Inverness at Walden - Phase II

Walden Golfer's review

This resort near Lake Conroe, Texas (a hour's drive north of Houston) is adjacent to the clubhouse and first fairway of its spectacular golf course and across the street from the driving range..... You can't get more convenient for a golfer without living in the clubhouse itself..... And the golf course is fabulous.

It's been rated as the top course in the greater Houston area (by the former Houston Post newspaper,) and it's easy to see why.... Every hole is interesting. Water, sand and/or overhanging trees come into play on just about every hole.... One par-five (#2) finishes with a fishhook turn into a small green surrounded by trees and sand.... The fairway of another (#9) stops 100 yards short of the green with rough, sand and overhanging trees guarding the green.

Then there's the "signature hole" -- #11 -- that graces their scorecard.... It's a long (569/589-yard) par-five that finishes on a curving peninsula that juts out into the Lake, not unlike the beginning of the famed 18th at Pebble Beach that curls along the Monterey Bay coast.... Except here you can try to take a no-room-for-error shortcut across the water to the green.

The next hole, the 150/110-yard par-three 12th, is all carry over the Lake, with a look very similar to the island-green short holes pioneered at TPC Sawgrass.... There are many other memorable holes, too.

Add to this that the resort has just qualified for "Resort of International Distinction" status and you will see the RID combination works very well.

"RID" resorts have been rated among the top 25% of all resorts by actual visitors...