Harbor Lakes Golf Club Review
Golf - Private Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Granbury
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Date Last Played: September 22, 2013
Harbor Lakes Golf Club Review
Review and Rating of Harbor Lakes Golf Club
This review of Harbor Lakes Golf Club will give you a good overview of what Texas Outside thinks about Harbor Lakes Golf Club.
Harbor Lakes Golf Club was named “Best New Course in Texas in 2003” and it’s a real pleasure to play – good conditions, demanding but fair, and a great layout with some very good holes. The front nine is a true links style course with rolling contoured fairways, lots of big nasty bunkers, large greens, swaying scotch broom lining most of the fairways, and plenty of mounding. The back nine is a little more traditional with some homes set back off the fairways, a few trees, and a layout that is a little tougher thanks to water on 8 holes and large strategically placed bunkers. The back nine requires some good course management skills and the water and bunkers around the greens puts a premium on approach shots. On both nines you'll also need to manage several sharp dog legs, some minor uphill and downhill shots, rolling and contoured fairways that range from tight to wide open, and lots of mounding along the fairways as well as surrounding the greens - all of which contributes to making it a blast to play Harbor Lakes Golf Club.
This course is demanding but very playable if you play smart and pick the right set of tee boxes and it's home to some outstanding holes like:
- #1 is a fun 391 yard par 4 with a slight uphill tee shot to a sharp 90 degree dog leg right around a huge bunker complex to a green with a bunker on the right and water three quarters of the way around it - your tee shot needs to avoid two big right side fairway bunkers and give you a shot to the green which most likely will be a blind shot
- #9 has water on the left from tee to the pin plus a tough approach shot thanks to a pinched fairway with water on both sides and 3 bunkers (left, right, and back) guarding a challenging sloping green
- #10 requires accuracy on every shot - the tee shot has to fly between trees that create a fairly narrow slot and avoid a big bunker where the fairways takes a sharp left turn and then you need an accurate approach along a very tight fairway with trees protecting the right side and lots of mounding on the left
- #14 (554 yard par 5 and the #1 handicap hole) and #18 are both tough as they horseshoe around the lake past some big fairway bunkers to well guarded greens
When we played in September 2013 Texas was still suffering though a severe drought which had impacted all the Texas course conditions and we were very surprised with the great conditions at Harbor Lakes Golf Course - the fairways were in excellent shape (the back nine has a few fairways with some bare spots but look at the big beautiful homes and overlook the bare spots) and the roughs were thick and challenging. The fairways range from wide and let-er-rip to tight and narrow and you need to try to stay out of the rough. Overshoot the rough and you're wet or lost in the natural areas. You'll also encounter lots of mounding, some minor ups and downs, and some rolling contoured fairways that can create some uneven lies.
The Harbor Lakes Golf Club greens are larger than average and most are well guarded and they were in near perfect condition when we played. A few of the greens are raised, all have a 5' puttable fringe, and most have some slope and undulation but nothing too severe. They ran true, smooth, and at a good speed and held the ball well - getting on the green was the problem, not putting.
The bunkers are strategically placed in the fairway and around the greens. Most are huge with some steep and tough faces. The night before we played, Harbor Lakes Golf Club had gotten a rare 4 inches of rain which had washed out all of the bunkers and most still had water in them. It looked like normally the bunkers would be near perfect with soft fluffy sand.
Bottom line - a fun and demanding links style course with good holes and great conditions.
Course Slope & Ratings
| Tee Box | Yardage | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 6,927 | 73.5 | 130 |
| Gold | 6,448 | 71.4 | 128 |
| Blue | 5,790 | 68.3 | 116 |
| White | 5,148 | 69.8 | 110 |
Course Information
- Course Architect:
- Dick Phelps
- Greens Condition
- 9.5
- Greens Difficulty
- 8.3
- Fairway Condition
- 8.8
- Bunker Condition
- 8.8
- GPS:
- No
- Walkable:
- Yes
- Scorecard
- Course Map
- Beware of water on 13 holes and the 64 sand traps.
Texas Outside Rating
- Overall Rating:
- 9.1 out of 10
- Beauty:
- 8.8
- Difficulty:
- 8.8
- Variety:
- 8.5
- Fun to Play:
- 10.0
- Value:
- 8.7
- Condition:
- 9.3
- Front Nine Rating:
- 9.0
- Back Nine Rating:
- 9.2
Service is very good - friendly and courteous. The practice facilities are good and the pro shop has all of the basics and more. The 10,000 square foot Clubhouse is upscale with a great bar and restaurant.
Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard RatingThe 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!
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.
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