Bentwater - Weiskopf Course Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.0

Golf - Private Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Montgomery
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Bentwater - Weiskopf Course Review

Review of Bentwater's Weiskopf Golf Course

Bentwater is a master planned, gated community with three excellent courses and outstanding amenities including a yacht club and marina, club house, tennis courts, spa, beautiful houses on the lake, and 3 very good 18 hole golf courses. 

Each of the golf courses is a little different from the other, for example:

  • Weiskopf is open and forgiving with broad rolling fairways and it is the easiest of the three 18s
  • Miller was designed around a natural creek and a 3-acre lake and it plays through towering pines and pine straw roughs similar to those at Augusta National - read our review of Miller Golf Course to learn why we rated this 18 a 9 out of 10 stars
  • Grand Pines is the most exclusive of the three 18s and it's a beautiful course that plays through Sam Houston National Forest - here is a link to the review of Grand Pines which made our list of the Best Private Courses in Texas

The Weiskopf 18 is a Weiskopf and Morrish design and regarded as the easiest of the three 18s at Bentwater, but with a slope of 121 to 137 it's no walk in the park.  If you pick the right set of tee boxes (there are 5 to choose from) and play smart, you'll have a very fun round and walk into the clubhouse with a good score!

The front nine is your opportunity for some pars or better - it's straightforward and traditional, you can typically see what you're up against from the tee box, and the fairways are open and forgiving.  But there are 35 bunkers to avoid, you'll need to stay out of the trees and back yards, and avoid the water on the 213 yard par 3 #8. 

The back nine is a lot more fun with some outstanding holes and it's got 4 holes that play along Lake Conroe and some huge beautiful homes.  Some of the holes that we really liked included:

  • #11 is a fun 542 yard par 5 with a slight uphill climb and then a dog right past a minefield of 11 bunkers
  • #12 is a split fairway - the right side is tight and longer with a dog leg left and slight downhill shot to the green with Lake Conroe on the left and back side of the green; taking the left side is shorter but requires a good tee shot to avoid the trees that pinch the fairway on your drive and then you'll need a precise shot across Lake Conroe to stuff it on the green guarded by three bunkers and Lake Conroe
  • #14 is a 202 yard par three with Lake Conroe along the entire right side
  • #16 is a good 417 yard par 4 with a huge bunker waiting for your drive followed by a dog leg right and an approach shot over a narrow channel of Lake Conroe about 220 yards from the green and one more about 100 yards out

The fairways are fairly flat, wide and forgiving, and lined by trees and some beautiful huge million dollar homes.  When we played the fairways were dry and firm which meant lots of extra roll.  They were spotty with some damaged areas and brown dry spots, but very playable - typical for a dry summer in Texas.  The rough was cut about an inch and a half thick and in pretty good shape and not that hard to get out of.  Miss the rough and you're under the trees and pine needles, in the lake, or lost in a back yard.

The Weiskopf greens are large, a variety of shapes, and most are guarded with one to three bunkers.  Most of the greens were recovering from some winter damage, which in some cases required us to move our ball to get a smooth shot at the cup.  The greens ran true, had some minor slope, a few tiers, and held the ball well.  When we played they were running a tad slow around 8 - normally they run around 10 to 11.   With the damage we would rate them a 6 but for this review gave them an 8 which would be what we heard was normally the condition and what they have been like when we played in the past.

The bunkers at Weiskopf were great - soft fluffy sand and in great shape.  They ranged in size from small pot bunkers to some big monsters.  The lips also ranged from small (you might get lucky and roll out) to steep and deep.  

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 6,992 73.3 71
Blue 6,138 69.8 131
White 5,759 68.1 128
Gold 6,469 70.9 137
Red 5,383 66.1 121

Course Information

Course Architect:
Weiskopf-Morrish
Greens Type:
TIF Eagle
Greens Condition
8.0
Greens Difficulty
5.0
Fairway Condition
7.5
Bunker Condition
8.8
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Yes
Scorecard
Beware of water on 6 holes and the 70 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.0 out of 10
Beauty:
8.5
Difficulty:
8.3
Variety:
7.0
Fun to Play:
8.0
Value:
8.0
Condition:
8.0
Front Nine Rating:
7.5
Back Nine Rating:
8.5
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FEES & AMENITIES

Initiation Fees: $40,001 to $55,000
Monthly Dues: $201 to $400

Service is very good and friendly, the proshop is well stocked, the practice facilities are good, and the Clubhouse (locker rooms, kitchen, and bar/restaurant) were being remodeled. Some of the cart paths were are also being redone.

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Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

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.