Central Texas Golf Course Scene

Bret Nutt, head golf professional at Redstone Golf Club in Humble, closed out Gilbert Freeman, head golf professional at Dallas’ Lakewood Country Club, with a par on the 16th hole to win their singles match 3&2 and give the Southern Texas PGA a 13-11 victory in the 2009 Texas Joe Black Cup Matches at Bryan’s Miramont Country Club.

The Southern Texas Section had begun the 12 singles matches with an 8-4 lead after yesterday’s four-ball and foursome matches. As the defending champion, the NTPGA needed to accumulate 12 points in the 2009 matches to retain the Cup. The STPGA needed to win 12-1/2 points to wrest control of the trophy from the northerners.

Offering a spectacular new clubhouse, 6,882 yards of golf from the longest teee, and a slope rating of 72.3, The Alsatian Golf Club in Castroville is proudly owned by Richard and Hazel Russell, who are excited to provide an amazing golfing experience to local and long-distance guests.

A Southern Golf Properties-managed facility, this distinguished club occupies one of the most scenic spots in Texas and offers an unmatched breathtaking view from atop the hillside property that it’s situated on. Now considered one of the best golf clubs around, Alstatian’s par-72 layout features Bermuda grass from tee to green and offers private lessons.

For more than a decade, Foresight Golf has been developing and maintaining golf courses with the customer in mind. For those not familiar with the Boerne, Texas-based company, perhaps these names will ring a bell - The Bandit Golf Club in New Braunfels, The Buckhorn Golf Course in Comfort, The Republic Golf Club and Pecan Valley Golf Club in San Antonio. And those are just the San Antonio-area courses!

Celebrates Silver Anniversary

Cooks Eyes Three-Peat

This month one of the Champions Tours original events, San Antonio’s own AT&T Championship presented by Alcatel-Lucent, is turning 25. Seventy-eight of the top players on the 50-and-over circuit, including two-time defending champion John Cook, will descend upon Oak Hills Country Club Oct. 19-25 to compete for a $1.7 million purse and make a few last minute modifications before the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup.

Founded as the Dominion Seniors in 1985, the AT&T Championship has become a fixture on the Central Texas golf calendar over the years. Past winners of the 54-hole event include Lee Trevino, Fred Funk, Jay Haas, Craig Stadler and Cook.

Since its gala opening in the warm and inviting month of May, 2007, in the deep Southwest of Texas, the sumptuous and luxurious The Club at ConCan has provided extraordinary golfing experiences for all its special guests. In a very important sense, the Club at ConCan is its owners: Kenneth and Barbara Arthur, who are there to see that a pleasurable time is exactly what happens for each and every member or guest, as only a family-owned-and-operated and family-oriented business really can.

They personally intend for and assure that each golfer will leave feeling like he or she is “part of the family” and will be hugely satisfied with his or her visit. Certainly, “heads will roll” if you are not catered to in a royal manner. The long-married and totally dedicated couple see to it.

Convenient to both Austin and San Antonio and sporting an abundance of brilliant Hill Country scenery, Vaaler Creek Golf Club is still considered a “Hidden Gem,” but this up-and-coming course is ready to break out in a big way Imagine if you will Vaaler Creek Golf Club as a young talented running back who begins the year under the radar, but by seasons end he’s amassed 1,500 yards and 15 touchdowns and is the talk of the league.

Designed by the team of Michael Lowry and JR Newman, Vaaler Creek officially opened to the public as an 18-hole facility on the Fourth of July and has been drawing positive reviews from everyone who has since come to experience the challenge and thrills of the Hill Country layout.

The state capital of Austin and the surrounding Hill Country offer visitors and residents as diverse a list of things to see and do as any major population center in the country From the Hill Country’s status as a burgeoning wine region (24 different wineries) to Austin’s well-rooted reputation as America’s “Live Music Capital,” folks won’t find it difficult to occupy their time in this part of Texas.

If you’re kickin’ up your cowboy boots and flipping through the pages of this golf magazine, chances are that you’ve heard the phrase “Stay and Play” plenty of times. Well did you realize that recent rankings and praise from national publications make Austin and The Hill Country an ideal “Stay and Play” combo?

Classic California Combined with Italian Renaissance
by Art Striklin

Picking the most beautiful spot in the US of A is tougher than picking your favorite Disney character or SI swimsuit model. But when it comes to seaside perfection, golf and lodging, this stretch of Southern California terrain along the Pacific Coast Highway from just south of LA to just North of San Diego, is hard to beat.

With the completion of the final nine holes of architect Michael Lowry’s first signature golf course design and its subsequent Independence Day Grand Opening, the Texas Hill Country now has another five-star golf facility.

Located a straight shot from downtown San Antonio and less than an hour from the capital city of Austin, Vaaler Creek Golf Club is a visually stunning and uniquely memorable layout that sets out to challenge more avid and accomplished players by pinching landing areas and employing strategically-placed hazards, while at the same time achieving playability and enhancing enjoyment for the average golfer.

Golfers throughout Central Texas have already discovered the wonders of Vaaler Creek by sampling the back nine, which opened to the public in July 2007. According to Vaaler Creek’s Director of Golf, Adam Grosch, the two nines will complement each other nicely Both sides feature spectacular panoramic views of the Texas Hill Country, an abundance of live oaks and rolling topography.

Over the past 18 months Austin’s Avery Ranch Golf Club, located in the northwest section of the city in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, once again renewed its commitment to excellent course conditions and amenities by undertaking a number of substantial improvement efforts. The upscale daily-fee facility added a new 12,000-square-foot practice green, giving golfers a place to chip and putt before taking to the course.

Avery also upgraded its already phenomenal finishing hole by building new raised tee boxes that will present golfers with a better view of the fairway landing area on No. 18. As you approach the 18th green, you’ll notice a sparkling three-tiered waterfall behind the putting surface. Couple the brand new waterfall with the lake bordering the left side of the fairway and Avery Ranch has one of the best and most spectacular finales in Austin.