Oso Beach Municipal Course Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.2

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 70
Corpus Christi
Website · Locate This Course

Oso-6-14-_9 Oso-300 Oso-6-14-_1

Oso Beach Municipal Course Review

Review of Oso Beach Municipal Golf Course Corpus Christi

Oso Beach Municipal Golf Course was designed by John Bredemus, co-founder of the Texas PGA and the Texas Open, and it was available for play in 1949.  Like most older courses it is short by today's standards (3 tee boxes and yardages ranging  from 4967 to 6223 yards and a par 70), traditional and straightforward (what you see is what you get) with the pin in view from most of the tee boxes, and the greens are small and challenging.   The course is owned by the City of Corpus Christi but Foresight Golf, one of the best golf management companies in Texas, was brought in to manage the course in 2011 and has done an excellent job of keeping the rates reasonable and the conditions very good. 

The terrain in South Texas is pretty flat as are the fairways at Oso Beach Municipal Golf Course and they are wide and forgiving with a wide playable rough.  And since the course is short, Oso Beach is very player friendly for all levels of golf - from beginners to seniors.  However, you do need to manage the wind, stay out of the natural areas, avoid the water, and focus on the approach shots to the small greens.

The front nine is very traditional with 20 bunkers and water on 4 holes to contend with.   #8 is a fun hole on this nine - a 483 yard par 5 with a great risk reward shot to carry the lake (which is a longer carry than it looks) to shorten the dog leg left or you can play safe to a wide open landing zone on the right side but it will require a much longer second shot to hit the green. 

The back nine (a par 34) was more fun and a little more challenging from our perspective.  10 bunkers, wind, a big lake that comes into play on 5 holes, 4 intimidating carries over water, small greens, and 3 par 3s make this nine a little more interesting and difficult.  Some of our favorite holes on this nine included:

  • #10 is a 420 yard par five that you can reach in two with a good drive as long as you avoid the lake along the first half of the left side of the fairway
  • the signature hole, #13 is a 180 yard par 3 that's all carry over the lake to a small green guarded by a left and right side bunker and trouble if you're long
  • #18 is a fun 383 yard dog leg right with an excellent risk reward shot to carry the trees and get much closer to the green - miss and you're lost

The fairways at Oso Beach are wide and forgiving with several that are side by side.  Palms and a variety of other interesting trees are scattered along most of the fairways and some are lined with natural areas that are OB and will devour your golf ball.  Most of the roughs are also wide and the grass is dense and holds the ball high making for a fairly easy recovery shot.  When we played in December the fairways and roughs were in very good condition.

The greens are turtle back shaped, raised (making a bump and run difficult), small, and all but two are guarded by one to three small bunkers.  They are difficult to hit and hold because they are pretty firm and most have some steep slope off all sides.   The greens run true and at a great speed of around 9 or so, but tiers, slope, and some contour will come into play.  The Oso Beach Golf Course Greens were in excellent condition when we played.

The bunkers range from about average to small and some have a manageable lip and others are a tad steep and deep.  The sand ranges from very soft and deep to a little thin with a firm bottom. 

Bottom line - a very good quality course that's player friendly, in great condition, and a fantastic value.  This is a great course to walk - flat, short, and easy.

Dsc_1311 Dsc_1302 Dsc_1315

Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,223 69.9 119
White 5,728 67.1 112
Red 4,967 68.3 114

Course Information

Course Architect:
John Bredemus
Greens Condition
8.8
Greens Difficulty
8.8
Fairway Condition
8.5
Bunker Condition
9.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Easy
Scorecard
Course Map
Beware of water on 9 holes and the 30 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.2 out of 10
Beauty:
7.5
Difficulty:
7.5
Variety:
7.3
Fun to Play:
9.0
Value:
9.3
Condition:
8.8
Front Nine Rating:
8.0
Back Nine Rating:
8.5
Dsc_1303

FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $30.00 to $39.00

The Pro Shop has a very good supply of all of the basics, the grill has dogs to burgers and sandwiches, and the chipping and putting area along with a bunker and adequate. Service is very good and friendly.

Dsc_1318

 

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.