments.
Image credit – Jamiehales [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
Every year, golf is graced with a wide variety of incredible tournaments to keep us at the edge of our seats but none quite as much as the four major tournaments; The U.S Open, The (British) Open, The PGA Championship and, of course, The Masters. With so many details about all four starting to leak out, keeping your eye on each can be a struggle which is why we’re here to put together a simple preview into what you can expect from the 2019 Masters from what we currently know. Read on to find out for yourself.
The Masters Tournament
As one of the biggest tournaments in the sport, the golf U.S Masters had been up and running since as early as 1934. This 84-year-old tournament is part of three major tours too, including the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the Japan Golf Tour and for this reason, it’s easy to see just why it’s such a prestigious event in the eyes of players and fans alike. This tournament sees golfers putting it out to reach the all-important top spot and get their hands on the much sought-after green jacket.
This event is invitational only so while it is a part of the three major tours in a golf year, it also has one of the smallest pots of players with just 90-100 taking place is any one season. As a result, we often see the same players taking part year on year, with leading competitors like big name Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and a wealth of other international players from across the globe all competing against one another during a single week in April. Good weather, a stunning course and some world-class golf is what can be expected here – but what about 2019 in particular?
The Players
Despite the smaller number of players involved in these tournaments (compared to the normal average of around 140), The Masters certainly gives us plenty to enjoy regardless. To make it even more interesting, online sportsbooks have figured out a way for golf bettors to get so much action that they almost couldn’t digest it all. Not only this week-long event is filled with some of the best players in the industry, all putting and swinging for the top spot in a game, but bookies keep things exciting by offering every type of proposition you could imagine. You can wager on the winning player as well as on names to make it to top 5 or top 10. But who is actually likely to make it to the field?
Whether a fan of golf or not, you can’t go through life without having heard the name Tiger Woods. As one of the most successful golfers of all time, Woods has quickly become one of the most popular sportsmen of his time too, with four Masters Championships to his name and a rather large handful of world records.
Will Tiger Break Jack’s record? I might break your jaw if you ask that question one more time…
He might be one of the wealthiest golfers, but he’s also one of the best and while he hasn’t had any huge wins in recent years, the potential is still there and we’re eager to see what happens next.
At 29 compared to Woods’ 42, McIlroy is certainly a younger player than Woods but he’s quickly proving to be one of the best. Without a Masters title to his name, his invitation relies solely on his skill and rightly so. While he hasn’t been successful yet in terms of this particular tournament, his performance in the PGA and European Tours isn’t something to be ignored. He’s likely to make his way to the golf course in Augusta in 2019, and we’re eager to see whether he can win his first Masters trophy.
Last year’s winner, Patrick Reed, is pretty much guaranteed a place at this year’s competition and we’re excited to see him take to the field again with aggressive shots and well-placed swings. After battling against McIlroy, Fowler and Spieth in a nail-biting final round, his final shots took him to green jacket victory. Considering that this win pulled him right up to no. 11 in the world and gave him a tidy $1.98 million prize fund to take home, we can imagine he’s eager to give winning a second go.
Rickie Fowler is another player expected to be gracing the field this month. While he, like McIlroy, hasn’t come to win any Masters jackets just yet, he went on to prove himself in the 2018 tournament as someone worthy of being taken seriously. Nearly beating out Reed to the winning spot, his ‘no wins’ could easily have become ‘Masters Champion’. For that reason, it’s likely that we’ll see him invited to the 2019 season come April.
The Course
Made up of 18 holes, namely the Par-3 course that makes up the tournament of the same name on the Wednesday of the competition, the Augusta course used for the Masters was originally built just a year before the tournament was established. Since its conception, the course has undergone years of upkeep, renovations of the shapes of the courses in some cases and more, but still retains a unique beauty that makes the Masters such a pleasant event to attend.
The course layout is as follows:
|
Hole
|
Name
|
Par
|
Yards
|
|
1
|
Tea Olive
|
4
|
445
|
|
2
|
Pink Dogwood
|
5
|
575
|
|
3
|
Flowering Peach
|
4
|
350
|
|
4
|
Flowering Crab Apple
|
3
|
240
|
|
5
|
Magnolia
|
4
|
455
|
|
6
|
Juniper
|
3
|
180
|
|
7
|
Pampas
|
4
|
450
|
|
8
|
Yellow Jasmine
|
5
|
570
|
|
9
|
Carolina Cherry
|
4
|
460
|
|
Hole
|
Name
|
Par
|
Yards
|
|
10
|
Camellia
|
4
|
495
|
|
11
|
White Dogwood
|
4
|
505
|
|
12
|
Golden Bell
|
3
|
155
|
|
13
|
Azalea
|
5
|
510
|
|
14
|
Chinese Fir
|
4
|
440
|
|
15
|
Firethorn
|
5
|
530
|
|
16
|
Redbud
|
3
|
170
|
|
17
|
Nandina
|
4
|
440
|
|
18
|
Holly
|
4
|
465
|
Final Thoughts
Every year, The Masters proves to be an exciting tournament for players and fans alike. Whether you’re one of the few who managed to get tickets before the June deadline, or you’re planning on watching from the comfort of your living room, make sure to keep an eye out as more and more details are released as to who’s playing and just what you’re likely to see during 2019’s tournament.
Dustin Johnson
World number one Dustin Johnson heads to Pacific Pallisades this week to defend the Genesis Open title that he won by five strokes last year. Riviera is perfectly suited to Johnson’s game, thanks to his phenomenal power off the tee, and he has achieved T4 finishes in each of the last four years. Recent winners include Bubba Watson (twice) and James Hahn, both hit ferocious distances, so it is a course geared up for bombers. But the field is strong and deep, the presence of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy means four of the world’s top eight will be in the mix.
Watson, meanwhile, will be hoping for a strong comeback after having the worst year of his career in 2017. He missed the cut in three of the four majors and has not won a tournament since 2016, sending him plummeting down to 117 in the world rankings. Riviera is the perfect setting to launch his return to greatness as the two-time Masters winner claimed victory here in 2014 and again in 2016, when he was ranked second in the world. If he can rediscover his magic touch around the greens he will be a force to be reckoned with, but that is a big if.
Phil Mickelson
Another man hoping for a return to glory is crowd favorite Phil Mickelson, who is now 47 years old and has not won since 2013. He has come mighty close on several occasions, and remains a magnificently talented player, but if he is to force his way into Ryder Cup contention he needs to secure a victory somewhere along the line. He won here in 2008 and 2009 and finished runner-up in 2012, so it is as good a place as any to return to the summit once again.
And then there is Mickelson’s old nemesis Tiger Woods, who will dominate headlines in the build-up to the tournament. He finished T23 on his return to action in the Farmers Insurance Open last month, and said he is looking forward to hosting and playing at the Genesis Open this week. After a long injury layoff, fans will be eager to see if he can recapture the sort of form that led him to eclipse Mickelson and hold down number one spot in the world rankings for many years.
But right now, it is the elite men that head the betting, and deservedly so. Make sure to look at Betonline for odds on the event, and you will see that Johnson is the clear favorite heading into the tournament. His record at Riviera is amazing: he won last year, finished runner-up in 2014 and lost a playoff in 2015. Last year, his five-stroke win catapulted him to the top of the world rankings and he consolidated his place by winning his next two tournaments, the WGC Mexico Championship and the WGC Dell Technologies Matchplay. He was the clear favorite heading into the Masters, only to fall down the stairs and find himself ruled out due to injury. But he has maintained his number one ranking, despite the ascent of Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm and the return to greatness of Jordan Spieth.
Riviera is a second shot test, where precision on approach is paramount to success. Spieth will be a danger here as he is turning a corner on greens and has three T25 finishes in five appearances at Riviera. He needs a win ahead of The Masters and will be going all out for victory. Thomas never knows when he is beaten, while McIlroy can win anywhere and has made a strong start to 2018, but right now Johnson is the man to beat.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
