Buckhorn Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.6

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 71
Comfort
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Buckhorn Review

Review of The Buckhorn Golf Course

The Buckhorn, located on the outskirts of historic Comfort Texas, was designed to take advantage of this part of the Texas Hill Country's elevation changes, clear creeks, stands of live oak, and stunning views of the rolling country hillside.  The Buckhorn is a fairly traditional layout with wide forgiving fairways, a playable first cut, large greens, excellent conditions, and minimal hazards.  The course is owned and managed by one of the best – Foresight Golf – and it was named Best of the Best Hill Country Courses by the Boerne Star. The Buckhorn also made Texas Outside’s list of the Best Golf Courses in the San Antonio Area.

The Buckhorn is relatively short with four tee boxes and yardages from 4616 to 6648.  As such, this is a course where you can have a fun, enjoyable, and relaxing round thanks to no tricks, not many hazards, and no killer holes.  Austin Golf Magazine summarizes a round at the Buckhorn pretty well by stating: "....6648 yards from the tips with expansive accommodating fairways and large welcoming greens - fun no matter what you shoot." 

The course plays up and down the hills with no homes to worry about – it’s just you and nature!  The huge and expansive powerlines are a little annoying and distract from the beautiful Hill Country scenery.  Even though the fairways are wide and forgiving, don't get cocky or overconfident, you can still get in some trouble:  

  • if you spray the ball you'll most likely end up lost in the dense natural areas or tree clusters
  • you'll need to pick the right club to avoid the creek cutting across the fairway on number 5 (it's closer than you think) and number 11 and where it protects the green on number 16
  • club selection is very important to manage the elevated tee boxes and greens 
  • 28 bunkers and creeks or ponds on 8 holes can be trouble
  • contouring and slope on the fairway can cause uneven lies
  • the course defense is the greens which are very challenging

On the front nine, most of the holes are traditional and straightforward, some are side by side, and on most holes, you can see the pin.  Some of our favorite holes on this nine included:

  • #3 is a 577-yard par 5 with a blind shot off the tee followed by a slight downhill with a tough approach shot thanks to a bunker on the left of the green and a pond on the right side
  • #5 is a fun one that requires the right club to avoid the creek crossing the fairway and then an accurate shot to a green protected by the lake on the left and a bunker – a great risk-reward opportunity to carry the creek off the tee
  • #6 is a 549-yard par 5 with a slight uphill fairway with a cascading creek feeding a small hidden pond on the right and a pond on the right from 140 yards out to the side of the green

The back nine of The Buckhorn seems a little prettier, more interesting, and a little more challenging.  This nine is a par 35 with 3 par 3s, 2 par 5s, and 4 par 4s.  Our favorite holes on this nine include:

  • #14 has a fun roller coaster green with a false front, a valley, and slope off all sides
  • #15 has an elevated tee box with a fantastic view of the Hill Country (watch out for the creek crossing the fairway) and then heads back uphill to the green with a right-side bunker
  • #16 is a 543-yard par 5 with a magnificent panoramic view of the countryside and a green with a front and rear bunker
  • #18 is a fun finishing hole with a good-sized bunker strategically placed in the middle of the fairway, two right-side bunkers and a bunker on the left side of the green. 

The Buckhorn fairways were in very good condition when we played.  Most are very wide and forgiving with a wide playable rough.  They were firm and provided lots of extra roll. 

The greens are very challenging thanks to subtle breaks, valleys and ridges, and slope plus the run fairly fast.  Most of the greens are good sized and all but 3 have at least one bunker guarding them.  They hold the ball ok and run true.  Pin placement can make for 3 putts.

The Buckhorn bunkers were also in very good condition with soft thick sand.  Some of the faces are challenging.  We found it fairly easy to avoid most of the bunkers.

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,648 72.0 126
White 6,155 69.8 124
Gold 5,561 67.1 114
Red 4,616 67.5 113

Course Information

Course Architect:
Art Schaupeter
Greens Type:
Tif Dwarf Bermuda
Greens Condition
9.5
Greens Difficulty
9.2
Fairway Condition
8.7
Bunker Condition
9.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Hilly
Beware of water on 8 holes and the 27 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.6 out of 10
Beauty:
8.4
Difficulty:
8.0
Variety:
8.5
Fun to Play:
8.5
Value:
9.0
Condition:
9.0
Front Nine Rating:
8.3
Back Nine Rating:
8.7
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $39.00 to $51.00

The proshop and clubhouse are small but very well stocked. Food is limite to hot dogs and snacks. The practice area is an acre with Tifdwarf target greens, a driving range, and a short game area complete with bunkers and a chipping green. Service is great and country friendly.

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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.