One of the biggest perks of playing golf at Oklahoma State is having Karsten Creek as your home course.
The Cowboys won the NCAA Division in 2018 when it was held in Stillwater as Viktor Hovland, Zach Bauchou, Matthew Wolff, Kristoffer Ventura and Austin Eckroat all won their finals matches to defeat Alabama.
With the win, Okie State became the first team in the NCAA Championship’s match-play era both to win the national title as the No. 1 and win on its home course.
On this week’s GOLF Subpar, co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz asked 2018 team member Austin Eckroat what playing the No. 48 course on GOLF’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play list does for his confidence. Karsten Creek is known as one of the most difficult courses in the ranking.
What it’s like playing Karsten Creek, a Top 100 Course You Can Play
“It either makes you a fantastic driver that golf course us because you know, the fairways aren’t super narrow, but you know you hit a ball offline, it’s gone,” Eckroat said. “And I’m basically playing down OB on both sides. So we always said that either makes you a fantastic driver or it gives you the driver yips.”
But having an extreme course advantage wasn’t the only benefit. Given the course’s remote location in Stillwater and high greens fee, it’s usually pretty wide open.
Not to mention, the dress code is very relaxed. Eckroat, along with his other teammates, frequently hit the links in simple T-shirts and gym shorts.
“[There was] some sort of a dress code,” Eckroat said. “You couldn’t take your shirt off for practice. But for the most part, it was really laid back.
“The freedom we had out there was great, you know, they didn’t get much play … we could just go and play 18 holes in an hour.”
For more from Eckroat, including his relationship with fellow pros and Oklahoma State alumni Matt Wolff and Viktor Hovland, check out the full interview below.