A business trip to San Antonio allowed us the opportunity to golf two more Marriott Golf Courses - TPC San Antonio. We enjoyed a beautiful stay at the JW Marriott Hill Country and golfed both The Canyons and The Oaks courses. The Oaks Course (a Greg Norman design) is home to the Valero Texas Open that was actually arriving in just a few weeks, so we had pristine course conditions and watched as the many grandstands were being built.
The two courses were different but both enjoyable.
The Canyons course is a Pete Dye designed course and so what you see is not what you get on the Greens. Speaking of the Greens, besides never really knowing which way the ball was going to roll - they were this very cool unique dark hunter green. And I decide I was going to write a book called "Putt, Pray, Par". There was really no rough, no color and only some natural grasses bordering the fairways. The back 9 was definitely more forward friendly. It was a fun round.
The Oaks course had been over seeded and was incredibly lush and green. Our Starter cautioned that for first time players it would be like being on a roller coast for the first time. However, thankfully - it was not as "harrowing" as anticipated. From our Tee-boxes it was a playable course but taking a view from the Tips, we can see how the pros will have "fun" with the course. Timing was good for us as the rough was still low so not many balls went lost. Two Par-3s entirely over water defintely made the round a bit more challenging.
The Golf Cart technology is awesome. No need for signage as the GPS is great. Each Golf Designer provides a fly-over description of each hole and the cart is sure to let you know when you have gone too close to the Green as it just stops and you have to reverse to get going again! They also have Ball and Club Cleaners on each cart - very convenient.
If you enjoy Golf then a trip to Hill Country is a must. The hotel and its grounds are absolutely beautiful. And the two golf courses give you plenty of rounds to enjoy - you'll want to go at them a 2nd time, so give yourself that time. Enjoy!