Shary Municipal Golf Course - Holes 1 to 9 Review

Texas Outside Rating: 7.9

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 34
Mission
Website · Locate This Course

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Shary Municipal Golf Course - Holes 1 to 9 Review

Review and Rating of Shary Municipal Golf Course - holes 1-9

Shary Municipal Golf Course is owned and managed by the City of Mission and it's home to 27 holes.  Each of the nines is a little different from the others, for example:

  • Holes 1-9 is the shortest (2100 to 2600 yards with 4 tee boxes) of the three nines but still challenging thanks to water on 4 holes and 15 bunkers
  • Holes 10-18 are a par 36 and a tad longer then 19-27 from the back tees but shorter from the forward tees and this nine is regarded as the toughest - read our review of this nine
  • Holes 19-27 are the original 9 holes which opened in 1929 and it's the most traditional nine with most of the holes side by side and similar in the way they play, only one bunker, and popup greens

Holes 1-9 is the most popular nine and we liked it because:

  • there are some interesting holes like: #6 a short 305 yard par 4 that has a sharp dog leg right around a pond - which offers a great risk reward shot to get on or closer to the green if you think you can carry the pond and miss the towering palm trees
  • this nine puts a premium on the approach shots to the greens which are small, odd shaped, and pretty well guarded
  • the bunkers have been redone and were a joy to hit out of
  • there is only one par 5 (short at 475 but it takes a sharp turn right around a pond requiring some price shots and maybe a risk reward opportunity), three par 3s, and 5 relatively short par 4s

This nine is your opportunity to turn in a good score.  Just stay in the fairway and play smart and you won't be buying the drinks in the clubhouse. 

When we played Shary Municipal Golf Course in January the greens were in very good condition, held the ball pretty well, and ran true but a tad slow for our taste - maybe around an 8 or so.  They are a wide variety of interesting shapes and range from small to about average.  Most have some combination of slope and a little contour and some have a tier and one has a valley across the middle of the green.  Once we got on, we didn't have any trouble reading the breaks.

The fairways at Shary Municipal Golf Course were in ok shape, ample to generous, with a wide playable rough.  Most of the fairways have a scattering of towering palms or trees.

The vast majority of the bunkers are guarding the greens.  By the looks of them they have been recently redone with soft fluffy sand that is great to hit out of.  The bunkers range from small to some nasty monsters.  The good news is that the lips and manageable and you may even get lucky and roll out. 

Bottom line - a nice relaxing and enjoy nine that won't beat you up. 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 2,518 69.9 118
White 2,398 68.0 115
Gold 2,665
Red 2,100 68.7 117

Course Information

Greens Type:
Tif Dwarf Bermuda
Greens Condition
8.7
Greens Difficulty
8.5
Fairway Condition
7.0
Bunker Condition
9.0
GPS:
No
Walkable:
Easy
Beware of water on 4 holes and the 15 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
7.9 out of 10
Beauty:
7.8
Difficulty:
7.0
Variety:
7.5
Fun to Play:
9.0
Value:
8.7
Condition:
7.8
Front Nine Rating:
7.9
Back Nine Rating:
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $16.00 to $30.00

The pro shop is well stocked, the grill has the basics, and there is a range and putting green to warm up on.

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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.