ShadowGlen Golf Club

Its a challenging course but the greens were not rolling smooth and true, instead they were bumpy and slow. The fairways had grass but it was like a 2nd cut. I imagine its to do with the bad heat wave.

The Trent Jones course is laid out well and moderately challenging, but the upkeep is a whole other issue. The fairway cut was long with some fairways having lots of grass clippings, while the roughs were very thick in areas ... so thick that it made hard to find the ball even around the greens. The greens were cut very high making putts having to be hit extra hard in order to get the ball to the hole.

I would play the course again ... if I hear that the upkeep / course maintenance has improved ...

Everything was good except for the greens. They were extremely slow.

Overall not happy with the conditions of the course, especially for the price they charged. The fairways were in horrible conditions. I love the layout of this course but they need to start charging accordingly to the conditions of the course. I have no problem paying their green fee when the course conditions are kept up. I do however have a problem paying their green fee with the conditions this course is currently in. May be a while before I go back.

Greens, which are normally nice and reliable here, were bad. I’m guessing it’s just a water saving tactic, because I think they’d be ship shape with a cut and roll. The fairways and rough are similarly long, with the fairways particularly bad (like hitting from the rough). The rough closer to OB/hazards is out of control (I lost my ball several times when I know it stayed in).

This is a more difficult course than the average one. I recommend playing the set of tees up one from where you normally play at other courses. The tee boxes were shaggy, but that may have been from being unable to mow due to recent rains. Otherwise, the course was enjoyable. I‘ll be back,

I enjoy playing this course as it’s layout is very challenging but fair a great value.

Okay, I’m continuing to report on courses that I’m finally replaying after going on a 5-plus year golf hiatus following a catastrophic skiing accident in 2015. Next up is ShadowGlen, which was part of my regular golf course rotation since it opened in 2004. I had made a 7:52 tee time as a single on a hot and humid mid-August morning, and was paired with an ophthalmologist visiting Austin from Florida - Dan, the personable Starter, sent us out as a twosome. There was a threesome in front of us, but they appeared to be competent golfers, and there was little or no waiting for them on any of the tee boxes. During the front nine, the course seemed somewhat different from how I remembered it, but I learned from the Marshal that the back and front nines had been flipped several years before. It’s still an interesting layout, with some really entertaining golf holes, but also with some puzzling ones as well. Holes #13 and #16 immediately come to mind - the split upper and lower fairways and the difficult elevated green on #13 seem like odd course design, and the blind shots and uneven fairways on the par-5 #16 can really challenge your game before you finally spot the green, but not before you’re almost on top of it. The golf course was in somewhat fair condition, despite the hellish Texas summer heat and almost complete lack of recent rainfall. The greens had been recently punched for maintenance, but still rolled acceptably well, considering that. We had regular visits from the beverage cart, and the aforementioned Marshal was spotted numerous times - as noted, pace of play was very good for a busy Friday morning. I thoroughly enjoyed ShadowGlen, and would like to return, but I only have one real misgiving about the course. The green fee was $85.52 + $3.00, and they do not honor senior rates on weekends - as much as I enjoyed ShadowGlen, it is not an (almost) $90-level venue, but maybe that’s the new normal caused by the Golf Boom, I’m just out of touch….

Normally this a great bang for your buck type of course but the course is currently a giant patch of dirt and the greens are punched. Ended my round after 9 cause I just didn’t think it was worth my time.