Houston Lake Country Club

(cart included), played on Saturday, December 2013 at 10am

Great Course

Member (cart not included), played on Thursday, November 2009 at noon

The course condition is very good compared to other courses in the area. Greens are as good as or better than any I've played locally (not as good as I was used to in the West, but better than the rest in the area).

The staff is great and very friendly.

I joined so that pretty much says what I think!

$31 (cart included), played on Friday, May 2009 at noon

Great course for middle Ga. They have a military discount!!! paid 32 bucks for 18 and cart on a Friday.

$31 (cart included), played on Tuesday, February 2009 at noon

Houston Lake Country Club was a real treat. I am not sure way I had not previously played there. I will correct that error and play this course more often.

The course sits on beautiful land bordering Houston Lake. The setting has nice elevation changes. Upscale housing can be seen but is usually buffered by trees and does not come into play or detract from the course.

In most cases, the course is straight forward with doglegs in positions one would expect and artificial tricks were not created to challenge the golfer. The natural challenges are more than enough.

The Houston Lake course was well maintained, even for this time of the year. Make no mistake; this is a very challenging course. Begin with the greens. They were in great shape. They are in most cases large, protected by bunkers, and further protected by undulations and speed. If you are above the hole you may be in trouble. If you miss the hole you may find your ball picking up speed and rolling off the green.

Hole numbers 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 17, and 18 are water holes. For many of the holes the water can easily be hit over and is more psychological and attractive rather than a threat. On at least two of the holes, #6 and #17, the course slopes to the water and what might otherwise be a great shot has the potential of landing 90 feet from the water and rolling down a slope. I avoided this pitfall, but only by compensating and hitting on the "safe side" of the narrow fairway into the rough. Ouch!

Hole numbers 10, and 18 are beautiful holes. 10 will require from the two back tee boxes a minimum of a 200 yard drive to a very narrow peninsula with water on each side. Even from the yellow tees you need at least 160 yards in the air and you still have the same narrow landing area. This is an absolutely beautiful hole, but if you can not hit them straight, and if water intimidates, you will come to curse this beauty. I confess, I opted to hit from the yellow tees on this one and that was the only reason my shot was successful. I even made the green in regulation. It was the 3 putts that sunk me on this hole. Did I mention that it is not good to be above the hole on a severely sloping downward fast green! Number 18 is a beautiful finishing hole. You hit over water to a fairway that runs at a right angle and away from you. The hole is saying "Hey punk, you feel lucky, go ahead make my day." The farther you hit it to the right the more length you cut off your second shot to the green, The problem, the farther to the right you hit, the longer you have to hit because more water comes into play. This hole can trick you and you could easily bite off more than you should and wind up in the water. Totally out of character, or maybe because I was playing the course for the first time, I played it safe and took the short route over the water.

I paid $31 with cart and with a coupon discount. This was a very reasonable rate for a first class course. I can not imagine anyone not liking this course. It may be too much of a challenge for a new or high handicap golfer. I would advise any duffer or 20+ handicap to move forward one tee box and enjoy a great and comfortable round of golf. For the 5-19 handicappers, you will be very challenged by the blue tees. The back tees are definitely for the close to par golfer and even they will know they have been challenged.

The club house and staff were first rate.

This course is semi-private, open to the public. I recommend this course.

$31 (cart included), played on Saturday, August 2008 at 4pm

One of my favorite courses in Middle Georgia. You can't go wrong. I prefer it to The Landings, Perry Country Country Club, Waterford. I Think the best course in the area is Southern Hills in Hawkansville, South of Waener Robins on 247. It is a bit more expensive than the others and a bit of a drive about 30 miles, but when I have a little extra time this is my course of choice.

(cart included), played on Thursday, August 2008 at noon

I played the course years ago before all the houses were built. It was much better then. Houses on the periphery are not a problem, but I think the owner ruined the character and quality of the course by taking good holes out to add houses inside the course grounds. Even though I live outside middle Georgia, I would not go out of my way to play this course because of the houses and what I knew that it once was. The course seems to cater to somewhat younger clientele in their 4o's, but is not as appealing to older players.

$31 (cart included), played on Saturday, August 2007 at noon

Houston Lake Country Club is a pretty layout with mature teees, landscaping and lake views. I played this course yesterday (The 1st Saturday in August 2007) Despite the warm weather and minimal rain, the course was in better than average shape for this time of year. A couple of the greens were spotty but rolled true. It is a good layout and the course provides very good value in the local market and would be considered a real bargain compared to comparable course quality in New York, New Jersey and other courses in the N.E.