Blanco’s Vaaler Creek Golf Club continues to enjoy runaway success

By Steve Habel, Contributing Writer

It’s hard to imagine a better bet for golf in the Texas Hill Country than a round at Vaaler Creek Golf Club in Blanco, a course that has been ranked among the best in the state that just continues to flex its muscle and improve.

Vaaler Creek GC, the centerpiece of the burgeoning Rockin’ J Ranch community just five miles south of the city, has enjoyed full tee sheets since before the pandemic. The word of mouth around the course and its challenging and affordable layout continues to attract players, most of whom leave the track hankering to play the course again as soon as possible.

“We are on a schedule to produce another record month for play, and that’s been the case virtually every month since COVID hit and golf boomed,” said Adam Grosch, Vaaler Creek’s PGA director of golf. “The golf course has never been in better shape because of the rains we’ve enjoyed this spring. All our ponds are full, the turf is lush, and our greens are practically flawless.

“The course is booming and the neighborhood is busy with houses being built and activity. It’s really a great time out here.”

Success has not stopped Vaaler Creek GC from improving on things that were already good. This winter the course opened a new building at its practice facility that features an indoor hitting bay for instruction. And there are new restrooms next to the grill to help players make the turn faster and more efficiently.

“Those are a few ways that we continue to work to create a second-to-none experience at our course for our members and our guests,” Grosch explained.

Vaaler Creek GC offers farreaching views of the surrounding region and the generous homesite setbacks mean that the houses near the course are mostly out of sight and unobtrusive, adding to the course’s isolated feel.

Opened as a nine-hole track in 2007, Vaaler Creek expanded to a full 18 two years later. The course was the first signature design by Michael Lowry, who fashioned a much-tougher-than-its-carded 6,801-yard, par-72 track among live oak and cactus.

Lowry routed the layout along the rolling, scrub brush-filled prairies and worked in all sorts of cool features: ponds, sand hazards of sundry sizes, elevated tee shots and wavy, tree-lined fairways.

Given its length, golfers might think they can overpower Vaaler Creek, but finding success here is not that simple. The course has a variety of long and short holes, with shots involving strategically placed bunkers and even several carries over water.

Vaaler Creek GC’s true last line of defense is its lightning-quick, mounded and segmented putting surfaces, which can make even the most aggressive players timid and prone to second-guessing.

Vaaler Creek GC has become a real favorite for Hill Country golfers and continually draws players from the region’s bigger cities. What makes the round here stand apart, and above, is its laid-back, friendly vibe that permeates from the folks in the pro shop, to those at the halfway house, and to the course itself.