Canyon West Golf Course

Review and Rating of Canyon West Golf Course, Weatherford, TX

Canyon West is a one-of-a-kind course and well worth the drive to Weatherford for 18 holes of fun golf. The golf course winds through 6,653 yards of the foothills of Parker County just 28 minutes west of Fort Worth. Canyon West features elevated tee boxes extending over 1000 feet in elevation, rolling fairways, eight lakes, and a magnificent panoramic view of four different counties. Adding to the majestic vistas are beautiful cascading waterfalls, streams, fountains, and limestone walls and jutting limestone stabs along the fairways.  Rustic fences constructed out of cedar posts protect the native prairie grasses and wildflowers bordering the course. Prickly pear cactus, cholla, live oaks, mesquite, wild plum thickets, and a few big native pecan trees dot the course and protect the deer, quail, raccoons, bobcats, pumas, opossums, occasional skunk, and other wildlife.

You'll also find 21 scenes scattered throughout the course that represent authentic western memorabilia from life in Texas in the 1800s like wagons, tools, wagon wheels, a lantern, tack, and other rustic treasures and some cactus to the mix.  The course is also well landscaped and very maintained and the rates are very reasonable. 

Some of what we liked about playing Canyon West includes:

• each nine is a little different and has it's own unique personality and characteristics for example the front is a more open links style where the back is tighter with tree lined fairways and water on 4 holes including an island green
• 8 elevated tee boxes with panoramic vistas that require you to manage the wind as well as the elevation changes
• lots of things that will force you to focus on both course management and club selection as well as test your game – blind shots, strong prevailing winds, uphill and downhill shots, uneven lies in the contoured fairways, dog legs left and right, tight fairways, risk reward opportunities, and tough approach shots
• the views from the tips on all of the elevated tee boxes are stunning and the cascading waterfall over a massive limestone wall into a pond is very impressive – and the course is quiet and peaceful with no road traffic, barking dogs, sirens, or airplanes and only a scattering of big beautiful homes along a couple of the fairways
• the course is demanding but very fair and golfer friendly with most holes acting like catcher's mitts with fairways that tend to kick the ball toward the middle and to the green, bunkers that prevent the ball from getting wet, wide fairways, and generous greens

It's not surprising that Canyon West Golf Club was named one of the "Top Five New Golf Courses in the Southwest" by the Dallas Morning News and has received rave reviews from Golf Digest, Par Fore Magazine, Acer Internet Golfer, Southwest Golf Magazine, Texas Monthly, The Arlington Morning News, and Scratch Golfer Magazine. All of the above are just some of the reasons why Canyon West Golf Club made Texas Outside's list of the Best Public Golf Courses in Texas.

And there are some really fun holes at Canyon West Golf Club, for example:

• #4 is a fun 434-yard par five with a carry over a pond and uphill from the tips then a dog left down a roller coaster fairway and over a cascading rock-lined creek crossing the fairway in front of the green
• #8 is a 168 yard par 3 with a dramatically elevated tee shot to a figure-eight green with a heart shaped bunker in front and two more bunkers on the back left
• #12 is scenic it is requires a precise 168 yard shot to an island green with a long bunker along the back side protecting a pond and trees guarding the approach shot
• #13, #14, and #15 are great holes with a mixture of a tight fairway and tough approach (thanks to an encroaching pond and a tree in the middle of the fairway) on 13, a 90-degree dog leg right on the 420-yard par 4 #14, and a giant sprawling oak splitting the fairway making the tee shot very demanding on #15

When we played in late September, the fairways were in fair condition and they were dry and firm (thanks to several days over 100 degrees!) offering extra roll you'll need to manage.  Most of the fairways are sloping and contoured and some are like a roller coaster ride.  They are ample with a generous rough that's playable, but miss the rough and you'll lost in the water, natural areas, or dense trees. 

The Canyon West greens were in very good condition, soft and held the ball well, and ran very true.  The greens are all shapes and sizes from oval to oblong, a 3 leaf clover, a figure eight, and more.  And they range in size from small to a little above average. They are gently sloping and some have some minor contour or in one case a ridge to contend with.  The ran speed a great speed of around 9 or so.

The bunkers were also near perfect.  The sand was thick and fluffy and a joy to hit out of.  The lips are thin and might get lucky and roll out.  We found the bunkers relativly easy to avoid. 

Bottom line – this is a fun and scenic course with an excellent layout that is well worth going out of your way to play.