While you might have come for a Spurs came or a chance to see the basement at the Alamo, but there is a pretty good chance that you are gonna need to play some golf as well. Don’t worry I have you covered with the official guide to public golf in the city of San Antonio. Here are my top ten favorite public golf courses to play in San Antonio area.
My guide takes 5 categories into consideration and the full breakdown with all of the scores is at the end of the article. By evaluating each course individually based on these categories, I am able to generate my very best unbiased result. No matter the care and attention to detail given, the exercise of evaluating golf courses will always be met with some level of skepticism. Conditions can also evolve and change over time. However, this is the best way that I know how to deliver the most effective results in order to help the reader select the best places to play.
If these rankings manage to piss you off, you can always head down to the comments. For the real pros, there is a suggestion box in the middle of the lake. To book tee times, you can click the book tee time link next to the course or download San Antonio’s best app for booking public golf, OpenTee.
Wes start off the list with a straight forward municipal golf course. There are 8 municipal golf courses on the Alamo City Golf Trail and Olmos Basin is the first to make our list. The course is flat but possesses some quality with several interesting golf holes. Only a few holes feel forced and the round flows very well. All of the Alamo City Golf Trail courses score high in the value category and Olmos Basin is no exception.
For the San Antionio guide, I felt compelled to include several golf courses that require a short drive outside of the city limits. This Keith Foster design is a local favorite with San Antonians and has a handful of very interesting golf holes. Some of the holes hug the line between genius and over the top. It’s a good line to hover around and this bold design makes for a fun round of golf. The 30 minute drive is worth the effort.
Buckhorn is another course that requires a 30 minute drive from San Antonio. Those that make the drive will find an affordable and very score-able golf course. Most of the holes are straight forward with a few of them blending into one another. The property is also littered with power lines due to a nearby generator. Low marks in the character and beauty category hold this golf course back.
Canyon Springs labels itself as one of the premier public destinations in San Antonio. However, it is also one of the premier stops for golf cattle. A pen near the club house allows golfers to say hello to the steers before the round. This hill country design was named America’s best new public course when it debuted in 1998.
As the name suggests, 9 of the holes at The Quarry are located in an old abandoned quarry. Keith Foster has chiseled stone dating back to 1908 into one of the most interesting spots for those traveling to San Antonio. Due to the unique nature of The Quarry, the course scores high in the character and fun categories. Conveniently located just a few miles from the Alamo and the historic River Walk, The Quarry is not to be missed.
Cedar Creek is the second course on our list that is part of the Alamo City Golf Trail. The front nine flows through canyons with fairways funneling drives toward the center of the fairway. Large houses loom above the golfer. The back nine picks it up a notch by ditching the residential feel and winding through an old oak forest. Cedar Creek is popular with locals due to its scores high in the fun and beauty categories. I found the course to be very photogenic.
There is always a high level of quality when it comes to Troon managed properties and La Cantera is the finest course in Troon’s San Antonio profile. La Cantera is continuously rated at the top of public golf courses in San Antonio and I found that rating to be justified. As an added bonus, the golf course is located right next to Six Flags and provides a few spectacular views on the roller coasters.
#3 - TPC San Antonio - Canyons
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you should be familiar that Pete Dye is my favorite course architect. Pete’s effort here is very different from the Norman course next door and flows with the land much more freely. The flat bottom bunkers pair nicely with the views of the nearby Cibolo Canyon Nature Preserve. The result is a challenging and visual treat. TPC San Antonio does require that you are staying at the hotel in order to play the golf courses which makes a round of golf here fairly expensive.
There only a handful of AW Tillinghast golf courses that are open to the public and Brackenridge is one of the country’s finest. The golf course underwent a revival in 2008 when architect John Colligan restored the golf course to match Tillinghast’s original design from 1916. At only 6.243 yards from the back tees, the course doesn’t take up a lot of space, but it packs a historic punch.
The conditions at TPC are simply unmatched in the city of San Antonio. TPC operates on a different budget than most of the other golf courses on this list and the results are noteworthy. It’s no surprise that the best is also the most expensive course in San Antonio. Visitors will be rewarded with pristine conditions and a PGA Tour proven golf course. I don’t usually hold TPC courses in high regard, but TPC San Antonio is one of the finest of the bunch. Fun Fact: During both RGV Tour 1.0 and RGV Tour 2.0, i parked my recreational golf vehicles in the exact same parking spot and enjoyed 36 hole days 5 years apart.
