MOUNT ENTERPRISE — I first learned about a new golf course being built near this East Texas hamlet about two years ago. Known to me as a hotbed of football talent, especially running backs Kendre Miller of the New Orleans Saints and current record breaker Kaegan Ash, a bigtime golf course here just didn’t register.
But then I remembered Center Country Club, where many great players earned a dollar or two at the granddaddy tournament of the old Texas beer and barbecue circuit, is just down the road. The “chicken shipping” capital of Texas, Center boasted a mega large Calcutta pool back in the day. And just a little farther south, near San Augustine, is land once occupied by the most magnificent ghost course in Texas — Fairway Farms. It was a monster measuring more than 7,000 yards during the era of persimmon woods and soft balata balls. Dare to make a birdie and the eccentric and wealthy owner Claxton Benedum would commission a change to that hole — “make it tougher,” was his motto.
What I heard two years ago was too far-fetched to imagine. My source of information said a group of investors was buying property near Nacogdoches to build a golf resort similar to the one on the Oregon coast so celebrated — Bandon Dunes. I checked with my local golf pro, Chris Hudson, and others, and they confirmed the rumors.
So this past spring, I had the occasion to be in Nacogdoches and on the way back to Dallas was able to find the entrance to the property. But a huge gate prohibited me from going more than a quarter mile onto the property. Bummer — I just wanted to take a look and see how the dirt was being moved around. The word was out that Tom Doak, a premier golf course architect, was shaping the first course, with Ben Crenshaw and his partner Bill Coore scheduled to design a second course.
There was nothing more to go on until I received an email and an invitation, via Phil Hicks and the Tyler Morning Telegraph, to attend a media day sneak preview of the course in early December. I couldn’t get there quickly enough and the weather cooperated for the most part, a little nippy starting out but pleasant by the end of the round.
Just the drive in from US Highway 259 was dramatic. I passed through the gate area and up a significant hill on a winding hard dirt road, through a corridor of tall pines. Reaching the summit, I drove a short distance to the temporary clubhouse and took my first panoramic view of the East Texas topography.
Unforgettable — below me was an ocean of sand.
Though most of the landscape is covered by a forest of pines and hard woods with assorted underbrush, stretching to an horizon miles away, there is a speckling of greenery in the valley that represents the 18 holes of Wild Spring Dunes! This is the latest “must play” destination of what Golf World magazine calls the “New Golden Age” of golf course architecture.
Pausing, with a cup of coffee in hand, I stared for a moment to soak it all in. As an East Texan, I thanked the Lord for another wonderful golf course built in my neck of the woods. This truly is a cathedral of natural beauty.
I then allowed myself to daydream about high and soaring drives, squarely struck iron shots and ridiculously holed putts on the large and undulating greens.
About to be 73 years old, I was having a moment!
Shortly afterwards, I checked in with the warm and friendly staff and learned I was paired, thanks to the foresight of marketing director Ryan Huddle, himself an East Texan from Canton, with four other men from the Tyler area. The Stone brothers from Jacksonville, Dick and Paul, are both good players with sound fundamentals as I particularly noticed Paul’s textbook grip. The same is true of Jon Alexander and Matt Rannals of Tyler.
Making the day complete, an unusually memorable experience, was our group of caddies. I had forgotten how good it is to have someone tote your bag, give you good advice and then encourage you throughout the round. We had four of the best in young guys Reece Utley and Jake Driver complementing seasoned loopers Paul Beke and John Blum. All possessed valuable knowledge of the course and keen insights into how to play the game.
“The 9-iron is the right club here,” Beke told Dick Stone on one of the early par 3s. “Put your good swing on it and don’t peek.”
Stone commenced to hit a pretty shot right on the number and both men grinned from ear to ear. Golf can be so much fun.
And that brings me to Doak. He now has designed eight of the top 100 courses in the world according to Golf Magazine. He did a pro-bono renovation of Dornick Hills in Ardmore, Oklahoma to show his love and respect for the late Perry Maxwell, an esteemed architect of the early to mid 20th century who hailed from Ardmore and is buried near the course. Doak, like Maxwell, is a minimalist in regard to moving dirt, believing the holes present themselves if one has a discerning eye and a vivid imagination.
Of his signature masterpiece Prairie Dunes near Hutchinson, Kansas, Maxwell said, “there are 118 holes here and all I have to do is eliminate 100 of them.”
Doak did not make Wild Spring Dunes too difficult as some modern course designers are prone to do. Instead, the course has wide fairways and receptive greens. But if the good player gets greedy, he or she will pay the price. That makes the course enjoyable for all golfers.
Walking the course with caddies is required except for the hot summer months when carts will be allowed. That caveat impressed me because this course is part of a portfolio of great resort courses under the management of Dream Golf. Bandon Dunes founder Mike Keiser now has his sons Michael and Chris following his footsteps to find and build courses all can play. They have the Midas Touch with the philosophy “build it and they will come.”
Having started on the third hole, the first hole at Wild Spring Dunes was our 16th and it goes from the top of the mountain so to speak into the valley below. I remarked that it was the second most dramatic downhill tee shot I could remember, the first being the opening shot at Port Stewart in Northern Ireland which once hosted the Irish Open.
Once the day was complete on the course, our group joined other groups for some delicious grub and a Q&A session with our host for the day, Tom Ferrell, the media liaison for Dream Golf. I wasn’t shy, “how in the world did you find this place?”
Ferrell then told the story of Brett Messerall of Dallas, a 39-year-old self described “serial entrepreneur” who wanted to bring “soul stirring” golf to Texas. His initial thought was this site but to be sure, looked at more than 1 million acres in Texas via Google maps. Then he persuaded Michael Keiser and Doak to visit and they were impressed. Ultimately, the group of investors bought 2,400 acres behind the “pine curtain” of East Texas with more courses, lodging and private real estate planned.
I have a friend who describes golf as the world’s largest, small fraternity and the late Harvey Penick said, “if you play golf, you are my friend.” And there is just something about sand that says fun. One erudite golf course owner in Dallas calls his course, “my sandbox of fellowship.”
Dear golfer, the ocean of sand near Mount Enterprise awaits you!
For more information go to https://www.wildspringdunes.com/
