The Territory Golf Club Named to 'Top 50 Best New Golf Courses' List
Golfweek Magazine Cites Elite Randy Heckenkemper Design; Joins High-Profile Properties Such as Bandon Trails and Trump National in the Top 10
*Courtesy of Golfweek Magazine*
(Southwest Oklahoma) – The Territory, a golf and residential development near the quaint, progressive town of Duncan, today announces that it garnered the No. 10 spot in Golfweek’s 2006 ranking of the Top 50 Best New Courses in the United States.
Golfweek’s survey examined overall strength of routing, feature shaping, natural setting, greens, variety and memorability of holes, conditioning and maintenance, landscape management and other criteria. Golfweek, which has a readership of more than 500,000, perennially sends roughly 300 “America’s Best” raters in search of the country’s finest golf courses.
“The Territory is honored to receive this elite distinction and it is extremely gratifying as our goal from Day One has been to be a top-of-the-bell-curve golf club and residential community,” says owner Rick Braught. “When Barbara and I set out to build The Territory our mandates were to build something that would stand the test of time and to be head and shoulders better than anything in the region and one of the finest clubs anywhere.”
Top-ranked Bandon Trails (Bandon, Ore.), designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and Tom Fazio’s Trump National Golf Club (Bedminster, N.J.) are indicative of the quality of the top 10 golf clubs The Territory joins in Golfweek’s Top 50 Best New Courses in the United States list.
Set amid the rolling hills, native grasses and wildflowers which define The Territory’s terrain and other natural features, the Randy Heckenkemper-designed golf course features five sets of tees (ranging from 4,845 to 7,110 yards), a state-of-the-art training facility and a three-hole short course. The greens are an A1-A4 creeping bentgrass blend, the tees, fairways and roughs are Tifsport Bermudagrass and native vegetation frames the playing corridors.
“We were blessed with a terrific piece of land on which to work,” says Heckenkemper. “A number of the holes jumped out before we even began moving dirt. The rest fell into place better than anyone could have expected.”
A burgeoning residential community with the acclaimed golf course as its calling card, The Territory has already hosted the state amateur, state senior amateur and an NCAA Division II Super Regional, this despite being virtually brand new. Braught and his wife Barbara envisioned a place of beauty, quality and substance where their children and generations to come would want to live when they set out to develop this land – the golf course has now set a promising base for the future.
Located on the historic Chisholm Trail, The Territory is within a short drive of lakes for boating and fishing and mere minutes from a pair of schools, shopping, dining and churches. In addition, Duncan Regional Hospital was named to the Solucient Top 100 Hospitals list – a study of more than 3,000 hospitals that identifies industry benchmarks by recognizing U.S. hospitals that have achieved excellence in quality of care, operational efficiency, financial performance and adaptation to the environment.
For more information on The Territory, call 580.475.0075 or visit www.territorygolf.com.
About The Territory
The Territory is a golf and country club community located in Southwest Oklahoma. The course, which opened in 2004 and garnered a Top 10 ranking on Golfweek’s Top 50 Best New Courses list, has hosted the Oklahoma State Amateur, Oklahoma State Senior Amateur and an NCAA Division II Super Regional.
With five sets of tees – ranging from 4,845 to 7,110 yards – the modified target-golf course offers playability and enjoyment to players of all ages and skill levels. The greens are an A1-A4 creeping bentgrass blend, the tees, fairways and roughs are Tifsport Bermudagrass and native vegetation frames the playing corridors.
Prospector’s Ridge, the first planned phase at The Territory, is in the early stages of development. One home is completed and now occupied and more custom homes are under construction. In addition, on 16 of the 47 lots, Tuscany style homes are being developed by Majestic Builders of Lawton, Okla. Prices of lots available range from $68,000 to $135,000. Were a similar, high-quality property like The Territory located in the nearby Dallas-Fort Worth area it would likely cost three times as much.
