Waterview Golf Club

Waterview Golf Club offers golfers of all skill levels a fun and somewhat challenging round of golf on some of the best greens in Dallas – all at a very good value. Waterview is owned by the City of Rowlett and managed by one of the best, American Golf. Waterview Golf Club was voted one of the TOP 10 Public Golf Courses in Dallas by Texas Golfer Magazine in April 2006.

The golf course has a simple (mostly straight links style fairways, no tricks or hidden gotchas, and wide forgiving perfectly manicured fairways with very playable roughs) championship layout with 5 sets of tee boxes with yardage from 5472 to 7191 yards. Most of the holes look easy from the box, but the rolling, contoured fairways with lots of berms and mounds along the side can result in some challenging uneven lies. The rough has some trees and most holes are lined with homes on along the fairways.

The bent grass greens are some of the best in Dallas and were in near perfect condition when we played. The greens also make Waterview challenging – they are large with lots of undulation and slope and spines. Plus most are elevated and pretty well protected with bunkers, making your approach shot challenging. Pin placement can be a killer – try to study the contour as much as possible before you chip and putt.

You'll encounter a lot of bunkers with soft very playable sand – some of which are huge and steep faced. Water comes into play on 7 holes, mostly on the back, but it's not that difficult to avoid. All of this makes it sound like Waterview is very challenging (a slope of 128 and rating of 74.1 from the tips) but with 5 tee boxes you can find something that will fit your skill level and even if you spray the ball a little, you can still score well and have a very fun and enjoyable round.

The front nine is very traditional, mostly straight, and very forgiving. The back nine is much prettier, a little harder, offers more variety, and has some great holes. For example, #11 is a challenging and scenic par 3; #12 requires a good approach shot to avoid the encroaching water that comes from the right side of the green to the front; and #13 is a fun and scenic downhill 442 yard par 4 with a narrow tree-lined fairway leading to a well protected green with water on the right and some huge bunkers. And the rest of the holes are also great. You'll enjoy this nine and want to come back and play it again.

The carts are new and American Golf has plans to expand the pavilion, add a bar area, and add large screen TVs and more to the grill area to give it more of a sports bar feeling.

Bottom line – great condition, an ok layout, good service, near perfect greens, and an excellent value.