Timberlinks at Denton

Reveiw and Rating of Timberlinks at Denton in Denton, Texas

We didn't have high expectations when we decided to play Timberlinks at Denton – wow, were we wrong!  Timberlinks is outstanding and a blast to play – it's challenging but fair, every hole is a little different, the conditions are very good, the rates are reasonable, and it will test your course management, club selection, and shot making skills.  It's not surprising that Timberlinks at Denton made our listing of the Best 9 Hole Courses in Texas.

Timberlinks at Denton was designed by Lyndy Lindsey and opened for play in 2003.  Lyndy did a fantastic job of leveraging the natural rolling treed terrain to create a course that is well worth going out of your way to play.   The course is now managed by Kemper Sports which is one of the best golf management companies in the US and they are doing a great job of keeping the course in very good condition.  Timberlinks is a 9 hole par 35 layout with two par 5s, three par 3s, and four par 4s with 4 tee boxes and yardages ranging from 2411 to 3043 yards. 

Lyndy designed a course that will throw a lot at you – very tight tree-lined roller coaster fairways, several elevation changes that will require you to club up or club down, challenging approach shots to guarded greens,  plus dog-legs, ponds and creeks to carry, risk reward shots, and bunkers to avoid.   Sounds scary and the first time you play it you'll be very surprised and not sure where to try and place the ball, but the second round you'll know where you would like to be and you'll  have a really fun round.

We loved all nine holes but our favorites include:

• #1 is a 480 yard par 5 that will test your accuracy and your risk reward tolerance off the tee – it's a very tight fairway with a rock cliff on the right and a valley with trees off the left side; in addition to keeping it in the skinny fairway you need to make sure you don't overrun the end of the fairway that takes a sharp 90 degree turn left and down a big hill, then over a creek, and back uphill to a green guarded by a bunker on the right – off the tee box you can try to fly the trees and stuff it on the fairway for a much shorter approach shot or try a big draw and leverage the downhill slope to get you close to the creek for a shorter uphill shot to the green – really fun hole!
• #3 is a 380 yard dog leg right with an elevated tee shot through a narrow tree lined slot downhill to the landing zone and then an uphill shot to the green – short off the tee is big trouble
• #9 is the #1 handicap hole and it's a beauty – a 520 yard par 5 – you need an accurate shot off the tee to carry the creek and get you up the hill without going into a large bunker and position you for the sharp dog leg right up a valley to a raised green with a big sand and grass bunker on the right and a big multi-fingered hidden bunker off the right side of the green

When we played in February, the fairways were dormant but in very good condition.  Most of the fairways are very tight and tree lined, rolling (some are like a roller coaster ride) and heavily contoured, and some have huge elevation changes both off the tee and on the approach to the green.  Study the slope on the fairways before you tee off and make sure manage the slope and roll because it can take you where you don't want to be on several holes. The rough is not real wide and it was dense but playable – miss the rough and you're in the trees and probably lost. Keep you eye out for the deer, coyote, and bobcats.  The course is part of the Timberlink apartment complex but you won't notice the apartments except on one beautiful downhill par 3. 

The greens range from small to about average and most are raised and guarded by at least one bunker.  They were in very good condition when we played, running a little fast around 11, and held the ball well.  Slope and minor contour can cause some breaks you won't expect.

Some of the bunkers have been replaced with sand bunkers and they can be challenging with thick grass and lips to worry about.  The sand bunkers range from small to huge and the sand is excellent – soft, fluffy, and thick.  The lips in most cases aren't real steep but you're not going to roll out of them.  Some of the bunkers need to maintenance – the matting or dirt was showing.

Bottom line – we loved this course and can't wait to get back and play it again!!!!!