San Antonio: Get Your Game On

With endless history, boundless scenery and that dynamic River Walk – oh, yes, and let’s not forget the 300 days of South Texas sunshine – San Antonio has never had a problem attracting satisfied visitors from near and far. But among some of the city’s biggest draws today are an impressive (and growing) array of public and resort golf courses, world-champion athletic teams and sports recreation facilities.

The most exciting golf news these days is the construction of two Tournament Players Club courses (that’s TPC to you serious swingers) with input from golf legend/architect Greg Norman and current player Sergio Garcia at AT&T Oaks, and from architect Pete Dye and veteran player Bruce Lietzke at AT&T Canyons. Both courses, which will be owned by the PGA TOUR, are set to open in 2010 along with the luxury JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa.

Play By Day, See the Sights at Night

Ever since golf really started to boom here in the early 1990s, there has been a steady stream of new courses to complement longtime favorites in the birthplace of Texas golf. And the true beauty of public and resort golf in San Antonio is that the fun doesn’t end, even after you sink that final putt of the day. Unlike many golf destinations that offer fine courses with little to do when the sun goes down, there’s no such problem in San Antonio.

Longtime local promoter Buddy Cook has worked in the resort golf business in many places, and says there’s no place quite like San Antonio.

“I can compare San Antonio to Palm Springs,” says Cook, who has served as a head golf pro in both cities. “Each has a variety of interesting and excellent golf courses, but when the sun goes down, that’s when San Antonio really shines. We’ve got the River Walk, the
restaurants and the parties along the (San Antonio) river.”

Top-Notch Golf

Want to play where the pros do? Look no further. San Antonio is one of less than a half-dozen U.S. cities to host both a PGA TOUR event – the Valero Texas Open, fourth-oldest on the PGA TOUR schedule, and the 50-and-older Champions Tour AT&T Championship. Both take place under warm and sunny skies that set the stage for great play.

There are also plenty of places ready to serve up a luxury golf experience. The Hyatt Hill County Resort and Spa has opened nine new holes, for a total of 27 wildflower and rock-strewn layouts by veteran architect Arthur Hills. Just across from SeaWorld® San Antonio in the midst of its own lavish complex, the Hyatt offers plenty of activities to please every member of the family.

The Westin La Cantera Resort currently hosts the state’s best professional golfers at the Valero Texas Open, but you don’t have to be a pro to play here – or enjoy countless amenities – the rest of the year. The final architectural pairing of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish produced the first La Cantera layout, The Resort Course, named the “Top New Public Course in America” by Golf Digest when it opened in 1995. Arnold Palmer followed five years later with his own La Cantera layout, giving the resort two outstanding public courses next to Six Flags® Fiesta Texas.

Uniquely San Antonio

One of the most unique courses in San Antonio – or anywhere else for that matter – is The Quarry, so named for the back nine holes designed totally inside the old quarry pit of the former Alamo Cement plant. Located halfway between the San Antonio Airport and downtown, it’s a visual and golf triumph by architect Keith Foster. Thomas Walker, a protégé of golf legend Gary Player, designed Canyon Springs on one of the highest points of land in the city that not only guarantees an abundance of sweeping views, but also a great green grass challenge on the site of a former Pony Express stop. The Republic is the newest public course just south of downtown while Silverhorn offers an exceptional stretch of finishing holes by pros Scott Verplank and Willie Wood.

It wouldn’t be San Antonio without plenty of history involved, and golf is no exception. Brackenridge Park, the once private estate of George W. Brackenridge, was the first public 18-hole course in Texas when built in 1916. Designed by A.W. Tillinghast, it was also the first with true grass greens and first home of the Texas Open in 1922. When an ongoing renovation is finished late this year, “Ole Brack” (as the locals call it) will be home to the Texas Golf Hall of Fame.

Just south of downtown is the city-owned Riverside Golf Course, where future U.S. president Teddy Roosevelt encamped his troops while training for his legendary charge up San Juan Hill. Nearby is public golf haven Pecan Valley, the site of the 1968 PGA Championship, where Julius Boros edged Palmer for one of golf’s great championships. The scenic Press Maxwell layout along Salado Creek is also a treat for experienced players and newcomers alike.

We Are The (World) Champions!

All golf and no other play can make for a very one-sided trip – and probably an unhappy family to boot. Thankfully, San Antonio is a sports lover’s dream come true. The four-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs are worshipped here and regularly play before sellout crowds at the spectacular AT&T Center just east of downtown.

Owned and operated by the Spurs, the San Antonio Silver Stars is the city’s entry in the Women’s NBA. The teams not only share a building, but are also working on creating the same winning dynasty. The downtown Alamodome is also a sports magnet of all kinds. It recently hosted its third NCAA college basketball Final Four, along with the annual December college football Alamo Bowl, which attracts some of the sport’s best and
biggest teams to a sellout crowd of 65,000-plus.

Minor Leagues, Major Fun

For value-priced family fun, it’s hard to beat the minor league baseball San Antonio Missions, who play their spring and summer home games before crowds at Nelson Wolff Stadium just west of downtown. (A seat in the picnic pavilion and the nightly Puffy Taco race are regular rites of passage for Missions fans everywhere.) The San Antonio Rampage heats up the ice with hard-hitting minor league ice hockey and quite the loyal following during the regular season and subsequent playoffs.

Looking for a spectator sport outside the traditional court or rink? Check out the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo held each spring at Freeman Coliseum, where the sport’s best cowboys compete for top dollar and the music industry’s best entertainers compete to entertain crowds. If watching from the sidelines is not your style, don’t miss the annual Rock ‘N’ Roll San Antonio Marathon held in and around downtown in November with 70 live bands, thousands of runners and even more fans to root them on.

It wouldn’t be true South Texas without horses, rodeo and the brave Charros – and that’s exactly what you’ll find at the San Antonio Charros De Bejar. Billed as an Adventure in Old Mexico in San Antonio, it’s an outdoor journey into colorful horse heritage.

From tees to tip-offs and everything in between, San Antonio truly does have it all covered – whether you are a golfer, sports fan, participant or just a “champion at heart.”