Central Texas Golf Course Scene

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?

Just prior to the release of this publication, U.S. News & World Report listed Austin as one of the top 10 places in the country to live. Who could disagree, considering the city’s college town charm, strikingly dignified downtown, moderate climate and bustling social scene?

Even as he approaches 80, Arnold Palmer retains a youthful vigor and passion for the game of golf that you’d expect to find in a man just beginning his journey as a touring professional.

So it makes you wonder how phenomenal a golf venue must be in order to further awaken an old soul like Palmer’s and create a renewed enthusiasm within a living legend for a game he’s built his life around; a game that’s been the beneficiary of his greatness, undeniable charm and grace under fire.

“Being here and seeing this course has aroused some enthusiasm in me I hadn’t felt for a while,” said Palmer of one of his newest Signature golf courses, Newport Dunes in Port Aransas. “I can’t tell you that I’ve enjoyed playing any golf course any more than I did this one. This is a fantastic setting."

The Alamo Golf Club has something for every golfer. Its 18-hole course measures around 5,200 yards from the back tees and has a par 5 on each side. Spontaneous golfers who come to Alamo to practice can turn around and test their skills on the course at a moment’s notice; tee times don’t exist at the club allowing golfers to begin a round on a first come, first serve basis.

Featuring a par-67 golf course open 365 days a year (weather permitting) from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with an outstanding practice facility featuring a two-tiered driving range with stadium lighting, mats and a grass tee line, putting and chipping areas and a nine-hole pitch and putt course, making Alamo Golf Club the city’s most complete facility.

Conditions accentuate challenges and toughness at northeast San Antonio area course.

By Steve Habel
Special to The Golfers Guide

As the Texas Hill Country to the northwest fades into the softer agricultural plains of the southeast, the landscape provides one final burst of sharp terrain, rock outcrops and ancient live oak trees. Here, along the winding Cibolo and Selma Creeks is the near-northeast suburb of San Antonio, Olympia Hills Golf & Conference Center was created to take advantage of the dramatic environment.

Designed by the Finger, Dye, Spann Design Group of Houston and opened for play in February 2000, Olympia Hills is an 18-hole, par-72 layout owned and managed by the City of Universal City. The 6,918-yard course features distinctively different front- and back-nines, holes with drops of up to 60 feet and target golf challenges aplenty Seven of the holes at Olympia Hills are defined by the courses two creeks and three more are made tougher by hazards created by the tracks irrigation ponds.

Enjoy the friendly bounces but respect the course and its challenges!

By Steve Habel
Special to The Golfers Guide

If you are a golfer looking for a fair but challenging course in line with the most ballyhooed tracts in the Central Texas region, you are going to enjoy teeing it up at The Golf Club Star Ranch in this small suburb just north of Austin.

Designed by Austin-based golf course architect Roy Bechtol with help from Carter Mor-rish and Randy Russell, Star Ranch - an 18-hole facility that plays to a par of 71 and 7,017 yards of golf from the back set of tees - opened in 2001 on the former site of the Timmerman Ranch.

Meeting the Needs of San Antonio Golfers

Situated in north central San Antonio in the rapidly expanding suburb of Stone Oak, Canyon Springs Golf Club brings golfers the best of both worlds.

Built on the site of the original Classen Homestead, a stop along the Stagecoach Trail, Canyon Springs Golf Club is a throwback with plenty of history, but offers high levels of service, modern amenities and unparalleled conditioning, giving the course a very contemporary feel.

The 7,077-yard 18-hole championship golf course designed by Thomas Walker, formerly of Gary Player Design, is entering its second decade of operation and continues to get better by the day.

Don’t call it a city-wide renaissance, but the extension of San Antonio’s famed River Walk and the addition of a handful of championship golf courses, one of which will host the 2010 Valero Texas Open, to the area’s already impressive list of layouts have solidified San Antonio’s spot as a top-notch domestic destination.

The much-anticipated Museum Reach River Walk extension opened just in time for the summer tourist season, and visitors are already flocking to the now nearly fourmile long stretch of meandering pathways to visit historic sites, charming restaurants, museums and unique boutiques. San Antonio’s most talked about attraction is just one of many in this big city that’s known for its small town charm.

In 2003 the University of Texas Golf Club, with its rolling hills, panoramic views of the Texas Hill Country and lush fairways, opened to considerable acclaim.

But after initial rounds by some of the nation's best collegiate players, and a few Touring pros, the course's management noticed that the rolling terrain was aiding already lengthly drives, which were catching favorable slopes and plummeting down the course's fairways. In other words, the distance on the card of 7,150 yards wasn't quite measuring up in real life.

"San Antonio's No. 1 practice facility, 18-hole golf course, and a nine hole pitch and putt course"

Click here for more information
www.alamogolfclub.net

Alamo Golf Club Flyer

Alamo Golf Club Flyer (Prices)

In recent years cost-conscientious consumers have become rather adept at perusing the fine print. After all, if you’re not careful extra costs and hidden fees can creep up on you like a silver screen serial killer. A trip to your local golf course can be an equally frightening experience. Once green fees, cart costs, range balls, lunch, beverages and any additional items of necessity are totaled, your final bill is likely to exceed your initial expectations.

The Golf Club at Star Ranch aims to provide a great golf experience sans a pricing guessing game in the pro shop. The 18-hole championship course in Hutto, Texas has become the premier “All-Inclusive” golf experience in Central Texas with the institution of a package that includes 18 holes of golf with a cart, unlimited range balls, hot breakfast and lunch. Rolled out in 2007, the “All-Inclusive” offering is even more relevant in tough economic times when stretching the dollar to the fullest is being placed at a premium.