Built in 1899, this opening par 4 plays 324 from the blues — the #1 handicap hole on the card. No warm-up swings, no range session. Just step up to the oldest first tee in Texas and earn your way to the green.
4
Par
324
Yards
1
HCP
1
Lenny's tee box photo — coming soon
Hancock Golf Course · Hole 1 · Tee Box View
Three ways to play it
Safe
Find the fairway, find the green.
5-iron or hybrid off the tee to the center of the fairway. That leaves you 120–140 in with a wedge. It's the #1 handicap hole at Hancock for a reason — the trees pinch the landing area and the green is small. Take the two-shot approach, put the wedge close, and walk off with a par to open the round. Nothing wrong with a 4 here.
Tee: 5-Iron / Hybrid · Approach: PW
Fun
3-wood and a flip wedge.
Rip a 3-wood through the gap and get it out there around 230. That leaves a half-wedge into a small green — the kind of shot that feels great when you stick it. The mature oaks lining both sides demand a good line off the tee, but at 324 this hole rewards a confident swing. Two good shots and you're looking at birdie.
Tee: 3-Wood · Approach: SW
Aggressive
Drive the oldest green in Texas.
324 yards. It's drivable if you carry it through the trees and catch the right line. The miss is real — oaks left and right will eat a wayward drive — but if you stripe one down the slot, you're putting for eagle on the first hole of the oldest course in Texas. That's a story worth the risk.