Tour Tiger Woods' first U.S. design: Bluejack National golf course near Houston
MONTGOMERY, Texas -- Bluejack National may be ultra private, but it's still Tiger Woods' first U.S. design, and all 18 holes are now open. The front nine opened in the fall of 2015, while the back nine opened in late April 2016.
Already, the course has a maturity level well beyond most new courses. But because the entire golf course was sodded with zoysia and Tif-Eagle (on the greens) from a nearby sod farm, it didn't take very long to grow in.
Also the course, which sits on the site of the old Blaketree National, a daily-fee course that closed in 2012, has a certain familiarity to it. It's no secret that Woods loves Augusta, where he won the Masters four times, and this course certainly has that feel when it comes to conditioning, lack of rough (though Augusta has light rough now), beauty and even topography, though Bluejack isn't nearly as hilly. There are even a few holes that are very Augusta-like, including the ninth, which plays up a fairly steep grade, and the par-3 12th, which has a green over a hazard that works away from right-handers.
But even though the golf course has a bit of an Augusta feel, there are plenty of original ideas, like the Green Mile, a stretch of a couple of holes on the back nine that, when looked upon backwards, hides all the bunkers so that that you see nothing but green grass through a corridor of trees a mile long. Or the short, driveable par-4 eighth hole. Those who miss the green to the right are faced with a daunting up-and-down. Anything short will just roll back at their feet. And if they go long and put in one of the greenside bunkers above the hole to the left, it leaves a near impossible up-and-down with the risk of running off the green and down the hill to the right. The safe play is an iron off the tee, but the possibility of driving the green is ever so enticing for many players.
This family-friendly club also has a Nike Performance Center, outstanding practice facilities, a chef-inspired grill, snack stations and The Playgrounds, a lighted 10-hole short course perfect for kids and adults alike.
As the facility continues to develop, there are plans for ball fields, a movie theater, bowling lanes and a clubhouse, which will make Bluejack one of the most complete private clubs in the country.