Hill Country Golf Club Creeks Course

Review of Hill Country Golf Club Creeks Course – San Antonio

Hyatt Hill Country Resort has 27 holes of some of the best golf in Texas. The three nine hole courses play through more than 200 acres of diverse terrain with tree lined and rolling fairways, tranquil lakes and ponds, wooded ravines, hillsides, and dry rock creek beds.  All three courses at Hill Country Golf Club were designed by Arthur Hills and he gave  each of the nines it's own unique challenges, personality, and character:

• the Oaks Course is the hardest of the three thanks to tight fairways, forced carries, and dog legs plus you need to place shots and work the ball to score well – here is a link to read our review of the Oaks Course
• the Creeks Course is the easiest thanks to wide and forgiving fairways and easier approach shots to the greens
• the Lakes Course is the middle of the road course and offers several risk reward opportunities – here is a link to our review of the Lakes Course

Although each nine is different, here is what is common to all three nines:

• they are all well maintained and manicured
• the greens and fairways are in very good condition
• each nine takes maximum advantage of the terrain
• the pace of play is excellent
• with 4 sets of tee boxes, you can find a yardage that fits your game and handicap
• the GPS is excellent and beneficial to helping you decide where to try and place your shots
• service is impeccable with an experienced, friendly, and helpful staff
• you'll have a fun and memorable round on any of the nines
• all are open to the public with a fantastic rate for locals with proof of residence and a good stay and play package
• the 19th hole Cactus Oak Tavern has good food, cold drinks, TVs, and a pool table

The Creeks course is appropriately named for the dry rock strewn creek bed which meanders along side of and across several of the fairways. This tree lined nine holes is one of those courses where you can have a relaxing fun round and score well. On most holes you can see the pin and know what you're up against; the course is very forgiving with wide fairways so you can let 'er rip; traps are easy to avoid (which is usually very hard for us!); fairways provide lots of roll; and the roughs are cut just right making it easy to recover from an errant shot.

With that said, you are going to find a couple holes that have both narrower fairways and tougher approach shots and some that are a blast to play. For example,

• #4 is a fun 538 yard par 5 with an elevated tee box, a dog leg left along a huge wide contoured fairway with mounding on both sides, and then a tough approach to a green set off to the right with a big front side bunker and a pond on the right side
• #6 is only 301 yards and it will temp long hitters to try to go for the green from the tee box but a dry creek bed that crosses in front of the fairway is waiting if you're short and a big bunker on the left front of the green can catch your drive and trees on the left side of the fairway in front of the green can block your shot to the green – better off playing conservative and laying up in front of the dry creek that is about 85 yards in front of the green
• #7 is a 397 yard par 4 with a sharp dog leg left (great risk/reward shot if you think you can fly the tall trees), a tree in the middle of the fairway that is waiting to catch your drive, and a narrow approach to a small oblong green protected by trees in the back, a trap on the left, and a creek in the front.

The Creeks Course fairways were in great condition when we played and most of them are wide and forgiving.  Plus the rough has grass that holds your ball up making for a fairly each recovery shot.  Miss the fairway and the rough and you're lost.  

The greens are about average size, a tad slow (around 9), have some minor slope, and are pretty easy to read.

The Hill Country Golf Club bunkers are all going to be redone (re-shaped, better drainage, and new sand) starting in December 2014. 

The slope and rating listed below are if you play the Creeks and Oaks.

The Hyatt Hill Country Resort & Spa is fantastic and it has a very good Stay & Play Package.