Blogger: Mike Riley
For a quick break from some of the content based posts that we have been doing today, I thought I’d tell you a bit about the resort’s golf facilities. I got the opportunity to play a round of golf on the site visit that I did with Kathleen McCasland and Crystal Walton back in January of 2011. Being the middle of winter, it wasn’t the warmest round of golf I had ever played, but compared to St. Louis winter weather, San Antonio is downright balmy.
I got to play on the course with a couple of the resident golf pros, and while I certainly wasn’t the quality of playing partner that these two gentlemen were used to, they seemed to enjoy the day with me as we were able to take our time and enjoy the course. They were able to tell me a little information about the course (as it had only been open a little over a year at that point).
From http://www.tpcsanantonio.com, “TPC San Antonio is a model of environmentally sound methods and practices, beginning with two of the most well-planned, eco-friendly layouts ever conceived. The highlight of these layouts is a closed-loop irrigation system, which ensures the protection of the Edwards Aquifer and supports the TPC Network’s vision of all courses designated as Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary Systems. TPC San Antonio was designed to take full advantage of the abundant natural resources, majestic trees and indigenous flora and fauna found throughout the property, including the adjacent 750-acre nature preserve and sanctuary for the protection of the Golden-Cheek Warbler.” (http://www.edwardsaquifer.org/) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_Aquifer).
You may ask, what is an aquifer? Well, thanks to WikiPedia, here is a link that tells you quite a bit about this – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquifer.
Back to the golf course. This is a beautiful golf course, difficult, but fair for even us high handicappers (although not official, I’d put my handicap around 18-22). I had a great time playing it. Here is a picture of the course from the hotel:
In the vein of one of those fish stories (“it was this big”), I had one memorable hole on the course. It was a par 4, #13 on the Oaks course. Playing up to my handicap, I hit a really poor tee shot that left me short of a bunker. Once again, playing very consistently, I chopped my next shot into the greenside bunker. Because I did not want to go back to the cart to get a sand wedge, I decided to play a pitching wedge out of the trap. This was ultimately a bad decision, as I was unable to get the ball out of the bunker. At this point, one of the pros asked me what club I was using. Of course he knew what club I had, but politely was hinting that maybe I’d be better off with a sand wedge. I told him I was using my pitching wedge, he asked if he could get my sand wedge for me, I said no and took my stance. The golfing gods must have been smiling, because I got the ball out of the trap and lo and behold, the ball went in the cup! Of course, a bogey, but nonetheless, it was the moment that I always look for in every sport that I have played: at least one moment that makes you want to come back again another time! Perhaps the funniest thing about that moment was what the pro who asked if I wanted him to get my sand wedge said “Well, I guess you don’t want me to caddy for you anymore!” 🙂
Why do I tell you all of this? Well, the PGA holds the Texas Valero Open at the TPC San Antonio every year, and in 2012, that is this upcoming weekend, April 19-22. TV coverage is on the Golf Channel (http://www.golfchannel.com/) on the 19th and 20th exclusively, and then on the 21st and 22nd, coverage will be on CBS (http://www.cbs.com) on Saturday and Sunday (there may be golf coverage on the Golf Channel early on the weekend as well).
Look for amazing views of the golf course itself, and the facilities at the resort. I remember last year watching the coverage during our monthly ODTUG Board conference calls and wanting to tell everyone to watch and see where KScope12 was going to be held. Of course, we had not announced the location of KScope12 yet, so that was not possible.
You can find several videos and coverage of last year’s action on the Texas Valero Open website here – (http://valerotexasopen.org/).
Also, as an add-on to your KScope12 conference experience, may I suggest that a perfect opportunity to play some golf at the TPC San Antonio is during our first EVER KScope scramble golf event. The registration is not free, but when else can you say that you got the chance to play on a course that the PGA professionals play on? For more information, and to register – (http://kscope12.com/events/golf-tournament).
OH, by the way, if you haven’t registered for the conference, here’s where you need to go – (http://kscope12.com/registration).
Are you interested in playing some golf at KScope12? Answer the poll below, or leave us a comment!
Not much of a golf player (like not at all) but the course is very scenic. Anyone need a water boy?