Lakecliff Golf Club Review

Lakecliff Golf Club Review

Lakeside Golf Club in Spicewood Review & Rating

Designed by Arnold Palmer, Lakecliff Golf Club opened as a private golf course in 2001.  The course changed hands in 2016 and the new owners have done a remarkable job in improving the course conditions and giving the course the TLC and on-going maintenance that it needed.   When we played in late September 2016 we were impressed with the conditions which were very good from the tee box to the cup.  

Arnold Palmer did an excellent job in designing a layout that leveraged the natural terrain and created a scenic and fun course to play.  In fact, from my perspective, Lakeside Golf Club in Spicewood has a little bit of everything that makes me continue to play this expensive and frustrating game.  Lakecliff Golf Club is:

• scenic with rolling hills, lots of trees, views of the Colorado River and surrounding country side with some beautiful homes plus rock-lined cascading creeks and wooden and stone bridges and a dozen manmade lakes
• the conditions are very good  and the rates are reasonable for such a quality course
• the service is excellent
• you’re out in the country and it’s quiet and peaceful
• thanks to 5 sets of tee boxes Lakecliff offers an opportunity to make your round very demanding or fun and relaxing
• the Bent grass greens are excellent - soft and smooth and fast with the right amount of slope and contour
• the layout has good variety and some very fun golf holes and a good mix of holes that are fairly easy and straightforward and others that require a good shot off the tee, good course management skills, and/or a precise approach shot

Both nines are a pleasure to play and front nine is a par 35 with 3 par 3s, 2 par 5s, and 4 par 4s.  Some of the holes that we really liked included:

• #2 is the #1 handicap hole and it’s a blast – a 439-yard par 4 that doglegs left around two big bunkers waiting for your drive and a pond which continues to the front of a green that is also guarded by a left and right bunker
• Two great par 3s (222 and 182 yards) that are scenic (view of the Colorado River) and require a precise shot to carry a lake on one and a deep ravine on the other and miss 3 bunkers guarding each of the greens
• #13 is a fun par 5 with an intimidating carry over a deep ravine to a fairway that heads left and then crosses a rock-lined creek at 150 out – a good risk-reward shot off the tee box to try and carry more of the ravine to shorten the second shot
• #17 is a very fun and unique 333 par 4 – the fairway snakes left in back of three bunkers then right around a pond to a green set off on the right side with water on the front and right and 3 bunkers guarding it

The bent grass greens at Lakecliff Golf Club are excellent – soft and smooth and velvet-like, fast (around 10 or so), hold the ball well, and run true.  Relatively speaking, they are flat to gently sloping with minor to no undulation.  They are a wide variety of shapes and range in size from average to a tad small.  All are guarded by some combination of bunkers, water, and mounds.

The fairways were also in very good condition with a few weeds popping up which is expected after the course sat unattended for a long period of time.  The fairways are ample off the tee box and then range from wide open to a little tight.  The fairways have a fair mix of strategically placed bunkers, mounding, and undulation that can cause uneven lies, some minor ups and downs, a good mix of dogs left and right, and some hazards (trees, creeks, ponds, ravines) that force you to deploy some good course management skills.  The rough was wide and ranged from very playable to a tad thick.  Miss the rough and you’re under the trees or in the native and thicker grass.

The bunkers at Lakecliff Golf Club range from small steep and deep pot bunkers to some huge multi-fingered monsters.  Most of the faces are manageable but you’re not going to roll out.  The sand was thin and gritty and heavy which may have been due to recent rains.   Work on the bunkers was started in 2016 and they are currently working to regrade and edge all of the bunkers on the course in the fall and winter of 2016.