PGA Frisco - Fields Ranch East Course

Prior to opening, PGA Frisco Fields Ranch East Course (yes, it’s a mouthful) was awarded a Men’s, Women’s, and Senior PGA Championship. Other modern courses have been groomed for majors by the USGA, such as Chambers Bay and Erin Hills, but neither was awarded a major before the course was even seen. PGA Frisco, which also features the Gil Hanse East Course and Beau Welling West Course, was announced in 2018 as the new home of the PGA of America. The goal was to build a world-class golf destination in partnership with Omni Hotels. Construction began in 2020, and the resort opened to the public in 2023 with its first major championship, the 2023 Senior PGA won by Steve Stricker. 

Hanse’s design assignment at Frisco was a tall task: blend the challenge needed for major championships with the playability of a resort course. For the playability crowd, there is ample space off the tee as Frisco’s East Course boasts wide fairways. Off the fairway, things tend to get dicey, so the challenge for high-level players is the hazards that penalize big misses. For players hunting scoring opportunities, the lines of charm are often protected by intimidating bunkers. In general, the shaping of the bunkers at Frisco is as aggressive as I have seen from Hanse. The pronounced noses on bunkers create deep and penalizing hazards, in particular around some of the greens. Even the best bunker players in the world will find it difficult to get up and down.

Speaking of around the greens, the surrounds at Frisco East are clever. They work in tandem with the ample fairway width to create both desirable and undesirable locations. A great introduction to this dynamic comes on the par-5 first hole. A bunker guards the inside of this slight dogleg right, so if you want a good approach angle to the green, hugging the bunkers is the best place to be. The narrow putting surface slopes left-to-right and sheds away any shots from the left. It’s difficult to even hold the green with a short shot. It also forces players who lay up to take on a bit more risk by trying to get the ball to a place where the first bounce won’t be hard and to the right. This type of shot placement thought is found throughout the round thanks to the shapes, orientation, and contours of the East Course’s greens.

Fields Ranch East will likely produce a number of low scores in its major championships as the space off the tee allows players to easily find fairways. From the fairway, if your approach play is dialed, you’ll have scoring opportunities. But if you get a little loose with either off the tee or on approach, things can get quite difficult. When it’s firm and windy, this course should separate the players who are at their best from those with their B-game (or worse) quite well.

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