Squaw Valley Golf Course -- Comanche Lakes Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.2

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Glen Rose
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Squaw Valley Golf Course -- Comanche Lakes Review

Review & Rating of Squaw Valley's Comanche Lakes Course in Glen Rose

Squaw Valley has 36 holes and each 18 has its own character and personality. Apache Link's front nine is a true links-style course with open fairways and lots of berms while back nine is more traditional - read our review of Apache Links to learn more. Comanche Lakes is the newest side and a fun course to play with some very nice holes and a fair amount of variety. Squaw Valley is consistently rated as one of the top courses in the state, including a 4 1/2 star rating from Golf Digest Magazine and the Dallas Morning News has ranked the courses as the #1 and #4 municipal courses in Texas.

The front nine is great, in pretty good condition and has some challenging holes with lots of water hazards. A couple of holes we loved on this nine include:

#2 which is a 520-yard par 5 that horseshoes right around a large lake plus mounds on the left, 5 fairway bunkers, and 2 more bunkers guarding the green
#5 is fun - a split fairway gives you the option to hit left (tighter with a couple bunkers but shorter) or take the longer and safer route on the right

The back nine is also fun but not quite as pretty nor does it have as much variety. as the front nine. A couple of split fairways give you some choices based on your hitting ability. #12 is a split fairway similar to #5 on the front; #14 is a fun 535 year par 5 that dog legs right around a cluster of trees and a natural area leading to huge green surrounded by 3 bunkers; and #18 is an excellent finishing hole with a risk-reward shot off the tee box and big raised green with a bunker guarding the left and right side.

The greens on Comanche Lakes are a variety of sizes and shapes - about average size with plenty of undulation, some are a roller around the perimeter! When we played in April they were still transitioning and they were running a little slow.

Comanche Lakes fairways are wide and ample off the tee with a wide first cut but if you really spray the ball you're lost in thick dense tall native grass followed by trees and brush. Not homes or barking dogs or back yards to worry about.

The bunkers are about average size and unfortunately (fortunately in my case because I found several of them) were wet and playable. The sand looked good - thick and not gritty. They could use some TLC but that may have been due to the rain preventing any maintenance.

Bottom - a fun, fair, and reasonably priced 18 holes with 5 tees giving you an opportunity to turn in a good scorel

Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box	Yardage	Rating	Slope
Black	7,000	73.6	128
Blue	6,143	69.8	118
White	5,597	67.2	111
Gold	6,633	72.0	124
Red	5,116	69.5	114

Course Information

Greens Condition: 8.0
Greens Difficulty: 7.5
Fairway Condition: 8.0
Bunker Condition: 8.0
GPS:: No
Walkable:: Yes
Scorecard
Beware of water on 9 holes and the 65 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:: 8.2 out of 10
Beauty:: 7.5
Difficulty:: 7.5
Variety:: 8.0
Fun to Play:: 8.8
Value:: 9.0
Condition:: 8.3
Front Nine Rating:: 8.3
Back Nine Rating:: 8.0

FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $25.00 to $59.00

Service is excellent and very country friendly. The pro shop has all the basics and the range and putting greens are good. A new bar and grill and tournament area will be open soon.

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.