For various reasons I haven’t focused on playing the real “premium” public courses since moving to Texas (except Wolfdancer last month). I’ve got a few good courses lined up for next week though and used Labor Day to check out one of the public courses in North Texas that I’ve been excited to see – The Links at Land’s End!

From Mineola Country Club it took me about 25 minutes to get over to Land’s End, which is in Yantis. The course is in a waterfront community (similar to The Pinnacle where I played in July) and I’ve never read a bad thing about the place.

I ended up teeing off shortly before my 2pm tee time on a quiet afternoon. The course’s usually higher green fee ($80 on the weekends) and tough-to-get-to location (1.5 hours from Dallas) seem to make Land’s End more of a members and resort guest course than a public course. I managed to find a $50 afternoon rate so there are a few deals out there. 

Even though there weren’t many people out golfing I ran into a husband and wife playing. They were both golfing early on in the round and moving pretty slow. On the 5th hole they let me play through which was nice – or it seemed! However, I don’t think the wife played many holes after I played through so they sped up and tailgated me on some holes while dropping back on the few holes the wife played. Needless to say, it was a bit distracting for me – and I’m sure for them too!

Anyway, the fewer number of rounds the course receives leads to some mint conditioning. Everything was in top-notch shape! The fairways were cut short yet still had some cushion. The greens were smooth and a medium-fast pace, just not quite as quick as they looked! The tees and rough were full as well. The bunkering was pretty, but most bunkers were washed out and the sand looked a bit thin.

Land’s End starts out with a handful of community holes before you get to the par-3 5th. The 5th starts a wonderful stretch of holes with nice views of Lake Fork! The best holes on this stretch are the 7th through the 10th. I kept expecting the lake views to come to an end sooner rather than later, but that didn’t happen! You get good water views from the 5th until you putt out on the 17th.

The 8th and 9th are the course’s signature holes and both are mid-length (but demanding) par-4’s with some options. These holes lie on a small peninsula that sticks out into the lake. The fingers of the lake creep into the fairways and allow you to take a more aggressive line from the tee to try to carry the water or a more conservative line and play for safety. If you hit the fairway then you’ll need an accurate iron shot to avoid the water that circles the back half of the greens!

What makes Land’s End unique is that the land doesn’t have homes surrounding the course – basically the course gets the best land. And that is rare for a newer course (Land’s End was built in 2000)!

I played the gold tees which are 72.6/130/6664. The course plays as a par-71 so it won’t play as short as you might expect. I would say that the course is fairly playable although you’ll have to watch out for those fingers of the lake that affect play. I think the biggest challenge at Land’s End is going to be hitting the small greens – you’ll need to be very precise with your irons if you want to score!

I walked away impressed with Land’s End and it met my high expectations! I think it is safe to say that Land’s End is one of the top public courses in North/East Texas. There are a couple par-3’s that could be softened some but the design allows you to enjoy the setting, and that is something I love. If you haven’t made the drive out here from DFW yet (or are traveling on the I-20 or I-30) then I’d suggest checking it out.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):