Oso Beach Municipal Course Review

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.