Arg's Travel Log

[Argonne69]

Olympia Hills Golf and Event Center, Universal City, TX 

 

 

 

Probably one of the best wildlife photos I've taken. The buck scared the cr+p out of me when he ran out of the woods a few feet away from me. 

 

 

 

The long par 3 7th. Oof. 

 

 

Par 4 8th. Intimidating. 

 

 

 

Par 3 11th. 

 

 

Lol. I have such good luck with the weather. Finish the round, and... 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ovasrd6bf4jp37i/AACFUte18FepDPIKtgGlJS4ka?dl=0

 

 

[Argonne69]

Always a big thumbs up to a taproom that's open early on a Monday. Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling. More of a distillery than a brewery, but the bourbon barrel imperial coffee ale is mighty tasty. 

 

 

[CCTxGolf]

If you make it out to TPC San Antonio you can skip canyons. I was out there two weeks ago and the condition were horrific compared to the price. TPC Canyons makes Olympia Hills and Willow look like ANGC right now.

[Argonne69]

Just now, CCTxGolf said:

If you make it out to TPC San Antonio you can skip canyons. I was out there two weeks ago and the condition were horrific compared to the price. TPC Canyons makes Olympia Hills and Willow look like ANGC right now.

 

I played the two TPC San Antonio courses back in 2011 on my first trip to SA. Since it's a stay and play resort, I'll be skipping it this trip. Thanks for the heads-up, though.

 

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, Argonne69 said:

Olympia Hills Golf and Event Center, Universal City, TX 

 

 

 

Probably one of the best wildlife photos I've taken. The buck scared the cr+p out of me when he ran out of the woods a few feet away from me. 

 

 

 

The long par 3 7th. Oof. 

 

 

Par 4 8th. Intimidating. 

 

 

 

Par 3 11th. 

 

 

Lol. I have such good luck with the weather. Finish the round, and... 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ovasrd6bf4jp37i/AACFUte18FepDPIKtgGlJS4ka?dl=0

 

 

Great looking layout for $36. A little tlc and that place could be great!

[Dancin]

57 minutes ago, CCTxGolf said:

If you make it out to TPC San Antonio you can skip canyons. I was out there two weeks ago and the condition were horrific compared to the price. TPC Canyons makes Olympia Hills and Willow look like ANGC right now.

I'm going in Feb. What exactly is wrong with Canyons? patchy fairways?

[CDM]

2 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

Olympia Hills Golf and Event Center, Universal City, TX 

 

 

 

Probably one of the best wildlife photos I've taken. The buck scared the cr+p out of me when he ran out of the woods a few feet away from me. 

 

 

 

The long par 3 7th. Oof. 

 

 

Par 4 8th. Intimidating. 

 

 

 

Par 3 11th. 

 

 

Lol. I have such good luck with the weather. Finish the round, and... 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ovasrd6bf4jp37i/AACFUte18FepDPIKtgGlJS4ka?dl=0

 

 

 

That buck probably smelled all the great stouts you have consumed and wanted some   🤣

[CCTxGolf]

1 hour ago, Dancin said:

I'm going in Feb. What exactly is wrong with Canyons? patchy fairways?

Patchy fairways, hard pan, clusters of weeds around the greens but worse than that is the greens.

 

totally covered in pot holes and craters. Dead in some places. Almost un-puttable on some holes. Especially through the front nine. They do get better as the course goes on. 
 

Overall just very bad grooming and terrible greens. This is coming from someone who spends most of their time on muni tracts. This course looks worse than most munis. At least the ones in So-cal and So-tex.

 

They charge way to much for its condition. Oaks on the other hand looks great. I have no idea what the real ratio is, but based on just looking and playing the courses it seems like 90% or more of funds and attention goes to the oaks. Also, zero warning of the condition from the club house. They try to sale it as on par with the oaks. It is def not

Edited December 5, 2022 by CCTxGolf

[Double Mocha Man]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

On the downside, actually being able to to see the course would have been nice. Lol. A heavy fog hung over the course for most of the round...

 

I once played a morning round in a dense fog... first 5 holes.  It was dangerous.  I could hear a group in front of me but couldn't quite tell when they had cleared the green.  Didn't want to hit into them.  Also, it was frustrating to hit shots when you barely knew where the fairways and greens were.  Distance you could get from the stakes.  Thank goodness I had played the course before so I had a rough idea where to aim shots.

[Argonne69]

Lol. Well, at least I could see the course today. The forecast called for heavy fog, but it was fairly clear west of the city. Humid as heck though. With practically no breeze it was a slog in the mild temp. Hill Country GC today. I think they should report a robbery. Someone appears to have stolen the hill(s). Oy. This resort course at the Hyatt was about as flat as they come. Definitely felt like a Texas course with the thorny scrub. I played the Lakes and Oaks nines. There were small bodies of water on the Lakes, but they only came into play on a couple of holes. The Oaks was a better looking nine with plenty of mossy oaks lining the holes. Pretty much what you'd expect from a resort course. Decent looking but no bite. Bunkering was very good. A couple of sweepers, but a whole lot of straight ahead. 

 

Moderately difficult off the tee. I really dislike designs that favor a specific shot shape, but then prevent you from hitting that shot shape by putting large trees near the teebox to slap down your drive. The Oaks was the tighter of the two nines. A couple of forced carries on the Lakes were challenging. Not a lot of room off the fairway before you found the junk. Probably explains the 134 slope. Approaches were also moderately challenging. Greens were medium sized, and while they weren't elevated the they tended to be guarded on both sides by decent sized bunkers. Up and downs and putting were stress free, as the greens lacked anything resembling character. Again, typical boring resort greens. 

 

Par 3s were mixed. The two on Lakes were awful. Short and boring. The pair on Oaks were a little better. The 5s were pretty good. The 6th on Lakes was a good risk/reward hole with a large tree staring you in the face, and a pond short right. The 9th on Oaks had water short left. Short 4s weren't bad. Tight driving holes. 

 

Conditions were good. Fairways were soft in the thick air. Rough was very good. Bunkers were fabulous. Have I used that adjective yet? I'd like to steal them and take them to every course I play. Plenty of well groomed wet sand. Greens looked fine, but were excruciatingly slow. 7 possibly, and maybe 8 later in the round. Simply can't putt on that type of green. 

 

Solid day tee to green, but I couldn't get the ball to the hole on the shaggy greens. I think I managed two putts past the hole. Five bogies. 

 

I'll give HC 5 cows. At $110 it's overpriced, but not unexpectedly so given that it's a Hyatt resort. No walking rate. Playable with a few fun holes, but easily forgettable. 

 

[Argonne69]

Hill Country GC, San Antonio, TX 

 

 

Go ahead, try to hit that big draw. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full photo set: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/flt1wospbaosv4g/AAAZLjE41eUulW3-wCF7wnFLa?dl=0

 

[Argonne69]

Blue Star Brewing Company. 15 taps. Nice quad and barleywine. 

 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

9 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Blue Star Brewing Company. 15 taps. Nice quad and barleywine. 

 

 

 

Hope you find a good BBQ joint.  You've gone a few days without...

[Argonne69]

Good, but not great BBQ. Something a little different today. Instead of the big name BBQ places with their big price tags, I stopped at a small neighborhood shack that had decent reviews. Jones Sausage and BBQ House. Nothing fancy, but some decent Q. Brisket was moist and tender. Most of it was lean, but a few slices were nice and fatty. Ribs were lean, but tender and tasty. The hot link was very moist, but I prefer my links with jalepeno and cheddar. Beans were bland. Sauce was thin, but had a good flavor. For 2/3rds the price of the more well known joints I got a decent meal with a bit of leftovers. I'll likely hit Pinkerton's or Smoke BBQ tomorrow. 

 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

4 minutes ago, Argonne69 said:

Brisket was moist and tender. Most of it was lean, but a few slices were nice and fatty.

 

Since I don't eat beef all I know about brisket is from episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" from Howard talking about his mom's brisket.

[stevopagolf]

ARG-

 

Is your journey becoming anything like a job?  I see some of the days you play and I think I would roll over, sleep another hour and take the day off!

 

I'm into two weeks of weather too poor to play golf in and after retiring in September it's a bit too slow this past couple of weeks.

[Argonne69]

1 hour ago, stevopagolf said:

ARG-

 

Is your journey becoming anything like a job?  I see some of the days you play and I think I would roll over, sleep another hour and take the day off!

 

I'm into two weeks of weather too poor to play golf in and after retiring in September it's a bit too slow this past couple of weeks.

 

It became a job the first summer I was retired. Lol. Playing four to six rounds a week has its ups and downs. Would definitely be nice to play a round in warm sunshine. I'm taking the day off tomorrow, and probably Saturday. Five rounds a week is plenty. 

 

I try to motivate myself by focusing on the exercise aspect of the game when the weather is poor. With a diet of beer and barbeque, I need all the steps I can get. 

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by Argonne69

[Argonne69]

I spent some time looking at courses in the RGV. Sheesh. Not much to choose from. I'll be down there for 3 weeks, and I'm going to be scraping bottom. There appears to be a handful of nice private courses, but the public courses are meh. I would have figured that the warm weather would attract a lot of snowbirds looking for some reasonable golf. 

 

I have Max Mandel, Los Lagos, Champion Lakes, Tierra Del Sol, Howling Trails, River Bend Resort, Rancho Viejo El Diablo, South Padre Island GC, Treasure Hills, Valley International CC, Tony Butler, Palmilla Beach, Lozano, Oso Beach Municipal, Riverside, and Alice Municipal on the list. 

 

There are a couple of nine hole courses that don't look bad. 

 

[vallygolf]

Agronomy question:  Playing as many dormant courses as you do, does it seem many paint the grass (i know this is common like the greens at Pinehurst #2) or is the green all overseed?  The photos above look a bit like paint.  Just curious what you typically encounter.

[Argonne69]

26 minutes ago, vallygolf said:

Agronomy question:  Playing as many dormant courses as you do, does it seem many paint the grass (i know this is common like the greens at Pinehurst #2) or is the green all overseed?  The photos above look a bit like paint.  Just curious what you typically encounter.

 

Plenty of paint/dye it seems. My white golf ball has been blue/green after picking it out of the hole, and my white towel is stained. 

 

[dfw Ag]

Hope you enjoy Brackenridge when you get to it in San Antonio, I know the last year or so they've been working on the course's conditions. It's a neat muni, you get a couple square greens and get to end on a par 3 which is unique. 

 

I believe it's hole 16 might be one of my least favorite in golf though, giant tree in the middle of the fairway with a creek also splitting it so it's one of those your approach club could end up longer than the tee club 🤬

[ThinkingPlus]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

I spent some time looking at courses in the RGV. Sheesh. Not much to choose from. I'll be down there for 3 weeks, and I'm going to be scraping bottom. There appears to be a handful of nice private courses, but the public courses are meh. I would have figured that the warm weather would attract a lot of snowbirds looking for some reasonable golf. 

 

I have Max Mandel, Los Lagos, Champion Lakes, Tierra Del Sol, Howling Trails, River Bend Resort, Rancho Viejo El Diablo, South Padre Island GC, Treasure Hills, Valley International CC, Tony Butler, Palmilla Beach, Lozano, Oso Beach Municipal, Riverside, and Alice Municipal on the list. 

 

There are a couple of nine hole courses that don't look bad. 

 

Well let me see.  How attached are you to posting your score?

[CCTxGolf]

Arg,

 

As someone from South Texas I can tell you that golf dies a slow miserable death south of San Antonio. LOL. RGV is lacking in the golf department which your research has proven. You are very resourceful so I’m sure you will find some good in the RGV golf scene. Plus crossing into Progresso Mexico is fun.

 

I will say, if you get a chance, a detour to Rockport is worth it. Rockport Country Club is a Bill Coore design from the 80’s (I think?), and it is prob the best golf south of SA. It is loosely private so you should be able to get on with a phone call and a good story. Haha. After Rockport you could take the ferry across to Port Aransas and play Palmilla Beach resort. It’s a 9 hole short course right along the beach but is always in great condition. Pay slightly more and play it twice. Good food and people watching in Port Aransas.

 

The two munis in Corpus Christi are not great but decent fun and only run about $35 all in. I enjoy Oso Beach the most, although there is no beach involved. LOL. If you can get on at Corpus Christi Country Club it is worth it also. They just finished an reopened after a 1 year course remodel. It is supposed to be great.

 

I have loved this thread since day one. Keep it up!

 

Have fun!

[TexasTurf]

Definitely detour north or east. Any more west or south of San Antonio in a day's drive will not lead to fun golf. 

[Argonne69]

7 hours ago, TexasTurf said:

Definitely detour north or east. Any more west or south of San Antonio in a day's drive will not lead to fun golf. 

 

I'll see how it goes. After 2 nights in Laredo it was going to be 18 nights in the RGV before heading back north to the Galveston/Houston area. Depending on the quality of the courses and the weather forecast, I might head north sooner and spend the extra days in Houston.

 

[Argonne69]

11 hours ago, ThinkingPlus said:

Well let me see.  How attached are you to posting your score?

 

I can keep a secret. Lol.

[ThinkingPlus]

16 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

I spent some time looking at courses in the RGV. Sheesh. Not much to choose from. I'll be down there for 3 weeks, and I'm going to be scraping bottom. There appears to be a handful of nice private courses, but the public courses are meh. I would have figured that the warm weather would attract a lot of snowbirds looking for some reasonable golf. 

 

I have Max Mandel, Los Lagos, Champion Lakes, Tierra Del Sol, Howling Trails, River Bend Resort, Rancho Viejo El Diablo, South Padre Island GC, Treasure Hills, Valley International CC, Tony Butler, Palmilla Beach, Lozano, Oso Beach Municipal, Riverside, and Alice Municipal on the list. 

 

There are a couple of nine hole courses that don't look bad. 

 

The RGV courses are mostly municipals and housing development courses.  The designs are ordinary and conditioning is not great, but somewhat expected for these type of courses.  There are only 2 privates left in the area.  The 3rd was dreadful because of bad ownership and neglect (chapter 11, for sale), but was a good design generally.  My order of courses below is mostly based on conditioning.  I can give more detailed descriptions for each course based on which ones you decide to try.

 

Note of CAUTION: Be very careful driving on the surface streets.  Denizens of the RGV have a penchant for running red lights and stop signs.  Worst place I have ever seen for this.

 

Upper Valley Courses (McAllen area) best to worst

Champion Lakes

Los Lagos

Tierra Santa (can't post currently)

Tierra del Sol (maybe undergoing renovation)

Shary Municipal (never played there, but it is green)

Monte Cristo CC (semi-private I think - never played there, can't post)

Howling Trails (hard pan heaven - hard pass unless desperate)

 

McAllen CC is full private.  You might call and see.  Best conditioned course in the valley.

 

Lower Valley Courses (Harlingen to Brownsville to SPI) best to worst

South Padre Island

River Bend (RB and RV are similar and about the same condition most of the time)

Rancho Viejo

Treasure Hills (good design - should be better than RB and RV if conditioning continues to improve)

Tony Butler (maybe undergoing renovation)

Brownsville Golf Center (despite the name it is a golf course)

Valley International (VICC - not sure they are still in operation)

 

Harlingen CC is a full private. It is usually in excellent condition. You might call and see.

[Argonne69]

Productive day. After sleeping in a whole hour (nice!), I knocked out my Christmas shopping. Buying gift cards doesn't take a whole lotta thought or effort, except for actually having to get dressed and drive to a store, but the young great nieces and nephews seem to like picking out their own toys. The teenagers like having a prepaid Visa in their pocket. Lol. 

 

Tomorrow's weather will be the same, cloudy early with a chance for rain. It doesn't really change until the weekend. I booked a round at Silverhorn tomorrow, and Olmos Basin on Friday. 

 

Couldn't find a decent taproom, so I made a stop at The Growler Exchange. Thirty-eight taps. No Belgians, but four imperial stouts with half pours available. 

 

 

[graveydellic]

Are you strictly a stout/barleywine/quad style drinker? 
 

I love BA stouts, but it’s somewhat seasonal for me and I have to be in the mood, whereas you seem to drink that style at all hours in all seasons! Ever dabble in IPAs, lagers, ambers, etc? 

[Argonne69]

9 hours ago, graveydellic said:

Are you strictly a stout/barleywine/quad style drinker? 
 

I love BA stouts, but it’s somewhat seasonal for me and I have to be in the mood, whereas you seem to drink that style at all hours in all seasons! Ever dabble in IPAs, lagers, ambers, etc? 

 

I wouldn't say strictly, but they are my beer of choice year around. I like a nice fruited wheat beer in the summer on a hot day. I've tried IPAs, but most are too hoppy. I'll drink the occasional lager, amber, red, gold, or blonde ale.