Legacy Ridge Country Club Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.3

Golf - Semi Private Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Bonham
Website · Locate This Course

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Legacy Ridge Country Club Review

What a hidden gem we just found - Legacy Ridge Country Club is just north of Bonham and is an outstanding golf course at an excellent price. Avid Golfer rated Legacy Ridge "#3 in "Best Outlying Courses" and "Best New Course for 2004" and the Dallas Morning News rated it in the "Top Ten New Courses."

Unfortunately when we visited Legacy Ridge in March 2008, the front nine which is carved through 35 acres of wetland canals filled with wildlife was under water due to recent heavy rain and 8 inches of SNOW! However, from looking at the yardage guide, chatting with some fellow golfers, and from what we could see of this nine, it appears to be a fun and challenging links style course with water on all nine holes, some dogs, narrow approaches, lots of risk reward shots, and some mounds, bunkers, and natural grass areas to contend with. We can't wait to play this nine.

The back nine winds through a century old natural Pecan orchard and it's a very good and enjoyable 9 holes. The back nine is more traditional - the fairways (Bermuda) are forgiving and seem to be wide enough unless you really spray the ball. Some of the approach shots are difficult because of bunkers, water, table top greens, and smaller than normal oblong greens. Rock waterfalls, hardwood trees, and bent grass greens add beauty and character to this nine.

We played just after a lot of rain and snow and when Legacy Ridge was undergoing some major renovations to the bunkers and fairways to make improvements to the aesthetics and playability of the course. Regardless of all that, we found that the condition of the fairways and greens were still well above average and in the summer the course would be lush, green, and very scenic. The greens were mostly flat to gently sloping with no undulation. They were in fantastic condition and seemed easy to read and very true. The pictures were taken in March, after rain and snow, and when everything is dormant. As such they don't showcase the course - it would be beautiful and lush in the summer.

Legacy Ridge has an excellent club house with a nice bar area, a good pro shop, and two great outdoor patio areas with views of the course and surrounding countryside. They serve a variety of lunch items and excellent dinner on the weekends and occasionally you'll find live music on the patio on the weekends. Better yet, Legacy Ridge is seldom crowed and the pace of play is fantastic. Bottom line, we can't wait to come back and try the front nine and play the back nine again. It's worth the trip to go out of your way to play this course.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 6,750 72.8 131
Blue 6,065 69.8 125
White 5,473 66.9 118
Gold 6,379 71.3 125
Red 5,102 70.9 122

Course Information

Course Architect:
Bill Johnson
Greens Type:
Bent Grass
Greens Condition
8.5
Greens Difficulty
6.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Very
Beware of water on 14 holes and the 46 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.3 out of 10
Beauty:
8.0
Difficulty:
7.5
Variety:
8.0
Fun to Play:
9.0
Value:
9.5
Condition:
8.0
Front Nine Rating:
Back Nine Rating:
8.0
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $27.00 to $49.00

All of the staff were very friendly, had a smile on their face, and seemed to want to make your round/lunch enjoyable.

 

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.