Lantana Golf Club Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.3

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Lantana
Website · Locate This Course

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Lantana Golf Club Review

Lantana Golf Club opened in 2002 and has quickly built a reputation as a top notch golf course. For example, in 2007 the Dallas Morning News rated it in the Top Ten Dallas Area Golf Courses and Avid Golfer rated it in their Top 5 Luxury Courses. Lantana is very proud that it is one of twelve courses in the United States to host the PGA Tour Stage 3 Qualifying School and better yet, they were selected as one of six courses in the US to host Stage 2 - when the pros use a course to qualify for the tour, that is an excellent testimony to a great course!

The Lantana course was designed to take advantage of the spectacular terrain and heavily wooded areas of this 1,718-acre master-planned community. "Playing Lantana is actually like playing two different courses," Jay Morrish (the course designer) explains. "There are wide open spaces--almost like meadows--and there are heavily wooded holes with changes in elevation. And the high flashed faces of the bunkers not only add to the beauty of the course, but they improve the playing experience."

We last played in February when everything was dormant, but Lantana was in excellent condition and would be lush and green during the season. On most holes the fairways are wide and forgiving unless you really spray the ball and then you've got a problem, particularly during the summer when the rough is cut thick. The fairways meander throughout the Lantana Community and are lined with either nice homes or with trees. The terrain is mostly flat to gently rolling with a couple fun holes (specifically #6 & #7) that are up and down the rolling hills. There are a number of doglegs but in most cases you can see what you need to avoid in order to score well.

The greens are average size and were in near perfect condition, very fast (12.5 on the stint meter), and difficult to read. Plus each of the greens has a fair amount of slope and some undulation - you need to practice your putting before heading out. And while you're practicing, you better spend some time with your trap shots.

The fairways have over 90 bunkers and the greens are very well protected with some huge white soft sand just waiting for your shot. In early 2008, Lantana was redoing all 90 bunkers at a cost of $700,000. They have made sure that the bunkers are strategically placed and wave/flash faced (aka, high lipped or steep faced)which can present a major challenge if you land near the face. The new sand is soft and fluffy and pure white - if you're anything like me, you'll get a lot of practice with your sand wedge and you'll carry a lot of sand home in your shoes and hair!

You need to play Lantana now because Lantana is only 40 members away from going private. Call them about a membership before you loose your chance. Members can rent a Segway - what a fun and unique way to play a round of golf! To learn more about the Lantana Golf community, click here.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,552 71.3 129
White 5,933 67.5 117
Gold 7,147 74.6 130
Red 5,049 70.3 123

Course Information

Course Architect:
Jay & Carter Morrish
Greens Type:
Bermuda
Greens Condition
10.0
Greens Difficulty
9.0
GPS:
Yes
Walkable:
Very
Beware of water on 7 holes and the 90 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.3 out of 10
Beauty:
8.0
Difficulty:
8.0
Variety:
8.0
Fun to Play:
8.5
Value:
7.5
Condition:
10.0
Front Nine Rating:
8.5
Back Nine Rating:
8.5
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Lantana goes overboard on service with greeters, marshalls, good cart service, and more.

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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.