Alsatian Golf Club

Review & Rating of Alsatian Golf Club – Castroville, Texas

Alsatian Golf Club is one of those courses that is a  pleasant surprise and well worth a long drive to get to play it – in fact, we talked to a couple people that drive over an hour to play the course twice a month!  Located about 20 minutes from downtown San Antonio, Alsatian Golf Club opened for play in 1995 and underwent some renovations in 2008 which included improvement to some of the golf holes and a new upscale club house with a pro shop and restaurant. The course is short (4872 to 6436 yards) by todays standards and has 4 sets of tee boxes to choose from and it's a real joy to play. 

From our perspective, some of what makes Alsatian Golf Club a pleasant surprise and a well worth a round of golf includes:

• an excellent pace of play – a little over 3 hours is a typical round
• very good conditions and greens that are near perfect
• a very fair layout that gives you an opportunity to have an enjoyable and low scoring round
• there are some nice touches like clean carts and bathrooms and ball washers on every hole
• a creek, some  ponds, bunkers guarding the greens, trees, and some tiers on the greens require some shot making and course management skills as well as an ability to make some putts
• the clubhouse is upscale, the food is good, and the staff is very friendly
• the practice facilities are good and open for your use at no charge except for range balls
• there are some unique and fun holes

The front nine at Alsatian Golf Club is a little more fun and demanding from our perspective – 7 of the holes have water, there are some dog legs, a couple risk reward opportunities, close to an island green, and more.  This nine is a par 35 with 3 par 3s and 2 par 5s.  The back nine is a little more straightforward and traditional but you'll still need to manage 10 bunkers guarding the greens, a creek crossing several of the fairways, and some trees that can cause some problems plus two long uphill par 5s.

Some of the holes that we really liked include:

• #2 is the signature and #1 handicap hole and its a blast – 323 yards with a great risk reward shot to try and carry a small hill with trees and a signifcant slope down to the green with water three quarters of the way around it; the safer shot is to lay up about 100 yards out and then try and stuff it on a raised oblong green with a tier with little room for error
• #4 is a fun 538 yard par 5 that requires a good tee shot to carry a natural area and avoid the right side (trees will block your second shot) followed by a shot over a dry rock creek bed that crosses the fairway and then an approach to a green guarded by a front facing bunker
• #5 is great – a 328 yard par 4 with a left and right pond that pinch the fairway, a huge sand bunker with boulders strewn about (it looks more like a go cart or ATV race track than a sand bunker) and a long oblong green that requires a precise approach shot to hit the skinny green and miss the pond on the left and two ponds on the right – a great risk reward shot for long hitters to try and go for the green off the tee box
• #13 is great and requires some good course management to avoid the pond on the right and the creek that crosses the fairway and have a shot at a dog leg left green
• #17 and 18 are mirror images – two par 5s that have an elevated downhill tee shot and a big uphill shot to the green

When we played Alsatian Golf Club in late September, most of the fairways were in very good condition but a few were fighting the drought and heat and had some weeds, ant piles, and rough spots but were still very playable.  The rough was wide, thin, and easy to hit from.  Some of the fairways are lined with homes on one side that can come into play if you spray the ball.  Most of the fairways are generous off the tee.

The greens at Alsatian Golf Club were in near perfect condition – soft, true, and a good speed around 8.5.  Minor slope and contour and a couple tiers can cause a two or three putt.   The greens are a variety of shapes and range from small to about average.

The sand in the bunkers was soft and fluffy, the lips were manageable (ranged from thin to several inches tall) and all but one are guarding the greens.

Alsatian Golf Club is part of Alsatian RV Resort & Spa which is a minute or so from the pro shop.  This luxury RV resort overlooks the golf course and is home to casitas with outdoor kitchens and showers, a full service spa, a gourmet restaurant, great sites, a pool and hot tub, fitness room, and more   We stayed in a casita that was a chip shot from the 14th green!  Guests at the Resort get discounts on green fees.  Read our review of Alsatian RV Resort to learn why this is one of our Best of Texas RV Parks.