Bentwater - Miller Course

Review of Bentwater’s Miller Golf Course

Bentwater, on Lake Conroe, is the only private, gated, waterfront community in Texas with 54-holes of championship golf, a Country Club, Yacht Club & Marina, a Racquet Club, Fitness Center, Day Spa, Pro Shops, and two private islands. Bentwater’s three private golf courses are a marvel of engineering, ingenuity and breathtaking beauty. Designed by nationally recognized course designers Tom Weiskopf, Jay Morrish, Jeffrey D. Blume and Scott Miller, each course offers challenging play in stunning natural surroundings that take advantage gently rolling hills, dense hardwood and pine forests, and beautiful views of Lake Conroe. Each of the three golf courses has it’s own unique personality and characteristics:

The Weiskopf Course is a collaboration between Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish and together they created a course with broad, rolling fairways and Tiff Dwarf greens that seem to emerge from the thick forests of hardwood and pines that are a signature feature at Bentwater

Sitting on 182 acres the 18-hole Grand Pines course is the premier course at Bentwater and was designed in the tradition of some of America’s classic courses such as Pinehurst and Pine Valley and is described as a classic-play, all-green course that is highlighted by rolling hills, water features and a 160,000-acre national forest as a backdrop without encumbrances from homes, streets, or backyards – all you need to worry about is your game and the deer.  Grand Pines has big greens but plays harder than the other two courses.

Scott Miller designed the Miller course around a natural creek and a 3-acre lake and it plays through towering pines and pine straw roughs similar to those at Augusta National

The Miller Course, designed by an internationally recognized name, Scott Miller, seems to have been carved along the natural curve of Lake Conroe and offers some great views of the Lake. A rippling creek provides background music at holes sixteen and seventeen and more water views greet players at holes three and four as they enjoy a sparkling 3-acre lake.  Bentwater’s Miller Course can be characterized as a shot makers course where you really need to put the ball in the right position if you want to score well.  The course also puts a premium on the approach shots to small guarded greens with trees that can block most shots. 

Some of the holes that we thought were really fun and unique included:

#1 is a 511 yard par five with a landing zone off the tee box that is pinched by the trees, followed by a layup that needs to be accurate to give you an approach shot over a very tight roller coaster fairway to a small oval green – par this and you’re off on a great start

#5 is a very fun and challenging (#1 handicap) 439 yard par 4 that requires accuracy from tee to cup – a good drives needs to position your ball for a second shot though a tree lined narrow slot that needs to miss the trees and wetland followed by an approach shot that could land in Lake Conroe if you spray it left

#10 sets the stage for the back nine – a 544 yard par 5 that requires a left to right fade off the tee, a carry over a creek that crosses the fairway at 170 out, and an approach shot over a tall mound guarding the right front of the green plus you need to avoid the creek that runs up the left side of the fairway and along the left side of the green

off the tee on the 405 yard #15 you’ll need to position your ball so a huge sprawling tree, which splits the fairway at 100 out,  doesn’t block your approach shot to a skinny oblong green guarded by a big bunker on the left side

When we played in September the Miller Course fairways were a little dry as you might expect in the Texas summer, but they were in very good condition as was the rough.  The fairways are tree lined and if you miss them you’ll be playing off the pine needles and may have a tricky shot back to the fairway.  The fairways are flat to gently rolling with beautiful homes that could come into play.  When we played the rough was cut very playable.

The greens are all shapes and sizes (but typically smaller than average) and most have at least one bunker and lots of trees guarding them.  The Miller Course puts a premium on accurate approach shots.  The greens held the ball well, have gentle slope that we found easy to read, and they ran smooth and true but a tad slower than a 10 on the stimpmeter. 

The bunkers were in perfect condition with manageable faces and soft fluffy thick sand that was a joy to hit out of.