- Ralph Harris, Mill Creek director of golf

SALADO - The “he” is world-renowned golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. The “track” is Mill Creek Golf Club. And “here” is off the beaten path, tucked away behind winding roads in this town of about 2,500 residents.

“This is a target course,” said Harris, Mill Creek’s director of golf since August of 2007. “It’s not that long, but it’s still a challenge to current players with modern equipment because of the brilliance of the designer.”

Upon arrival, it can be difficult to comprehend how a 27-hole layout could be hidden so well. But then again, the isolation is part of the club’s charm.

What opened in 1968 as a nine-hole course designed by the original ownership was rebuilt by Jones Jr. into a tour across the rolling Central Texas terrain. Salado Creek makes its appearance repeatedly during the course of play, but golfers spend their rounds in solitude and rarely come in sight of other groups because of tall trees and elevation changes.

“The design of the course, I think, is the best in the area,” said former Mary Hardin-Baylor men’s golf coach Randy Mann, who has hosted collegiate and charity tournaments at Mill Creek. “I like the layout and the character. It makes it difficult if you’re not hitting the ball in the right spot.”

The club gained its character and identity after being purchased in the 1970s by a group headed by Don Mackie, who lured Jones Jr. to do the redesign.

The nine-hole Mill and Creek courses were unveiled in 1981 and the nine-hole Springs Course, with different characteristics from the first two, opened in 2001.

“The Springs is actually the combination of two nines,” Harris said. “There’s actually another nine on the drawing that (Jones Jr.) made.

“Certain holes from that whole 18 were chosen to make the Springs, and those decisions were based more on real estate and house sales.”

Holes on Mill and Creek flow from one to the next, up and down gentle hills, across the creek and between the trees.

Springs begins and ends in the trees, but the holes in between are reminiscent of a links course - wide open, sometimes windy and more vastly undulated.

“That course does have a different feel from the others,” Harris said. “Because it was broken from another 18 and because of the terrain, we don’t hold any of our college or junior tournaments because it would be very difficult to walk.”

Regardless of the differing styles, all three courses are well-kept and still improving, thanks in part to the arrival of Harris in 2007.

“It’s the best I’ve ever seen it,” Mann said. “The condition has vastly improved.”

Harris, formerly a successful high school and college football coach who also is a certified PGA professional, compared taking over at Mill Creek to being handed the reins of a football team trying to break out of a slump.

“Like in every profession, it was mostly a matter of paying attention to the small things,” Harris said. “We’ve turned it, and it’s going good now.

“It was a typical deal. You come in and hold everyone’s feet to the fire at every level, and you’re going to have some turnover. You’re going to get rid of the people who were hiding.”

Two employees Harris made sure to keep were head pro Matt Sommerfield and superintendent Gary Guilloz.

“Matt is a really personable guy who players can relate to, and I could see right away that Gary had talent,” Harris said. “What Gary lacked was equipment, so we fixed that.

“Then I also took the heat off the superintendent and put it on me. I said, ‘Hey, if we fail, it’s not your fault. But let’s get aggressive and let’s turn this thing.’”

Harris said the courses were not being aerated, verticut or top-dressed prior to his arrival - all necessities for healthy grass. The former coach also oversaw the reworking of all 72 bunkers last year.

“The old members tell us that they’ve never seen it in this good of shape,” he said.

The club sees an average of approximately 20,000 rounds per year and hosts about 25 corporate tournaments, two numbers Harris would like to see rise.

“We’ve sought to promote the stay and play aspect, where people can come and stay for a few days,” he said. “The wives can shop if they want, and the men can play some great golf for a few days.”

edrennan@temple-telegram.com