THE BAYOU GOLF COURSE

Familiarity produces endearment Bayou Golf Course in Texas City

provides great golf, great food, great fellowship

By Steve Habel, Contributing Writer

If you are familiar with the Bayou Golf Course here on the Texas Gulf Coast, you know it’s one of the region’s best bangs for the buck, a place where you can enjoy a solid round of golf on a well-conditioned course in a well-paced manner for less than $40.

Those attributes check a lot of boxes for most golfers, but add in a challenging routing with a great mix of holes, along with testing greens complexes and demanding putting surfaces and Bayou Golf Course rises above the norm.

“Our players have come to understand that we consider them like part of our family, and that is one of the things that makes a round at our course and the time spent here before and after the round so appealing,” said Mike Skiba, Bayou Golf Course’s head professional and director of golf. “We see some of our players two or three times a week – and that’s a good thing.”

Bayou Golf Course is a hybrid links/ parkland-style facility that was carved out of about 200 acres of marshland and originally designed by legendary Texas golf architect Joe Finger in 1974. It was restored and enhanced in 2014 by Houstonian Mike Nuzzo and is better now than ever, playing at 6,596 windswept yards from the back tees and to a par of 72.

Bayou Golf Course is just 14 miles from the Galveston city limits and is located in Galveston County on the outskirts of Texas City. Moses Bayou skirts the property as it flows toward Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, with water coming into play on 12 of the holes.

There are also 18 sand bunkers strategically placed in throughout the routing to form a formidable combination with the course’s slightly elevated tees and greens.

From the back tees four of the par 4s are carded at over 400 yards and three of the par 5s play at more than 500 yards. Add in the wind, which is always blowing here, and those seven holes alone clearly indicate the need for prowess with the driver

After two relatively easy holes to start the round, the 414-yard par 4 third ups the ante aplenty, playing into the prevailing wind with water along the left on the approach and trees on the right near the primo landing area. The bayou also skirts

behind the smallish and undulating putting surface at the back-left. It’s one of the toughest pars on the Gulf Coast.

The 414-yard par 4 sixth demands thought and course management. The tee shot must be short of the bayou that begins 225 yards off the tee, after which approach requires another wind-affected long iron to a tiny green.

The 481-yard par-5 10 offers the golfer a risk/reward option. There is a lake in play off the tee and on the approach and out of bounds on the left, but birdie or better is within reach with two, or three, well executed shots.

Bayou Golf Club is renowned for its four-hole closing stretch. The 573-yard par 5 15th is the longest hole here and has a double dogleg. Next up is the deadly and long 191-yard par 3 16th, which always seem to need one more club than you think to reach the putting surface.

The 17th, at 457 yards, is a doglegleft with a stout carry across the turn to the fairway and the longest par 4 on the course. Trees stand sentinel on the left side as well, which if taken on with a successful drive can shorten the approach, if not you’ll write down bogey or worse. Most of the Bayou Golf Course’s regular players

consider a par here to be like a birdie, especially on those days when the wind comes in from the north.

The round wraps up with a 393-yard par-4 that’s considered one of the best finishing holes in the Bay Area. There’s water along the left side and a deep bunker that guards the tournament hole placement at the back-left.

Time does not stand still and neither do the demands placed on the management of a golf course. It’s a constant battle with Mother Nature and the wear and tear placed on a course by those who play it to keep conditions at their best and adapt to the occasional curveball thrown into the mix by the weather or other intangibles.

This is another aspect in which Bayou Golf Course really shines. The course just completed a renovation of all its cart paths on the back-nine, with plans in the future to redo the front-nine paths, to improve drainage throughout (especially on the front-nine, which is the most affected by the bay’s tidal pools) and re-grass some areas on the edges of the course that have been damaged by the brackish water.

There are also plans on the table to construct a new clubhouse for the course. All of those needs are on the to-do list put together by Skiba, who’s been the Bayou Golf Course’s head professional and director of golf for nearly six years.

Skiba, with great help from Texas City’s city council and community leaders, has produced a steady increase in play at the Bayou GC through the years, with the largest uptick coming after golf’s overall resurgence and growth during and since the pandemic.

“The city’s leaders understand that Bayou Golf Course is a community amenity, just like a park, but one that makes money to help pay for itself,” Skiba said. “We have had an increase on our rounds, and I think that comes from a combination of the efforts we employ to keep the course in the best shape possible and the friendly attitude we provide to our players. They know they are appreciated.”

Bayou Golf Course is famously known as the place where Butch Harmon, one of the game’s most noted and famed instructors, got his first job in the golf business.

“There are people who want to play this course just because Butch used to teach here,” Skiba said. “I’m no Butch Harmon, but if you want to improve your golf game, I can get you on the right track.”

The facility also offers the community a five-and-a-half acre walking family pitchand-putt course with holes that play from 60 to 90 yards. It’s a place where you can find both the skilled golfer looking to hone his or her skills around the greens (and who isn’t) as well as beginners just learning about how great golf can be.

It’s the home to a First Tee program. “I love to see the kids out there – that’s our future right there, and they are learning just how much fun golf can be,” Skiba said. “Our First Tee program continues to grow each year.”

Municipal Course MAP # 17

RATES 18 Twilight

Mon-Thur $45 $35* Fri-Sun $52 $41 & Holiday Pricing includes cart fee *Twilight Winter months start 2 p.m. Summer months start 3 p.m.

STATISTICS

Par: 70 Yards Rating Slope Black 6453 70.4 121 Blue 6203 69.3 118 White 6014 68.4 114 Gold 5184 64.5 108 Red 4826 62.8 107

AMENITIES • Putting Green • Chipping Range with Sand

Bunkers • Driving Range • Complete Pro Shop • Professional Golf Lessons

1 Country Club Drive Kerrville, Texas 78028 (830) 257-4982 www.golfkerrvilletex.com

Kerrville Scott Schreiner Golf Course

BEST KEPT SECRET OF THE SOUTHWEST

Scott Schreiner Golf Course is an 18-hole course that is nestled among the rolling hills in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Redesigned by renowned golf course architect Joe Finger in 1999, it is one of the best kept secrets of the southwest. The layout features mounded greens in a variety of sizes and shapes. The fairways offer generous landing areas, yet are tight enough to present a comfortable challenge. The signature hole is number 17, a 535-yard par-5. Water comes into play on the second shot, then again on the approach to the green, which is surrounded by water on three sides. A waterfall to the left of the green adds a pleasing aesthetic. Set against the beautiful hills and rustic Texas landscape, this course is fun for all.

The course is located in Kerrville, Texas making it an easy drive from San Antonio or Austin. A putting green, driving range, chipping greens with sand bunker, complete pro shop, and available golf lessons are some of the amenities found at the course.

Kerrville boasts over 900 acres of public spaces to paddle, bike and play in. Enjoy eclectic restaurants, local music and local breweries and wine during your stay.

San Antonio’s The Golf Club of Texas is friendly, playable and memorable

By Steve Habel, Contributing Writer

The Golf Club of Texas in San Antonio bills itself as the “friendliest course in Texas” and after a recent round here, it’s a claim that’s all but impossible to dispute. From the minute you check in, the way a golfer is treated on the course and while using the facility’s cool amenities after the round sets this place apart – and earns it a spot in our hearts as well as on the list of “must plays” in South Texas.

“Not only is our golf course one of the best in San Antonio, but our staff is amazing and their efforts to provide our guests the best experience possible allow the Golf Club of Texas to excel,” said Bo LeHew, the Golf Club of Texas’ Vice President of Operations. “We all take great pride in what we have here.”

It’s not just that attitude that shines at the Golf Club of Texas – its golf course is also a showcase. The Golf Club of Texas, set in the southwest sector of the Alamo City off Highway 90, turns up the fun factor a notch or two with its Roy Bechtol-designed, links-style course that’s turfed throughout with different strains of Zoysia grass.

The Golf Club of Texas is located on a 1,900-acre site at the steps of the Hill Country and incorporates the rugged South Texas landscape where it meets a lush, sprawling flood plain.

Four-holes wide in spots and following a meandering creek, the course provides a core-golfing experience at its best. Indigenous plants are juxtaposed against surprisingly wide fairways and mostly large and challenging greens.

“I love the way the course plays and the feeling that you are constantly surrounded by golf and nature,” LeHew said. “The course is challenging but also can play to a golfer’s strengths. There are places you can miss a shot or two, but the routing provides ways to get those shots back with good execution.” The Golf Club of Texas was originally designed by Bechtol, the Austin-based golf course architect and master planner, as a Lee Trevino-signature course

and has always been a favorite haunt for golfers looking for a combination of playability and challenge. It opened in 1999 and in 2014 was renovated, reworked and re-routed, with the nines switched.

“You stand on the deck of the clubhouse here and see nothing but golf across the wide plain to the south,” Bechtol said. “There’s the feeling here that golf was the most important aspect of the site.”

It’s the only course in the United States whose putting surfaces are Zoysia, an experiment that was embraced eight years ago when the course was renovated. Zoysia, a versatile, droughtresistant and hearty turf, makes every lie in the fairway seem like it’s on a tee. The grass also repels pitch marks on putting surfaces while allowing the greens to remain receptive to approach shots.

Golfers will also love the facility’s expanded practice area, which includes a dual-sided driving range and a private teaching area. Two lighted practice putting greens have also been fashioned in the shadow of the updated clubhouse, one with some challenging slopes that act as its own place for fun and competition.

The circular outside bar, the Tin Cup, is adjacent to the clubhouse and driving range and is the perfect place to recap the day on the course, settle up bets and enjoy a few more minutes with friends, both those you knew before the round and those you’ve made during your stay.

Golf Club Of Texas

BREAKING UP WITH GOLFNOW

Written by Bo LeHew

Every significant relationship is defined by its partners’ duties to each other. Each party has something to give to the other to keep it balanced. GolfNow is in a relationship with over 9,000 golf courses in the world. I was one of those golf courses.

Being in a relationship with GolfNow is simple. You don’t pay them a dime, all they want in return is your golf course’s tee times. Starting off at one tee time going all the way up to four tee times, per day, in exchange for various services they offer. Between their 3rd party booking site, marketing and social media support, website hosting, point of sale software & even an answering service, you would end up paying them nothing! Just a measly 16 rounds per day. Or 480 rounds per month. Or up to a staggering 5,840 rounds per year. For a golf course averaging 40,000 rounds a year, that’s 15% of your inventory. And with no up-front costs, many courses overlook this steep price because the perceived value of this relationship looks very fair… on paper.

GolfNow cares about one thing and one thing only, their bottom line. So, how have they managed to entrench themselves so firmly in the golf industry? They preach they are here to help golf course owners, but from my experience they look at golf course operators and management companies as supremely naïve. GolfNow reps come bearing gifts as well as lunch for their quarterly visits to explain “how great they are performing for you”. What is left out is the massive revenue they are stripping from your golf course and the booking fees they are gouging your golfers for as well. On top of that, they have done an impressive job at making you believe you have no other option in

the golf market.

Well, that’s just not true and certainly not a relationship I wanted to be involved in. I wanted to separate myself from the competition. I wanted to break free from this toxic relationship. I didn’t want to wait for a quarterly statement from someone controlling my inventory to stop by with lunch and tell me how well I was doing. I wanted to look at how I was doing every month, week or even every day by checking the analytics myself.

I also wanted my golfers to benefit by getting amazing instant rewards, special promo codes to save money on future tee times, bad weather discounts

& most importantly stop the booking fee gouging on my golfers. I wanted a better overall experience for my golfer.

So, I had enough. I started thinking outside the box and doing some research, there had to be better options out there. I decided I wanted to take back my golf. I wanted to control my dynamic pricing and keep 100% of my revenue for every tee time I sold online. Sound too good to be true?

Sound too difficult to accomplish? …. Well, It’s not. I decided to break up with GolfNow.

It’s already become the smartest move I’ve made in my career.. With GolfNow I averaged 600 online rounds booked per month. With an average of $18,000 in monthly revenue. Two hundred of those rounds generated $0 in revenue due to my tee time trade agreement I had. That’s an Average Round Per Golfer (APR) of $34.

In the one month since I have left GolfNow, in the shoulder month of July no less. I increased online rounds by 35%! From those online rounds, total revenue was increased by an astonishing 120%!! July produced an eye popping $51 APR, an increase of $18 in revenue per golfer! In that very first month I left GolfNow, I had a RECORD month in online bookings for rounds and revenue! I also had a record number of e-blasts opened, the highest click through rate EVER & a record number of new E-Club subscribers. There aren’t enough exclamation marks in the world to properly express my elation.

How did I do this, though? How did I break up with the one entity everyone in the golf industry MUST be in a relationship with?

I formed a new relationship with a partner on the cutting edge of the golf industry who made this transition as effortless as possible. I now have the sharpest looking website in my city and the most beneficial booking engine in the industry today. Not to mention access to cutting edge analytics.

My biggest fear was, “what will happen to all of the rounds that were booked through GolfNow?” I was petrified. Did I make the right call? Will people still book at my golf course? The answer was a resounding “YES”!

The most important lesson I learned is that the average golfer is smart and savvy. If they want to play at my golf course, they will simply type my course name into a search engine and go to my website.

Why am I telling you this story when I could easily keep this information to myself? As being part of a community of golf course operators, I feel it’s my duty to share best practices. GolfNow isn’t helping the golf industry, it’s hurting it.

So, who am I in a relationship with now, I’m sure you’re asking yourself?

GolfBack Solutions, you can visit their website here www.golfbacksolutions.com

If you’d like to hear more about my journey and how I can help you take your golf back, here’s my cell phone, call me at 210885-1302, I can help you through your break-up.