Oak Tree National moves up in Golfweek ratings

Golfweek’s course ratings issue is out this week and there wasn’t much news as far as Oklahoma courses go.

Oak Tree National, buoyed by having the 2014 U.S. Senior Open, moved from 41 to 39 on the Top 100 Modern Course (after 1960) list. The Patriot Golf Club in Owasso dropped from 51 to 59 while Karsten Creek in Stillwater fell out of the top 100, moving from 99 to 109.

In the Top 100 Classic Course list, Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa slipped from 26 to 30. Two other courses designed by Perry Maxwell maintained strong positions, as Crystal Downs in Michigan is No. 10 and Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson, Kan., is 11.

Around the area, the Alotian Club in Little Rock heads up the second 100 Modern Course rating at 101, with The Blessings near Fayetteville at 137 and Flint Hills in Wichita at 173. Karsten Creek, Alotian Club and Flint Hills were all designed by Tom Fazio, while The Blessings is a Robert Trent Jones II design, as is The Patriot.

Golfweek also lists the best courses you can play in each state. The five courses listed for Oklahoma were Karsten Creek, Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course in Norman, Chickasaw Pointe in Kingston, Winstar Golf Club in Thackerville and Cherokee Hills at the Hard Rock Casino in Tulsa. Somehow Golfweek again left out Forest Ridge Golf Club in Broken Arrow, a grievous oversight in Golf Oklahoma’s view particularly as this is not a top five list, some states have more than 20 courses listed.