The Dominion Country Club

Review and Rating of The Dominion Country Club in San Antonio

The Dominion Country Club is a fantastic private 18 hole golf course that plays through 260 acres of gently rolling hills and hardwood trees.  The course was designed by Bill Johnston, a former Texas Open champion and longtime P.G.A. professional, and he did a superb job of levering the natural terrain, Leon Creek, and incorporating 25 acres of man-made lakes – all of which make for a scenic and enjoyable round of golf.  

The course is owned and managed by The Dominion Golf Group and they do an excellent job of keeping the course perfectly manicured and very well maintained.  The Dominion Golf Group also manages five other prestigious private clubs across Texas:  Onion Creek Club in South Austin,  Twin Creeks Country Club located in Cedar Park, Bridlewood Golf Club in Flower Mound, Lantana Golf Club in North Dallas, and River Place Country Club in Austin.

Some of the reasons why we love The Dominion Country Club and why it made our list of the Best Golf Courses in San Antonio include:

• the conditions from the tee boxes to the cup are near perfect
• the course is playable by all skill levels
• it's a position golf course that requires some accurate shots to be able to get on the green in regulation
• the course is scenic with gently rolling terrain, tall stately trees,  lakes and creeks, and some huge beautiful homes
• the greens are excellent – they run true and at a very good speed and require some study to read the subtle breaks
• the course has a lot of character and several holes that are a blast to play

The Dominion Country Club website has an excellent course layout and description that also includes a hole by hole "playing strategy" – which I wish I had studied before playing.  Here are a few of the holes that we really enjoyed:

• #2 is one of those holes you need to play again to know where to place the ball – it's a 395 yard par 4 that requires a 190 yard perfectly positioned tee shot to give you a good shot over the creek to a raised green with a bunker on the back side
• #9 is a great 499 yard sharp dog leg left par 5 that's reachable in two for long hitters – but the approach shot is challenging thanks to a pond covering the left side of a long skinny green plus two bunkers on the right side
• #14 is a fun 423 yard par 4 with an elevated tee shot over a ravine and creek to a wide fairway that takes a sharp turn left around a bunker and that's followed by a second shot to a big rectangle shaped green with a bunker on the left and one on the right plus a pond
• #17 requires an accurate 155 yard shot to a green surrounded by 7 bunkers and a pond that surrounds three quarters of the green

The greens at The Dominion Country Club define the course and they put a premium on putting if you want to score well.  Most of the greens are raised and small  ranging from 21 to 40 yards deep and they were in perfect condition when we played. They are a variety of shapes, soft and hold the ball well, and run at a good speed of around 10 or so.  There is plenty of slope and very subtle breaks that will surprise you.   The Dominion Country Club greens are all guarded with between one and seven bunkers, which means you need to be very accurate to hit and hold the greens.

The fairways at The Dominion Country Club were also in fantastic condition as was the rough which was cut very playable.  Most of the fairways are huge and forgiving off the tee, but miss and you're under the trees or lost in the dense brush or water.  A few holes have a scattering of huge beautiful homes lining one side of the fairway.  Some of the fairways back are a little tighter. 

The bunkers are well maintained and in very good condition with soft white sand that ranges from deep and thick to a tad thin.  The bunkers range in size from some gigantic fairway bunkers to small pot sized bunkers.  The lips are manageable – maybe two to three inches tall but they do an excellent job of preventing your ball from rolling back out of the bunker. 

Bottom line – a fantastic course that is fair and fun and is in excellent condition