Legends Country Club Review

Texas Outside Rating: 7.5

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Stephenville
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Legends Country Club Review

Review of the Legends Country Club in Stephenville

The Legends Country Club in Stephenville opened for play in 1979 and over the years has hosted several University Interscholastic League events. The course changed ownership in 2014 and they hired a new superintendent in late 2016.  When we played the course in 2006, the conditions were not the best and we gave the course a very low rating.  During our round in 2019 we were amazed at the transition from 2006 to 2019 - the conditions were much better and we found the course much more fun to play. 

Part of what makes playing the Legends Country Club interesting and worth playing is that there are some challenging holes that require accuracy off the tee box, the greens are small which puts a premium on your approach shots, and each of the nines is very different.

The front nine is the best of the two nines and it meanders through a medium-priced community with most holes lined by homes and trees on each side.  On this nine you'll find 7 doglegs, a fun par three over water, small raised greens, and some tight fairways. 

The back nine plays through what was most likely some farmland - it's flat and very open with a few trees on several holes that can block your shot, six doglegs, and water on three holes.  The fairways are tight to ample but miss them and you're most likely lost in some tall thick native grass.  The greens on this nine are also small, most are raised, and they are much harder than the front nine thanks to tiers and a lot more contour and slope.

Some of the holes that we really liked included:

  • #3 is a fun 450-yard par 5 with 2 trees in the middle of the fairway at 200 yards out, then left around more trees, and up to a small green
  • #7 is a 181-yard par 3 that requires an accurate shot off the tee to avoid the trees that pinch the fairway and then you need to carry the lake to hit the green
  • #13 is a 480-yard par 5 with a couple of trees in the middle of the fairway that you need to miss and then a sharp dog left to the green
  • #15 is a 175-yard par 3 with a pond along the left side waiting for your drive

The greens a Legends Country Club are small, mostly oval, and raised - a couple are like the back of a small turtle.  When we played they were in good condition and they normally run around an 8.  The front nine greens have some minor slope and the back has more slope and undulation.  

The fairways range from tight to below-average width and the rough was wide and playable - but miss the rough and you're in a back yard on the front or in dense tall native grass on the back.  The fairways and rough were in fair condition considering that the summer had record heat and no rain - as such, they were dry, mostly brown, and firm.

There is only one bunker and it's overrun with some weeds and dirt. 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,378 70.5 119
White 5,926 68.3 115
Red 4,557 66.4 106

Course Information

Greens Type:
Bermuda
Greens Condition
8.0
Greens Difficulty
7.5
Fairway Condition
7.0
Bunker Condition
5.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Yes
Beware of water on 6 holes and the 1 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
7.5 out of 10
Beauty:
7.2
Difficulty:
7.5
Variety:
7.8
Fun to Play:
8.0
Value:
80.0
Condition:
7.0
Front Nine Rating:
7.8
Back Nine Rating:
7.5
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $30.00 to $35.00

Service if country friendly but there is no cart service. The facilities are a bit dated but clean and functional. The driving range and putting green are adequate and pro shop has a limited supply of the basics. The bar and grill are good with a variety of breakfast and lunch choices.

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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.