 Squaw Valley - Apache Links Course
Texas Outside Rating: 8.1
18 Holes - Golf - Public
Glen Rose
254 897-7956
Website
Locate This Course
Date Played: May 28, 2008
Front Nine Rating: 8.0 Stars
Back Nine Rating: 8.8 Stars
Approximate Weekend Price Range: $39.00 to
$54.00
Where To Get Coupons: None
Brief Description:
Squaw Valley has 36 holes and each 18 has it's own character. Both courses fairways and greens are usually in very good condition. In January of 2008, Squaw Valley started the renovation of the greens and bunkers (new sand, deepened bunkers, new irrigation, etc.) and it showed - fluffy sand and the greens were in very good condition. Apache Link's front nine is a links style course and if you like links this 9 is as good as it gets -open terrain and wide gently rolling fairways, relatively straight holes, rough cut just right, loads of berms, and plenty of traps. On this nine there is water on one hole, a couple of fun holes, 5 sets of tee boxes, no significant trouble, and big undulating greens. Play smart and you can have a very good round. The back nine is more traditional with plenty of variety (rolling hills, some ups and downs, dog legs, berms, streams to cross, and lots of trees), some very fun, and challenging holes. A meandering creek which is sometimes hidden from view and a lake can cause problems and make this side more challenging. #14 for example is a 182 yard par three requiring you to carry the creek and natural waste area to a green with a well protected sloping green. Survive that one and you have another fun hole that is a 462 yard par 4 (#1 handicap) dogleg right with a downhill shot over the creek to a landing zone that is easy to overshoot. Go left or right and you will need to hit another ball - go short and you and you can't see the pin. The green is well protect on the right by trees and the creek and bunkers. The Dallas Morning News rated Squaw Valley courses number #6 and #7 of the Top Mid Priced Courses for 2006 and in 2005 Avid Golfer rated Squaw Valley #5 in its Most Underrated category. In 2003, Avid Golfer rated it #5 of the Best Outlying Public Golf Courses. Both 18 holes are great and well worth the trip to Glen Rose to play.
| Texas Outside Scorecard for Squaw Valley - Apache Links Course |
| Beauty: |
|
  |
| Difficulty: |
|
|
| Variety: |
|
|
| Fun Scale: |
|
|
| Value: |
|
|
| Condition: |
|
|
|
Other Good Information:
Beware of water on 5 holes
and the 37 sand traps.
Service is very good - all the staff is helpfull and friendly.
Condition of the greens is 8.0 and the green difficulty is 6.0 out of 10.
The 19th hole is weak and the clubhouse food is ok.
The pro shop is ok
Walkable: yes
GPS: No
|
|
|
The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this: links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses!
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:
- Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds
- Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10.
- Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box? That’s right, it gets a 1.
- Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes
- Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course. For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.
- Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!
- Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale. Condition is self-explanatory.
All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course. In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40. We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.
|
|
|
