Day 12 Canyon Springs GC, First Night in Austin

3/19 - Day 12 Canyon Springs GC, First Night in Austin

Played golf in San Antonio on the north side of town at Canyon Springs Golf Club. I played the white tees, 6210 yards, rating 70.7 / slope 128. The two guys I played with (Adam & Jim) played the blue tees 6677 yards, 72.1 rating, 130 slope. Par 72 golf course.

I only had three pars the whole round and the course kicked my ass. After a fair start I was very inconsistent with my driver off the tee.

This is SORT of a subdivision course, but the houses are all well off the fairways and some holes have no houses on them at all. The greens are fairly large, hard to read and a little bit slow, which made them tough to putt. I actually felt good (mostly) about my 39 putts as at least I didn't miss anything close. The greens were in good shape except for a couple of them. The guys told me that they were getting new grass on the greens this season.

The cups on the greens were installed upside down! At first we thought someone had effed them up, but were told it was so people wouldn't have to reach in the hole so far to get their ball and would leave the flags in for less "touching". Adam made a beautiful long putt for a birdie and though the ball was travelling at perfect speed when it went in, it bounced out and Jim wouldn't give it to him. Cutthroat game for those two! Did you know the bottom of a putting cup will also hold a flag? I did not.

The fairways are wide and in good condition. If you happened to miss them outside the first cut of rough you could find real trouble with trees and gnarly rough. There are a lot of elevation changes too! Nice little bar across from the pro shop and I had lunch and a beer there before I played. The food was good, golf, food & beer prices are reasonable here. It's a pretty good golf course, probably a little tougher than I'd like to play on a regular basis, but I recommend giving it a try if you are in the area.

It was muggy today & I haven't felt that kind of moist heat for awhile now. The guys told me it was unusual for San Antonio. After golf I drove north about 75 miles to Austin, TX, to spend a couple of days & nights. After yesterday's drive it was a short jaunt. There is road construction all over the place north of San Antonio and a fair amount going on in Austin too. Just like the rest of Texas!

I checked into my room and walked to the Mexican food place around the corner for takeout. The young lady working in the restaurant (by herself!) spoke no English and I don't speak Spanish, though I understand a little of it. Ordering was achieved by me pointing at pictures on the menu. Everything worked out fine except she couldn't serve me a cervesa while I was waiting.

The room adjacent to mine had a couple of kids (one a tot) and their parents in it. They were still crying & whining and the adults were talking louder than their blaring television after 9 o'clock, so I went down to the desk and got a different room. (Grumpy old man?) THIS one is by the swimming pool (quiet?), but the desk clerk assured me the pool was only open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. So far so good. I'm spending three nights here we need to make this work.

Tomorrow is supposed to be thunderstorms in Austin and one of the courses I was going to play there is now closed. It's laundry day so I'll have something to do, but the bars and music venues I looked forward to won't be open. The reason I planned to stay in Austin for three or four nights was so I could explore the local music scene. I brought two books so I guess it will be time to start one. I will have a more leisure time (than I need) for a few days as I won't be on the road except to go golfing.

Canyon Springs Golf Course, San Antonio, was a cattle ranch and the first picture is of a pair of longhorn cattle they keep in a pen that is on your way up to the driving range & tees. The horns ARE impressive. The third picture is of the waterfall you see from the tee and all the way in behind the 18th green. It IS a natural waterfall, but has a pump assist when it's been dry too long. The fourth picture is Jim (taller on the left) and Adam, my playing companions. Jim doesn't remind me of "Chilly" Barnes except for his golf game. He has some pretty good power. Adam reminded me of Len Kelly in his game and his demeanor. They were good guys to play with.