The Club at Sonterra - North Course

The Club at Sonterra in San Antonio Review

The Club at Sonterra is within a very exclusive gated community in one of the most prestigious areas of San Antonio and it's home to 36 excellent holes of golf, beautiful homes, and some excellent amenities including dining, swimming, and tennis.  Each of the courses has it's own unique characteristics and personality, but common to both are good conditions and a fun course to play.

The South Course opened in 1950 and was designed by Press Maxwell.  This 18 meanders through native Texas trees and landscapes is the more traditional of the two courses – a tad tighter off the tee box, not as many forced carries, smaller greens, and little to no development.  It's 320 yards shorter from the tips, has 4 tee boxes, and is considered a stroke or two easier than South. 

The North Course was designed by Bruce Devlin and Robert Von Hagge and it's a more modern design with several forced carries, extensive bunkering, fairly open landing zones off the tee boxes, and elevated greens that put a premium on the approach shots.  The five tee boxes and yardages of 4897 to 7020 yards make the course fair for all skill levels or provide a challenging round if you bite off more than you can chew. The North Course is regarded as one of the toughest courses in San Antonio.

The North Course at The Club at Sonterra plays through some beautiful homes and lots of trees and colorful plants.  The design does a great job of leveraging the native terrain and creating some great holes, for example:

• #1 is the #3 handicap and it's a 571 yard beauty with an elevated tee box and a carry over the brush and trees followed by a dogleg right and a scary approach shot past 6 bunkers (two very long and skinny ones on the right) leading to an elevated green
• #9 is a fun 426 yard par 4 (number 1 handicap) that turns left around a left and right side bunker then down and across a pond to the green – a shot makers hole
• #16 is short at 372 yards and it will temp you to risk flying a bunker and hitting a raised fairway to get closer to the green
• #17 is a beautiful hole with a scenic and challenging approach shot over a cascading rock waterfall filling a pond in front of a significantly elevated green

Speaking of the greens most are raised and well-guarded putting a premium on your approach shot. They are all large, a variety of shapes, and have some subtle to not so subtle slope.  When we played they were in very good condition, held the ball very well, and they ran true and at a good speed of around 9 or so. 

The North Course at The Club at Sonterra fairways were also in great condition.  They leverage the gently rolling terrain and they are firm providing lots of extra roll.  They are wide and generous off the tee box but get somewhat tighter on the second shot.  The rough was wide and playable and in pretty good condition with a few bare spots.  Miss both the fairway and rough and you could be lost in the trees and brush or in a back yard.

The bunkers are all shapes and sizes from some small pot like bunkers to some long skinny bunkers.  Most of the bunkers are guarding the greens and easy to find.  The faces range from a foot or so to some steep and deep monsters.  The sand is ok, not great – a little heavy and very thin. 

Bottom line – a good quality course in very good condition.