Bill3691235

The course layout is great and there are some challenging holes. Greens were in good shape, tee boxes not so much, and areas just off the fairways which were either gravel or mulch in some spots. Other observations: carts are old, need to be replaced, or at least fix the holes in the seats. For $100+, might be nice to throw in a bag of range balls or some tees. There needs to be someone driving around the course to maintain pace of play—there was a 5 some playing followed by 3 3somes—4:45 for 18 holes. And the group behind us was playing with 2 young kids (under 4yrs) in the cart—and had no clue as to golf etiquette. You can’t post your score on the GHIN App, because they aren’t part of it.

When a golf course gives you incentives for “liking” them on social media in a Tier system (the more reviews the better the discount in the bar, for greens fees or merchandise) and that’s posted in the golf cart—that says a lot about the course & management. Sorry the conditions were not great.

Vaaler Creek is a great "off the beaten path" course that is worth the trip. Conditions are always good to excellent. The past few years they have over-seeded in the winter, so you can still play a green course in January.

Played on a Sunday with mid morning tee time--that was already 15 minutes behind. We finished 2nd hole to find 4 groups on 3rd hole--2 on tee, 1 in fairway, and 1 on green. Made a call to pro-shop to advise--never saw anyone come out. 2 1/2 hour front nine. Stopped in 19th hole for water/snacks (it was 95 degrees)--asked for a cooler and ice and was told "only if you buy something" and then "you need to leave an ID for the cooler" (like I would really take the cooler that saddles up on the golf cart, and that most clubs in area have on cart filled with ice before the round). Round was a little over 5 hours (and similar our round earlier in the year). 10 minute spread on tee times may improve the current 8 minutes.

I played the Oaks & Lakes for a reduced "Local" rate. Staff in golf shop and on course were excellent. Course conditions were fair--except for the bunkers which have the nicest white sand in San Antonio. Most of the greens had some sort of disease or fungus, so the pins were placed away from those areas. The course was very dry, including grass bunkers near greens. Maybe they have different watering restrictions than other coursed I have played in the last month. GPS worked well, course is a target golf course. We ordered food via GPS on 7th hole--when we made the turn, the bartender said "oh, i didn't check the system" so we had to wait for her to cook the dogs--which were not cooked when we got them. 19th hole seemed to get a lot of Hotel Guests, including very young children, not what I am used to at other courses. I would play again, but not at full price.