Review: Brackenridge Park Golf Course

Still love for an “Old School” course!

With all the advances in the golf equipment, the golfers themselves and modern courses, many old school traditional courses have either gone away, tried to adapt or simply can’t keep up. Brackenridge Park course is an A. W. Tillinghast design. He is one of fathers of golf architecture in America. This is also the oldest public course in Texas.

While Brackenridge is not going to blow your socks away with its conditions or its length, it has a nostalgic feeling that makes it a must play while in San Antonio. It also won’t break the bank either, often under $50 for 18 and a cart. The weekday I was there to play was packed with seniors, both men and women. There were literally 14 carts around the putting green and the first tee. I got paired up with some nice gentleman, natives of San Antonio. They gave me a few insights and pointers too along the way. The front nine is back and forth about 3 times to squeeze in all these holes which pretty much side by side. Some of the unique features were the square greens on a few holes, the difficult bunkers and the narrow fairways. On the front 9 I pretty much played 3-wood off the tee on every hole. There was no need for driver because it can easily get you into trouble on such a tight layout. Length isn’t the problem, since it is fairly short. Reading the greens can be tough because of the subtle breaks often toward water that you forget is nearby.

The back 9 has a different feel to it, it isn’t as dense even though many of the holes are side by side again, there are a few more creative designs. The 10th hole is a picturesque par 3 with a carry over water. The next few holes are in some thinner trees and zigzag back and forth until you meet the 14th hole. This long par 4 is tough to reach in 2. It takes a long drive with a long second shot over water into to an elevated green. Probably the toughest hole on the course. The 16th is a fascinating hole with a giant tree right in the middle of the fairway. But for better golfers, hitting a towering drive over the tree isn’t too difficult. Both 17 and 18 are tough holes coming in. They both have water that you must navigate and with enough trees, accuracy is still important.

It might not “wow” you like some of the new courses in town, but enjoying an old-school design at a reasonable price is a round well worth playing while in San Antonio, TX.

For more information: Golf Brackenridge

Quick Hits
+Old-school design
+Oldest public course in TX
+Reasonably priced

–Busy
–Average conditions