The Golf Club At Margaritaville Lake Resort Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.4

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 71
Montgomery
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The Golf Club At Margaritaville Lake Resort Review

Review and Rating of The Golf Club at Margaritaville Lake Resort in Conroe, Montgomery, Texas

In 2020, what was La Torreta Resort and Golf Course opened as Margaritaville Lake Resort and The Golf Club at Margaritaville Lake Resort.  Read our review (coming soon) of Margaritaville Lake Resort to learn more about this outstanding resort loaded with amenities, outstanding lake view suites, and lakeside cottages on the edge of Lake Conroe.   The Resort has some very attractive golf stay and play packages, one of which (the Chip & Chill, Golf & Spa Package) includes a lake view suite, spa credit, a round of golf, and use of all the resort amenities.

The Golf Club at Margaritaville Lake Resort meanders through towering pines with tight to wide open tree-lined fairways, over 50 strategically placed sand bunkers, cascading waterfalls, and several ponds and some residential homes. The fairways are lined on both sides with tall pines and most of the fairways are fairly tight requiring accuracy off the tee box unless you enjoy playing in the shade of the pine trees (not a bad idea on a hot summer Texas day) and under the pine straw beds in the rough. If you do find the trees, the good news is that in most cases you'll find your ball and be able to run it back out to the fairway. If you really spray the ball, you may be in a back yard on any of several holes.  In addition to being a little narrow, the fairways are gently rolling with some minor contour and slope, have strategically placed fairway bunkers, and enough water to gain your attention.

The front nine is fun and a little tougher than the back thanks to some huge bunkers, doglegs left and right, water that comes into play on 6 holes, well-guarded raised greens, fairway mounds, and grass hollows. For example:

  • #3 is a 406 yeard par 4 that requires accuracy off the tee box to make the dogleg left and to avoid the fairway bunker and hardwood trees and position you for a very tough and tight approach to the green with water on the left, trees along the backside, and a long sandy beach bunker leading to the green
  • #5 is a fun 448 par 4 with 2 bunkers in the middle of the fairway at 70 yards in front of the green and 2 bunkers on the left side of the green plus a hidden pond off the backside - all of which put a premium on your approach shot
  • the 489-yard par 5 #9 is another great hole with a sharp dogleg right (accomplished players may be able to fade around the dog or even risk flying the trees to go for an eagle) leading to a very tricky approach along a narrow fairway bordered by water all the way to a green protected by the pond and two bunkers plus some dramatic undulation - the Resort tower forms a nice backdrop

The back nine is more scenic, not quite as tight, and has three fun par 3's and a fantastic signature hole with a cascading waterfall. On this nine you'll also find some forced carries, left and right doglegs, and elevated greens.  #15, 16, and 18 make this nine our favorite:

  • the cascading waterfall and pond make the approach shot on #15 very challenging
  • the 521-yard par 5 #16 has two fairway bunkers waiting for your drive, a tight dogleg right, and a big pond on the way to a green guarded by 3 bunkers
  • #18 is a fun and memorable 536-yard finishing hole - a slight uphill shot off the tee box, then a downhill dogleg right, and a very tough approach shot to an elevated green with a huge oblong bunker and water on the right side. 

The Golf Club at Margaritaville Lake Resort greens seem larger than normal, most are raised, and all of them have subtle breaks thanks to both slope and undulation. When we've played, they were running at a very good speed of around a 10 or so and were firm thanks to the drought.  Most of the greens are raised and well guarded.  They were in fair conditions. 

The bunkers are strategically placed and put a premium on accuracy off the tee box and on the approach shots.  The sand is soft and thick and the bunkers are a variety of shapes and sizes from small pot bunkers to huge, long beaches!  The lips are tall and you're not going to roll in and back out.

The fairways range from tight to tighter - keep the big dog in the bag if you tend to spray the ball.  They were in fair condition the last time we played - like most courses in a hot Texas summer they had some brown spots and were firm giving you some good roll. 

Bottom line, this is a fun track with a good layout that will test your skills - make sure you warm up on the putting green and the range and pick the right set of tee boxes the first time you play. 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 6,921 73.3 132
Blue 5,969 68.4 125
White 4,992 68.8 116
Gold 6,550 71.2 129

Course Information

Course Architect:
Jeffrey D. Blume
Greens Type:
Tifdwarf Bermudagrass
Greens Condition
7.8
Greens Difficulty
8.5
Fairway Condition
7.5
Bunker Condition
8.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Easy
Course Map
Beware of water on 10 holes and the 59 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.4 out of 10
Beauty:
8.5
Difficulty:
8.5
Variety:
8.2
Fun to Play:
8.7
Value:
8.5
Condition:
7.5
Front Nine Rating:
8.4
Back Nine Rating:
8.7
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $35.00 to $60.00

The entire clubhouse has been redone and the Pro Shop has all the basic gear. The Playin' a Round Cafe has limited food. The pace of play is good, the range and putting green are adequate, and the carts are new.

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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.