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(CLOSED) 2012 Pecan Valley Golf Club
Course Categories:* All Courses *, **** - (4 Star Rated), $ All Courses $, $$$ - ($30 to $60), Featured
Original Review: 2009, Updated Review 2011 Pecan Valley is nestled along the picturesque Salado Creek just six miles from downtown San Antonio’s famed Riverwalk area. Originally designed in 1963 and redone in 1998 the owners have spent considerable amounts of time and capital to restore this old course.
Pecan Valley was the host of the 5oth PGA Championship, the 1967, 1969 and 1970 Texas Opens, the 2001 US Amateur Public Links Championship, numerous NCAA tournaments and the current site for the PGA’s Texas Open qualifier event. Edit: Pecan is now also the home of the San Antonio Mid-Amateur Championships. (Pecan will host the tournament in May) and the host for the USGA Mens Pub Links Qualifier (to be hosted in May).
Pecan Valley has price ranges that will meet most peoples budgets scaling from $32 dollars up to $89 (depending on day of week, time and residency). Pecan particularly caters to juniors having one of the cheapest junior rates in town at $17.
Pecan’s practice facilities are adequate for warming up and some light practice outside of normal play days. Their range will hold approximately 40 people, but is usually closed to 1/2 size. Their putting green is actually one of the nicest in town for a public course. You can read our full Pecan Valley Golf Club (Practice Facilities) review here.
Pecan’s restaurant has very good food and good service. The course runs promotions from time to time, including full lunch buffet with round of golf (usually weekdays) call them to get accurate information. Their pro shop is fully stocked with clubs, clothes, shoes, hats and just about anything you would need to make your golfing day complete. Edit: Since Foresight has started to manage the course, their staff has gone out of their way to be professional. Their staff has been, in the past, considered a bit blunt, but I have not noticed that in a long time.
The course is a 7047 yard track (from the tips) winding in and out of Pecan tree lined fairways. If you come at the right time of year, you could have all the Pecans you could ever want to eat 
The course has had drainage issues in the past, but hopefully their latest renovation has alleviated these past issues. There has been times during heavy rain periods (not that we have seen any here in a long time) that the course was unplayable, basically underwater. I guess we will have to wait until this drought is over with.
Back to the course, I have never seen it in bad condition, period. (well besides being underwater, several years ago) I have seen it in top form several times and it was beautiful. Most the time the course conditions are a bit above what one would expect from a daily fee course. The greens are usually in good condition and rolling about 8-9 on the Stimpmeter. The course has 4 tee boxes for varied skill levels and these different lengths really do make a difference in how the course plays. I recall playing a tournament at Pecan where we were to tee off 1 tee up from the tips and oh my what a difference. Totally didn’t know how to play the course. There are several risk / reward holes on the course that afford long hitters to be either the hero or the goat. (how come more often than not its the goat that emerges?!?) The only real danger on the course are the trees, they don’t call it Pecan Valley for nothing .
There is some concern about the location of the course. I don’t find it a problem personally but some I have spoken to and some of the commentary below tells me that it is on the mind of some golfers around town. Pecan has implemented security in the parking lot, and I have never had a problem at the course, but unfortunately have heard about issues from others. Edit: I have spent 5 days a week at the course over the past months and have not had a inkling of a issue with security.
I think that whether your visiting San Antonio and looking to play a affordable course with some history and personality or your a local looking to expand your horizons and visit somewhere new. Pecan may just be the place.
Update (11/30/2011)
What can we say about Pecan that hasn’t already be stated?….. We visited Pecan again and a blustery / windy day in November day and it was glorious and the old dog had her teeth out. Truly Pecans only defense is her trees and when the wind is blowing you get to know them well. This course is a magnitude more difficult when the wind is blowing. The conditions were good and the greens were rolling well. Was a little damp (recent rains) and we had the occasional mud ball but overall everything was good.
Again I can’t state enough how much the staff has taken a turn for the better since Foresight’s management inception. They have taken Mike from Republic and made him Manager at Pecan and he has been doing a wonderful job. Lots of smiling friendly faces.
Reviewer | GSA
I am the creator, owner and lead reviewer for Golf San Antonio.Net. I play in San Antonio and around the world year round. I split my time between family, work and golf. My handicap floats right around 3-6. I play in most local amateur events. I have caddied for local pros at professional tournaments. My family, friends and most my acquaintances play golf, when it's raining we watch golf, this is what we do :) Have you played this course before?? Scroll down to our comments section and give your review of the course. There you will find the GSA.Net readers reviews and discussions on this course.
According to pecan valleys website they are closed , and may reopen in spring.
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I played Pecan Valley on Friday February 12th. It was in great shape. The greens are the best in town. Fairways were full and thick. Had a great time. Will always go back and play.
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Public course that once hosted a PGA Championship (in the late 60′s, I believe). Great layout, usually in good condition (unless it recently flooded). Love the history and the huge oak trees. And make sure to get a burger from the grill.
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From start to finish, this was an enjoyable course to play after being out of the game for five years. It is not a difficult course, but still presents a challenge with respect to yardage management and bunker negotiation. If you can hit the ball 200 yards straight off the tee, you can score well on this course. Fairways are wide open and the doglegs present plenty of landing space beyond the bend. I spent most of my time out of the fairway and the course is not forgiving of this because of MANY trees and water. Trees do not come into play if you stay in the fairway.
We enjoyed the history of the 50th PGA being played here and got some good snapshots of the scoreboard from that match and some of the commemorative plaques on the course. The pro shop was well stocked with plenty of top name equipment and lots of souveniers. The staff was friendly and helpful. The surrounding landscape and neighborhood didn’t affect the setting at all. With respect to the course condition, there were lots of grass clippings and general “tree trash” on the course. This didn’t affect play, but it made the course look dirty. There was lots of sand on the greens that was slightly damp, so the ball picked up lots of sand. The speed of the greens was fairly slow and manageable for a high handicapper. The bunkers were damp and the sand was packed, making sand play difficult.
Overall, this was a good course and the value per dollar was great. Green fee was $41 per player, bag of range balls $4, bag tag $5. The drinks and snacks weren’t overpriced either. Hospitality of other players was outstanding. We didn’t have any trouble with crowding or pace of play in mid-August.
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Classic traditional golf course and a wonderful test of golf. Unfortunately, it is situated in a bad part of town. Frequent incidents of auto vandalism in club parking lot as personally experienced. Be sure to lock your car and put any valuables in the trunk of your car
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Do not waste your time or money. It has become nothing more than a glorified muni. This is a long time sentimental favorite that has past it’s prime decades ago. Even in it;’s best condition the course is soggy from poor drainage and overplay by weekday senior discounts. Expect a 6 hour round Monday through Friday as the course is taken up by local play, particularly seniors pulling pull carts. The staff is very rude, especially the older retired military gentleman who works the counter. I have never heard anyone say anything positive about him. His is a true detriment to their business as he seems to feel he owns the place. I first played this course in 1982 and have seen it go through owner after owner, floods, and everchanging levels of poor quality. We play more than 60 different courses each year all over Texas and other states and have played for 30 years. This is probably the most overrated and overpriced course we go to. It is a shame. The neighborhood is very dangerous and run down. You have to drive through at full speed with the doors locked or you may never be heard from again. At least they have someone in the parking lot at times to make sure your car doesn’t get stolen. We have played there four times this year and it was very poor. A Everyone in our group said they would not go back on our previous trip. We decided to give it another chance last weekend and took two groups. More of the same. Despite giving it an allowance for the drought conditions, the same rude treatment was received at the counter, and the course was a complete disappointment. Maybe it is time to let Pecan Valley go the way of many of the old courses. Close it and buy up the surrounding land a build new homes there. But you would need to build a 20 foot high wall with guard towers to protect yourself from the rest of the neighborhood.
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This is so not correct. Yea the dude is rude. It is in a older part of town, but I live close to there, am white, and I NEVER have problems. I had vandilism at Quarry. In a NICE side of town. The course has drainage issues, but Salado Creek run right through the course. If you were upset once, remind me why you went back?
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Great to have you Gary, keep up the commentary
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Only in South Texas can you play on a PGA Championship course for under $50. Pecan Valley hosted the 1968 PGA Championship (Arnold Palmer lost on the 18th hole) and it is easy to stand on the tee box and look down a pecan tree lined fairway and imagine the scene.
The group that I regularly play with on Saturdays ranges from 30 handicappers to scratch golfers. I played with a 30 handicap and a 4 handicap at Pecan Valley and both enjoyed their day.
If you only have one chance to play golf in San Antonio you should consider Pecan Valley. If you do not mind spending $100 or more for a round go to the Palmer Course at La Cantera or The Quarry. If you are wanting to spend about $50 then Pecan Valley is an excellent choice.
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Recently played Pecan Valley on a trip to San Antonio in March 2009. Played the course during twilight and the green fee was approx $40 with cart. At that price the course was a superb value. Course: The tees and greens were in excellent condition. Greens were rolling quick and true. I found the holes on the back 9 more exciting than those on the front. The back 9 is very quiet and scenic (away from roads houses etc) while the front 9 is on the other side of the road and is bordered by some homes, and a road. Local knowledge (or a GPS) will definitely be helpful at this course as there are many creeks that bisect the middle of fairways and its tough to figure out yardages your first time playing the course. The course is a good test of your driver as there are several long doglegs and some of tee shots have to be shaped to get in the fairway. The course has some significant history as it hosted the PGA Championship. They have placed the scoreboard from that tournament adjacent to the 1st and 10th tees. Facilities/staff: Nice clubhouse and the staff was friendly and helpful. I had to wait a little while to tee off and the gentleman in the pro shop was kind enough to give me a bag of range balls while I waited.
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