Squaw Valley - Apache Links Course

Review and Rating of Squaw Valley’s Apache Links in Glen Rose Texas

Squaw Valley Golf Club is home to two very different and very good 18 hole courses –Apache Links and Comanche Lakes.  The Comanche Lakes course is a traditional 18 hole course that opened in 2001 and has 7 holes where one of two lakes can come into play – read our review of Comanche Lakes to learn more.

Apache Links is a mixture of a links style course for the first nine holes and a more traditional back nine.  If you like a links-style course then you’ll love the front nine!  Like most links-style courses you’ll find tall berms, small pot bunkers, wind, and wide sweeping fairways. 

The back nine is more traditional and has some excellent holes where Squaw Creek cuts across the fairway.  In addition to some great holes, what makes Squaw Valley a must play are reasonable rates, very good conditions, and excellent friendly service.  As such, it’s not surprising that Squaw Valley has won a number of awards and accolades, some of which include:

• The Dallas Morning News named both courses as the "#1 and #4 Best Municipal Courses in Texas"
• Golf Digest gave them 4.5 stars

On the front nine of Apache Links on most holes, the pin is straight ahead and it’s easy to see what you’re up against which is typically wide but heavily contoured fairways, 23 pot bunkers that you’ll need to avoid, and lots of tall mounds leading to big heavily contoured greens.  Some of the holes that we liked on the front nine include:

• #3 is a 428-yard par 4 with a straight-ahead roller coaster fairway that plays through lots of berms on both sides plus a fairway bunker on the way to a green guarded by berms, swales, and 3 pot bunkers
• #7 is a fun 362-yard par 4 that horseshoes around a lake – off the tee brave long and straight hitters can try to carry the lake to a small landing zone which is a longer and risker shot than it appears or you can play it safe and stay right for an easy second shot into the green

The back nine of Apache Links is outstanding with a mixture of a couple of links-style holes and some more traditional holes several of which require you to carry Squaw Creek off the tee box or on your approach shot to the green.  For example:

• #11 is a 415-yard par 4 that heads slightly downhill to the creek and then up to a huge green with a left-side bunker – trees on both sides of the fairway at the creek make the approach shot a little tight
• #14 is a beautiful and challenging 182-yard par 3 with an elevated tee shot, a wide stretch of Squaw Creek to cross, and a raised oblong green with a steep drop off to the creek plus mounds and swales on the back and sides
• #15 offers an excellent risk-reward shot to try and carry some trees to make this dog right 462 yard par 4 a little shorter – 15 also has an elevated tee box, an intimidating carry across the creek, and a tough approach into a green tucked off on the right side with a large horseshoe bunker, trees, and a slope off the right side of the green leading to the creek

Every time we have played Apache Links the conditions have been very good and that was the case when we played this time.  The fairways were near perfect – a tad dry and firm but it’s summertime in Texas and that’s expected.  The Apache Links fairways are wide and berm or tree-lined – no homes, no barking dogs, and no windows to worry about!  The rough is wide and covered with berms with a variety of sizes but it was cut thin and playable and dense, such that the ball sat up.  A lot of the fairways are heavily contoured and some are like roller coasters. 

The greens at Apache Links are huge but contoured with plenty of slope, tiers, or ridges that require some careful study before you putt.  They were in great shape when we played, ran true and at a good speed of between 10 to 11, and they held the ball well.  Most are raised and guarded with some mixture of bunkers, swales, or berms.

The bunkers range in size from average to small steep and deep pot bunkers that can be very challenging.  The sand was soft and thick and they were well mainatained.