Review of Hyatt Hill Country Resort - Creeks Course

Hyatt Hill Country Resort - Creeks Course
Texas Outside Rating: 8.3
9 Holes - Golf - Resort Public
San Antonio
210 647-1234
Website
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Online Tee Times Stay & Play

Date Played: October 18, 2008
Front Nine Rating: 8.5 Stars
Back Nine Rating: Stars
Approximate Weekend Price Range: $49.00 to $135.00
Brief Description:

Hyatt Hill Country Resort has 27 holes of some of the best golf in Texas. Each of the nines have their own unique challenges and character. Although each nine is different, here is what is common to all three nines, each nine is:

well maintained and manicured
greens and fairways are lush and in near perfect condition
each nine takes maximum advantage of the terrain
pace of play is excellent
with 5 sets of tee boxes, you can find a yardage that fits your game and handicap
the GPS is excellent and needed
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
the 19th hole Cactus Oak Tavern has good food, cold drinks, TVs, and a pool table

The practice facility is excellent and golf staff is focused on making the Hyatt the place to play for families, ladies, and juniors. Clinics and player development programs are available for all ages.

Here is a link to the review of the Lakes Course and the Creeks Course. The Hyatt Hill Country Resort & Spa has a very good Stay & Play Package and the resort is fantastic -read our review of the Hyatt.

The Creeks course is appropriately named for the creek bed which meanders along side of and across 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. For example, #7 is a 397 yard par 4 with a sharp dog leg left (great risk/reward shot if you think you can fly the trees), a tree in the middle of the fairway, 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 are in great condition and the greens are about average size, a tad fast, have some minor slope, and are pretty easy to read. The last two holes are outstanding and you should be able to walk into the excellent 19th hole commenting on what a fun round you just had.

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

Texas Outside Scorecard for Hyatt Hill Country Resort - Creeks Course
Beauty:
Difficulty:
Variety:
Fun Scale:
Value:
Condition:

Other Good Information:

Beware of water on 5 holes and the 16 sand traps.
Service is fantastic and the golf staff is focused on making sure your round is fun and memorable.
Condition of the greens is 9.0 and the green difficulty is 8.5 out of 10.
Walkable: Yes
GPS: Yes

Course Yardage, Slope, and Rating:

Tee Box	Yardage	Rating	Slope	Par
Gold	3,429	73.3	131	72
Blue	3,183	71.3	129	72
White	2,826	67.7	116	72
Red	2,493	68.2	119	72

Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this: links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses!
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:

Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds
Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10.
Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box? That’s right, it gets a 1.
Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes
Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course. For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.
Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!
Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale. Condition is self-explanatory.

All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course. In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40. We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.