Del Lago Golf Club

Del Lago (Montgomery)

#1 - long, narrow par 4

#2 - long, narrow par 3

#3 - Those two trees make this even narrower than it looks

Approach to #3

Approach to #6

Par 5 #7

Turtles sunning between 7 and 8

Par 3 eighth

Greenside at #9

One of the locals...

#10 tee shot

#13 tee shot

Approach to the green on #13

Par 3 #15

Del Lago Golf Club - Overview

The Del Lago Golf Club is an old-fashioned resort-style course on a penninsula jutting into Lake Conroe. None of the course actually borders on the lake, whose shoreline is heavily populated with really nice houses. The course winds through some really nice neighborhoods, but also gives you a glimpse of bygone days in the form of a series of now-dumpy golf cottages. In their prime (probably in the 60s) they would have been a nice getaway. Nowadays, they're fifteen years past their last coat of paint, and look like they're waiting for some developer to get together enough money to mow them down and start over.

The course itself, however, is certainly keeping up with the times. There's evidence of big bucks having been spent recently in the form of modern waterfalls, ponds, islands, and whimsical statues of frogs and turtles. The real turtles like to cluster together in pods and sun on the banks of the many ponds.

This review was written from the back tees, which was probably unrealistic. Due to the low elevation (and corresponding heavy air), I needed 1 or 2 clubs extra for any given distance. Headwinds required 1 or 2 more beyond that. The course plays pretty narrow because of the woods everywhere.

I was sorely disappointed in the greens at this course, which were aggravatingly slow and bumpy. I played here at the end of January, so the conditions were almost certainly seasonal. On the other hand, it only cost $35 for a twosome (probably also seasonal). Pace-of-play was a delightful surprise. We walked the front and rode the back, and we finished the round in less than three and a half hours. There was a foursome behind us which was actually waiting for us on a couple of shots.

Del Lago Golf Club Detail

The opening hole is a narrow straightaway par 4, measuring 422 yards. It's even narrower than it looks because of a burm on the right, which wants to kick anything even further right into the trees. The play here is to stay on the left hand side (but still in the fairway!!) even if you have to throttle all the way down to a midiron to do it.

#2 is a scenic hole par 3 -- scenic because of the pond all the way down the left hand side. The green is positively massive, starting just right of the pond and wrapping back all the way around it. If the pin is up, aim right at it (bail out right, obviously). If the pin is behind the pond, take two (yes, two) extra clubs. Or just bail out short and right.

#3 is a 413 yard par 4. A couple of trees which have limbs reaching toward each other from opposite sides of the fairway act as a real chokepoint on this hole. Impenetrable tangles of trees and bushes screen the backyards of the houses on the right, so there is no room there. A fairway wood or an iron is the play on this hole, despite the length. Up near the hole, there are bunkers right and left, but there is some room in between if you're trying to roll a long iron on.

The fourth hole is a short par 5 (480 yards). It too is a bit narrow, but it does afford a little more room than #3. If you can hit a driver straight, this can offer a scoring opportunity. On the other hand, it isn't long for a par 5, and conservative play should yield a straightforward par. The green is protected by a sand trap which stretches across the entire fairway about 100 yards out, and then there is another bunker system immediately fronting the green. Laying up in front of the first wide fairway bunker gets you close enough to fly over the rest of the hazards with a wedge or short iron.

#5 is handicapped as the easiest hole on the course. It's a par 3, 182 yards with a bunker in front of the green. If you're confident enough, go right at the flag. If not, bail out left and chip on.

#6 is a tasty hole. It's long (458 yards, par 4). It doglegs to the right, and goes over a pond immediately in front of the green. The pond has a very decorative waterfall for scenic relief from the eyesores of the run-down golf cottages lining the left side of the fairway. The ideal shot off the tee is a huge power fade with your driver. If it works, then you can attempt to fly the pond with a long iron. Otherwise, you'll need to lay up and go after the pin on your third shot. Be careful on the layup -- the water is closer than it looks. Take a club or two less than you think -- after all, it is a layup, right?

#7 is a 515 yard par 5. A driver and a three wood can get you close (one of my few one-two combinations of the day!). We won't spend any time on the subsequent hack I made of the hole with my faltering short game...

On the walk to the #8 tee box, look around the edges of the pond. Often you can find packs of turtles enjoying the sun on the banks. They're not tame, and I was surprised how quickly they can move to the water if you approach too near.

#8 is a 189 yard par 3. It's a well-designed hole, looking spacious and open off the tee, but with lots of trouble if you stray right or left. If 190 yards is an uncomfortable distance, lay up, but hit it straight, whatever you do.

#9 is a 521 yard par 5, with an awkward dogleg to the right off the tee. It discourages the use of your driver off the tee, for fear of running out of fairway. If you do use your driver, you need to shape a fade just right. Get as much as you can out of your second shot, all the while favoring the left side of the fairway. There's a pond on the right that you have to go around to get to the green. The green is elongated from front to back, so pay close attention to the pin placement as you pick a club for your approach shot.

The teebox for #10 is practically on the steps of the clubhouse, and your tee shot goes back across the pond beside the ninth green. There's enough room for your driver here, if you're not too wild. The hole is a 508 yard par 5, so if you prefer a three wood or long iron, you'll still have a good chance to reach the green in regulation. The hole doglegs to the left after your tee shot. Pay attention to your yardages on your second shot -- there's another fairway-wide sand trap about 70 yards in front of the green that you need to stay short of.

The eleventh hole is a par 3, playing 174 yards. There's a fairway bunker short and right of the green to keep you honest. Be mindful of it, and the hole is not that difficult.

#12 is a narrow dogleg left in between the trees. Stick with a fairway wood and you'll find it easier to keep the ball in play. However, this strategy will most likely leave you hitting a long iron into the green, and there is a pretty fair-sized pond on the left of the fairway for the last hundred yards. If you have any doubts in your mind about your ability to hit a long iron straight, back off and lay up to stay dry. Bogey is not a bad score here.

#13 is a short par 5, playing 501 yards. There's a very slight dogleg left off the tee, just enough to make you cautious about using your driver. Since it's a short hole, no need to risk it... There's a pond on the left close to the hole, but it's not intrusive. Of far more concern is the bunker on the right of the green.

#14 tees off over the non-intrusive pond (yes, it's a bit more intrusive here). It's an easy shot if you just put the lake out of your mind. I tried to kill it and pulled it way left into the woods... The hole is significant -- 443 yards, par 4. There's a pond left of the green that you need to steer clear of, especially if the pin is back left.

#15 is a 200 yard par 4, protected by a big bunker on the left. Lay up, chip on.

#16 is a stiff 423 yards, pretty much straightaway. The green is bunkered right and left. Hit a three wood to keep it in play, then a mid iron to lay up, then a wedge to the green. One-putt for par, two for bogey. It's a simple game, really...

#17 is only 370 yards, a welcome letup after all those 400 yard back-breakers. Take it easy, hit a three wood, then stay away from the water on the left on your approach.

The final hole is back to being a back-breaker. Try 477 yards. Par 4. Big dogleg right. Massive pond in front of the green (you can go around the pond on the right if you're really accurate. Hit a driver off the tee with a slight fade. Layup with a short iron in front of the lake. Wedge on, be happy with a bogey. Alternatively, pull a driver into the trees on the left. Chip out with a mid iron. Hit a long iron with a slice into the woods right of the green, chip on, three putt for a double. Your choice...

This course is very challenging. The total course length is only 6854 yards, but the narrowness of the course keeps the driver in your bag a lot of the time, so a lot of the approaches were with long clubs, which is a real challenge if you're trying to be accurate. A stern test of golf, as they're fond of saying on TV.