Links At West Fork Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.4

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

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Links At West Fork Review

The Links of West Fork is just west of Conroe and along the banks of the San Jacinto River. The course was designed to take advantage of the wetlands, streams, and hills of the west fork of the San Jacinto River. Most of the holes are relatively flat, scenic, unique, and in most cases you're able to see any potential trouble. But if you can't hit the ball fairly straight, you will encounter the trees, waste and wetlands, strategically placed bunkers, and the small lake. Playing from the back tees can be intimidating as it requires a near perfect drive to carry a lot of the wetlands and hit the fairway.

When we played the fairways were in very good shape and the rough was cut short enough that if wasn't that difficult to get a pretty good shot back to the fairway or green. The majority of the greens were in very good condition and a little fast - a few greens had recently suffered some damage due to recent weather conditions. The greens had minor slope, very little undulation, and seemed fair but required careful study before putting. Some greens were very small, well protected with bunkers or trees - requiring a precise iron shot.

Overall, this is a course you will enjoy and want to play again. It's also a great value at full price, better at twilight, and even better with a coupon from their website or from GolfQ.com.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,353 70.4 130
White 5,650 66.5 118
Gold 6,908 73.4 135
Red 4,962

Course Information

Course Architect:
Rick Robbins
Greens Condition
7.0
Greens Difficulty
6.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Long
Beware of water on 4 holes and the 52 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.4 out of 10
Beauty:
8.0
Difficulty:
7.0
Variety:
8.0
Fun to Play:
9.0
Value:
10.0
Condition:
7.5
Front Nine Rating:
8.0
Back Nine Rating:
8.5
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $25.00 to $50.00

 

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.