Black Jack's Crossing Golf Club...at Lajitas

Getting To Know: Black Jack's Crossing Golf Club...at Lajitas

An Insightful Interview With Terry Clark, Marketing and Membership Sales

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Terry Clark who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Words can't come close to describing Black Jack's Crossing and pictures don't do it justice - you just need to experience it. And it is well worth doing whatever it takes to find your way to Lajitas to play this unique course. Black Jack's Crossing is a Lanny Wadkin's design and was named after General Black Jack Pershing who chased Pancho Villa through the west and across the Rio Grande. The original 18 holes opened in 2006 to rave reviews but the course was devastated by a 100 year flood that ruined most of the holes. Lanny Wadkins and his crew spend over a year building a new masterpiece and he states: "Some of these tee shots, you just go, "Wow!" and on hole four, it's "Holy smokes."' Then five is better than four and six is better than five, and it just keeps going."

In addition to the elevation changes and majestic views, what makes playing Black Jack's Crossing fun is no two holes are same and every hole will throw something at you to test your game. You'll need to manage huge elevation changes, forced carries, strategically placed bunkers, narrow fairways, water, deep arroyos, rolling fairways and uneven lies, tough approach shots, dog legs and blind shots.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
You may want to leave the big dog in the bag unless you are deadly accurate and also consider moving up a set of tee boxes - this course is a killer from the tips!

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Rated #1 Best New Course in the State of Texas by Texas Outside.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
#8 has a dramatically elevated tee box with a stunning view of the Rio Grande, desert, mountains, and deep into Mexico and will temp you to try a blind shot over a large hill to cut the dog leg right

The 406 yard #14 also gets a Wow for the view and tough carry to a challenging green

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
#8 - Don't let the elevation scare you - hit it down the middle.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Lajitas' Signature Bread Pudding ala mode!

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Lanny Wadkins - 72 from the Tips

More Information
Black Jack's Crossing Golf Club...at Lajitas
Lajitas, TX, 79852
(432) 424-5080
www.blackjackscrossing.com

Revised: 09/25/2012 - Article Viewed 33,995 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.