July 24, 2013

The Return to Twin Lakes in Canton, Texas!

After a year of golfing around the DFW metroplex, we have finally returned to one of our favorite public courses: Twin Lakes in Canton, Texas!
My Old Man & Me
We planned this trip about two weeks in advance and booked two afternoon tee times.  The weather could not have been more perfect.  As if the golf gods wanted to ensure perfect playing conditions, North Texas was blessed with rain the entire week leading up to our sunny afternoon in Canton.  The grass was gorgeous, the greens were just the right speeds, and the lakes were full of water (in Texas we actually experience drying up of water hazards during the summer).
First Tee Jitters (Salman, Soks, & Thomas)
The course lived up to all our expectations, again.  It was just as beautiful as last year and the staff was very welcoming.  Since we're all a little more experienced since the last time we visited Twin Lakes, we really got a chance to appreciate the challenges presented by the course.  Overall, I'd rank Twin Lakes in the top five in terms of difficulty.  The layout isn't always narrow, but there are significant elevation changes on almost every hole, and the greens are guarded or completely separated from the fairway.  The holes don't ease up towards the end either.  The eighteenth hole was a kick in the pants.  A lengthy par 4 with a lot of water between the fairway and green.

Lessons learned from Canton: 
  • Always eat something before a round
  • Stay hydrated
  • Bring high calorie snacks in your golf bag

Look Out Fairway!
I started the day feeling great and confident, but my energy dropped at hole 4 and I was dizzy with hunger throughout the round.  I couldn't grab a bite at the turn because we started late and I didn't want the sun to set before we finished; unfortunately there wasn't a cart girl roaming the grounds that day. 

Total bummer that our round was marred by slow play.  It took us over five hours to play all 18 holes because we were stuck behind several groups that were struggling just as much as we were.  This isn't something I can hold against the course tho.  Last time we were there, the place was deserted and it was nice to see that they were getting a lot of players.  The great thing about Twin Lakes, is that slow play, bad shots, missed putts, and other typical golfer gripes don't affect you as much because the vistas are absolutely beautiful.  If you're ever in need of a place for a golf outing with friends, be sure to check out Twin Lakes.  You won't regret it.